“It’s 2023.
If you’re concerned about who I love, then I need you to get your priorities straight.”
Warning: This article contains spoilers forThe Last of Usseason 1, episode 6.
Storm Reid as Riley in ‘The Last of Us’ episode 7.Liane Hentscher/HBO
However, it’s not something the actress, 19, is concerned about.
Episode 7 ofThe Last of Usintroduces Reid as Riley in an origin story of sorts for Ramsey’s Ellie.
“It’s 2023.
Bella Ramsey and Storm Reid in ‘The Last of Us’.Liane Hentscher/HBO
“There’s so many other things to worry about in life.
Why are you concerned that these young people or anybody love each other?
“Left Behind,” like many episodes ofThe Last of Us, teases the tear ducts.
Moments after their kiss, Riley promises Ellie that she won’t leave with the Fireflies.
She’ll stay with Ellie in Boston.
Then an Infected, woken by their night in the mall, attacks.
The girls subdue it, but both have been bitten.
The story is a pretty faithful adaptation of theLeft BehindDLC.
Reid, known for roles inEuphoriaandMissing, says the episode wasn’t about altering the character of Riley.
“Basically how Riley took up space is what I wanted to attempt to hone in on the most.
She took some cues from Riley’s costume, which is slightly different than it is in the game.
Marlene recruited Riley to join the Fireflies.
It would make sense for this young girl to idolize her in some ways.
She’s living in this apocalyptic world, but she’s still cool.
She still has a swag about herself, and I love that.”
Reid came into the world ofThe Last of Uswith no knowledge of the games and their legacy.
“I called my older brother who plays video games.
I was like, ‘Have you ever played this game?’
He was like, ‘Yeah, I know about this game,'” she recalls.
That’s my favorite game of all time.’
I’m like, ‘OK, this is something that I need to pay attention to.'”
More than that, it was the representation that attracted her to the show.
“I’m not only representing women.
“We are on the tightrope of a friendship and having a crush, or is it a crush?
Is it just flirtatious energy?
There’s just so much that goes into the complexity of what the episode is.
And furthermore, the complexity of what Ellie and Riley’s relationship is I find just so beautiful.”
That’s why Reid is preemptively putting any kind of backlash out of her mind.
