Yesterday was International Womens' Day, and both the worlds of gaming and television have a lot of strong female characters to celebrate on this day thanks to an increased awareness of creators on how they treat their female characters. The Last of Us is no exception to this, and features numerous empowering female characters that can survive just as well as the male characters in the world, such as Ellie, Marlene, Maria, and Riley. Now that Neil Druckmann has confirmed that Riley, Ellie's best friend, will be in HBO's TLOU television show, some fans are wondering how this will look and what it means for the highly anticipated series.
Yesterday, HBO tweeted an inspiring video celebrating the many inspiring female characters from the network's TV shows, and quickly got a response from Druckmann, who will be working closely with HBO as the series' lead writer. In Druckmann's response, he lists off the numerous great female characters from The Last of Us that will be added to HBO's list soon and includes Riley among these names. Until now, there was some doubt as to whether her story would be told in the television show, but those doubts can now be laid to rest.
Who is Riley in The Last of Us
Most fans likely know Riley from Ellie's brief mention of her at the end of The Last of Us, in which she tells Joel that her best friend Riley also got bitten at the same time she did. The two shared a bittersweet moment as they waited to turn together, but only Riley turned, as Ellie was immune to the virus. This doesn't tell much about who Riley is and exactly how much she means to Ellie, but thankfully, there is far more to her story than the main portion of The Last of Us lets on.
In the DLC expansion, Left Behind, players take control of Ellie as she searches an abandoned mall to find supplies in an effort to keep Joel alive after his nearly fatal impaling. Throughout her search, the player experiences numerous flashbacks to Ellie's past in the quarantine zone where she trained in a military school. It is in these sequences that players meet Riley for the first time, a rambunctious young girl just like Ellie. There seems to be some history between the two already, as Ellie indicates that the two got in a fight, prompting Riley to leave unexpectedly.
Riley takes Ellie to an abandoned mall and the two spend the day together having a great time, until Riley reveals to Ellie that she has joined the Fireflies. Marlene plans to station her in another quarantine zone, meaning the two will have to split up again, but Ellie is ultimately able to convince Riley to stay with her instead. Sharing a dance, and eventually a brief kiss, together, a group of infected find their way to the duo. After being chased down, the pair end up bitten and the rest is history. Interestingly, this parallels Dina's fate to an extent, which some think may be Ellie's driving motivation in The Last of Us 2
In partnership with Dark Horse Comics, Druckmann tells the story of Ellie and Riley's adventures before their fight in American Dreams. In this story, fans get to see the truly rowdy side of Riley and how she influenced Ellie's behavior and personality. The two compliment each other extremely well, and are both very confident and powerful female characters. Naturally, things still don't end well for the two teens but this whole comic really gives more nuance to Ellie's character and the state of mind she is in at the start of The Last of Us, as well as her relationship with Riley.
Riley in The Last of Us TV Show
Druckmann's tweet seems to all but confirm that Riley will be in the television show version of The Last of Us, and likely not as just a brief mention as was the case with the base game. Instead, it seems Druckmann may be planning to use the television series to wrap up everything that has happened so far, and quite possibly some things that will happen in The Last of Us 2, in a single package that is far easier to understand than having to play through a game, its expansion, and a comic book series. There is an opportunity the show will explore more than just the events of The Last of Us.
Ultimately, it seems there are three ways Riley could be included in the show. First, it is theoretically possible that she will just be mentioned, or perhaps her story will be told to audiences by Ellie in a similar manner to the game, but this seems unlikely given her inclusion on this list. Second, the show could very well start at the very beginning, with the events of American Dreams kicking off the first episode. While this is certainly possible, it seems equally unlikely given that the questionably heroic Joel wouldn't be introduced until this entire arc and the events of Left Behind were concluded.
Finally, it is possible that HBO will use the flashback method similar to how the developers did in Left Behind, starting the TV show's story at the same place The Last of Us did, on Joel's birthday just before the outbreak, but periodically flashing back to detail the important portions of Ellie and Riley's adventures and relationships. This seems the most likely, as by nature of it being a television show, it is vital that the series jumps straight into the meat of things without spending too much time on exposition.
However Druckmann and the team at HBO decide to handle Riley's character, fans of the eccentric youth have much to celebrate. Her inclusion was always subject to discussion given her lack of importance to the main story of The Last of Us, but the nuance of her character and how she drives Ellie are both quite important to understanding Joel's companion. International Women's Day was the perfect day to reveal this tidbit of information to knowledge hungry fans, and it seems that anticipation for The Last of Us' television adaptation and its sequel, The Last of Us 2, are at an all time high.
The Last of Us 2 will be available on May 29th, 2020, exclusively for PS4, and HBO's television show is in the works.