What happens to Riley in The Last of Us? Fate of the show's deuteragonist, explained

HBO Max's The Last of Us, based on the popular video game of the same name, is now seven episodes in, following its premiere on January 15, 2023.

So far, the show has received widespread critical acclaim from critics and audiences who call it the best adaptation of a video game. They have been praising the actor's performances, the show's writing, the production design, and the background score.

The show follows a hardened middle-aged survivor and former smuggler named Joel, played by Pedro Pascal. Joel is tasked with escorting a young girl, Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, across the post-apocalyptic United States to find a cure for the Cordyceps fungal-virus that has plagued humanity.

The first episode of The Last of Us garnered 4.7 million views, making it the second-biggest premiere on HBO Max since 2010. Within twelve days, the viewership of the show increased to 22 million views.

The latest and seventh episode of The Last of Us introduced a new character, Riley Abel, played by Storm Reid. Reid is known for her roles in various film and television projects such as Euphoria and The Suicide Squad.

While Riley's fate was sealed in the game, it was quite ambiguous in the series and has left fans wondering what happened to her.

Disclaimer: Spoilers for The Last of Us episode 7, watch the episode first and come back and read the article.

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Riley's fate in The Last of Us

Storm Reid as Riley Abel in The Last of Us (Image via HBO Max)

Riley Abel was first introduced in the DLC of The Last of Us video game, dubbed Left Behind, where she was depicted as the best friend of protagonist Ellie.

In the DLC, which serves as a flashback taking place prior to the events of the main game, Ellie and Riley sneak out of the Boston Quarantine Zone. They then visit an abandoned shopping mall to hang out and have fun, only to encounter a clicker or zombie that attacks and infects both of them.

Riley and Ellie spend their final time together until the former dies of her infection and injury. While Ellie survives, she is rendered immune to the Cordyceps viral infection.

In the latest episode of The Last of Us, Riley, like in the video game, is introduced as Ellie's best friend, during her time in the Boston Quarantine Zone School. Ellie was being trained as a soldier at the School.

Riley left the school to join the group known as the Fireflies, headed by Marlene. Once again, like in the video game, the two sneak out of the Quarantine Zone and visit an abandoned mall to hang out only to encounter a clicker that bites and infects them.

Riley and Ellie are shocked and emotional over their infection. The two sit down and contemplate what to do next. Unlike in the game, where Riley is shown dying, her fate is left ambiguous, leaving audiences wondering whether she has died or not.

However, fans can assume that she has died from the infection as Ellie told Joel in the sixth episode that everyone she has cared for has either died or left her. This seemingly confirmed that Riley has in fact passed away from her infection.

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The Last of Us cast and writers

The cast of The Last of Us (Images via iMDb)

As mentioned earlier, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are the main cast members of The Last of Us, and the other actors appearing in guest roles include:

• Nico Parker as Sarah, Joel's daughter, and Tommy's niece
• John Hannah as Dr. Newman, an epidemiologist
• Merle Dandrige as Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies; Dandrige reprises her role from the video game
• Josh Brenner as Murray, a talk-show host
• Murray Bartlett as Frank, a survivalist, and Bill's partner
• Nick Offerman as Bill, a survivalist, and Frank's partner
• Christopher Heiyerdahl as Dr. Schoeneist, an epidiemologist
• Brendan Fletcher as Robert, a thug and black market arms dealer based in Boston
• Anna Torv as Tess, Joel's smuggling partner
• Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Joel's younger brother, and Sarah's uncle
• Lamar Johnson as Henry, a man hiding from a revolution in Kansas City
• Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Henry's younger brother, and a deaf-artistic child
• Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, the leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City who is trying to hunt down Henry in revenge for the death of her brother.
• Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, a revolutionary leader; Pierce previously played Tommy in the video game.
• John Getz as Edelstein
• Rutina Wesley as Maria, Tommy's wife
• Graham Greene as Marlon
• Elaine Miles as Florence
• Storm Reid as Riley Abel, Ellie's best friend
• Troy Baker as James, a senior member of a group of settlers; Baker previously played Joel in the video game
• Scott Shepherd as David, a preacher, and leader of a cannibalistic cult
• Ashley Johnson as Anna, Ellie's mother

It is worth mentioning that Johnson previously played Ellie herself in the video game.

The show is created by Craig Mazin of Chernobyl fame and Neil Druckmann, who served as the creative director of both The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II. Mazin wrote most of the episodes of the series, co-writing two of the episodes alongside Druckmann, who alone wrote one episode.