‘The Last of Us’ episode 7: How Ellie’s cassette tapes link back to the game

The Last of Us is quite the musical show. It’s made us cry to Linda Ronstadt’s “Long Long Time,” jam out to Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again,” and then cry again to that same Depeche Mode song. But episode 7, titled “Left Behind,” might just be the show’s most musical episode yet.

“Left Behind” gives us an in-depth look at Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) backstory through a flashback to a night she and her greatest friend Riley (Storm Reid) spent in an abandoned mall. Right from the opening scenes of the flashback, you can tell music will play a big role in the episode. As Ellie runs laps at her FEDRA school, she listens to Pearl Jam’s “All or None” on her Walkman. Later, in a series of Easter egg-filled shots of her room, we see a stack of cassette tapes including Etta James’s Tell Mama and A-ha’s Headlines and Deadlines: The Hits of A-ha.

Songs from both albums make appearances later in the episode — but these aren’t just any needle drops. These songs, as well as “All or None,” all tie back to various The Last of Us games. Here’s how.

“I Got You Babe” by Etta James.

Etta James’s cover of Sonny and Cher’s classic duet appears in the same place in both “Left Behind” and The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC upon which the episode is based. Riley plays the song for Ellie, and the two of them dance together before sharing a kiss. In the DLC, Riley mentions that she’s the one who gave Ellie the James tape. We don’t get that exchange in the show, but the fact that Ellie keeps it close by in her room highlights just how much it means to her, like her Will Livingston joke book or her beloved comics.

“Take On Me,” by A-ha.

While both The Last of Us show and game use “I Got You Babe” in the exact same way, A-ha’s “Take On Me” gets a somewhat different treatment. In the show, it plays while Ellie marvels at the wonder of a working mall escalator. The song and its iconic synth riff lend the sequence the feel of a classic happy-go-lucky mall montage. Sure, this mall has been looted and is covered in classically post-apocalyptic debris, but for Ellie, this is a whole new world! “Take On Me” captures her joyful exploration perfectly. Plus, the scene contains a fun nod to the song’s lyrics: When Ellie launches herself down the escalator at Riley, she tells her, “I’m coming for you,” a mirror of A-ha singer Morten Harket’s declaration, “I’ll be coming for your love, okay?” (A telling moment, given Ellie and Riley’s sweet kiss later in the episode.)

The Last of Us Part II gives “Take On Me” a more somber context. While mourning a devastating loss, Ellie plays “Take On Me” for her girlfriend Dina. Ellie’s version is far sadder and slower than the original, lending it a quality that is at once romantic and tragic. This combination of romance and tragedy extends to the show’s use of the song as well. For starters, in playing “Take On Me” over a scene where Ellie interacts with Riley, the show establishes that this is a song that Ellie associates with love, with the upbeat sound of A-ha’s original accentuating the excitement and uncertainty of her crush. However, Ellie and Riley’s story ends in sorrow, and the two never get enough time to explore a romantic relationship. If Ellie plays “Take On Me” for Dina in Season 2 of The Last of Us, perhaps she — along with the audience — will be thinking of Riley.

“All or None” by Pearl Jam.

The appearance of Pearl Jam’s “All or None” in “Left Behind” is an interesting one, as this particular song never appears in any of The Last of Us games. However, another Pearl Jam song, “Future Days,” plays a major role in The Last of Us Part II. Remember how Joel admitted he had wanted to be a singer in episode 6, and how Ellie insisted he sing for her later? In Part II, we finally get Joel singing to Ellie. “Future Days” is the song he goes with.

It’s a poignant song choice, with lines like “If I ever were to lose you / I’d surely lose myself” speaking to the deep familial bond between Joel and Ellie. The song becomes a motif throughout Part II, with Ellie often playing it when she thinks of Joel. Since he gave her her guitar and taught her to play it, her instrumental renditions of “Future Days” carry even more emotional weight.

Since the show’s timeline changes the year of the Cordyceps outbreak from 2013 to 2003, using “Future Days” as a needle drop next season would be chronologically incorrect. However, the inclusion of “All or None,” which came out in 2002, is a nice way to highlight Pearl Jam’s connection to the franchise while still keeping the timeline accurate. The lyrics here also speak to Ellie’s situation at her FEDRA school. “It’s a hopeless situation,” the song opens, reflecting Ellie’s hopeless attitude about Riley’s disappearance. Later lyrics include lines like “I try to run on,” which comes through literally in Ellie running laps around a gym and figuratively in how she tries to persevere without Riley.

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“All or None” is a solid song choice here for the Pearl Jam connection, but it also raises the question: What song, if any, will Joel sing to Ellie in The Last of Us Season 2? It seems unlikely that showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann would cut the scene given its significance. So will they use another Pearl Jam song to be in keeping with the original, or will they branch out entirely? Based on the music selection throughout the show so far — and especially in “Left Behind” — I have a feeling another great, yet devastating, needle drop is somewhere on the horizon. Bring on the music…and the tears.

The Last of Us is now streaming on HBO Max. New episodes air every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.(Opens in a new tab)