Riley Abel was first introduced in The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC and she also appeared in the miniseries The Last of Us: American Dreams.
She was 16 years old and a survivor just like Ellie and during her time in Boston, they quickly became friends. Although she doesn’t appear in the main game, she is mentioned at the end. She was Ellie’s best friend.
At the ending cutscene of the game, Ellie explains to Joel how there was another survivor named Riley with her and they both were bitten but only Ellie survived. So, Riley unfortunately was bitten and she succumbed to the infection, thus sealing her fate.
Riley’s death contributed to Ellie’s guilt and it’s one of the reasons why Ellie was keen to find a cure for the Cordyceps infection from her immunity.
When did Ellie and Riley become friends?
Ellie met Riley during her tenure in the quarantine zone after the Outbreak started. In the zone, she was getting beaten up by bullies when Riley arrived and saved her. Both of them were orphans and didn’t have anyone to talk to, so they quickly grew close and became friends.
Although they parted ways after having an argument because Riley wanted to be a Firefly and Ellie wanted to escape the quarantine zone. But Riley did go back to meet Ellie, after which they both fought through different situations before both were infected and Riley died.
Was Ellie in love with Riley?
In The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC, Ellie kissed Riley leading to some speculation what her sexuality was but it was later confirmed by the creator that she in fact is a lesbian and was in love with Riley. Her love life is explored more in Part 2.
Unfortunately Riley and her relationship didn’t last long as they both were bitten by the infected, and Ellie survived because of her immunity but Riley didn’t, which is how their relationship came to a tragic end.
Who is playing Riley in The Last of Us TV show?
Riley Abel is being played by Storm Reid in The Last of Us TV show. Storm Reid is best known for her role in Euphoria and she also appeared recently in DC’s The Suicide Squad. It’s still unclear how much she’s going to be in it, but it’s exciting to know she’s appearing in the show.
The show also stars Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal as leads Ellie and Joel respectively. While there’s no definitive release date, the show is slated to release sometime next year which should make fans of the series excited. Watch the teaser trailer below:
About The Last of Us Part 1
The Last of Us is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The Remake of the title was developed for the PlayStation 5.
Players control Joel, tasked with caring for Ellie and delivering her to a group called The Fireflies. In a world overrun by the cordyceps fungus, which has infected humanity, Joel must fight off those who have become a host to the fungus and survivors looking to harm them.
The Last of Us received overwhelming praise from both players and critics alike. A remaster was released in 2014 for the PlayStation 4.
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