Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for The Last of Us episode 7!After the surprising video game pseudo-crossover, Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon has responded to The Last of Us episode 7’s arcade scene. The latest chapter of the HBO series took a step back to explore some of Ellie’s backstory prior to its start, including her close friendship with Storm Reid’s Riley, who has left FEDRA to join up with the Fireflies. During their final night together, Bella Ramsey’s protagonist and her friend venture through a desolate mall, including an arcade that still has some working cabinets.
Fresh off the new chapter’s premiere, Ed Boon has taken to Twitter to share his thoughts on The Last of Us episode 7.
The Mortal Kombat creator paid specific attention to The Last of Us episode 7’s arcade scene, as seen above, in which Ellie and Riley find a working Mortal Kombat 2 cabinet and play multiple matches against one another as a variety of fighters, including Mileena and Raiden. Boon was enthusiastic with the game’s inclusion and was similarly positive in response to the show as a whole.
How The Last Of Us’ Arcade Scene Was Changed For The Show
The latest episode of The Last of Us was an adaptation of the original game’s downloadable content, Left Behind, which explores Ellie three weeks before players were first introduced to her. Much of episode 7 proved to be a faithful translation of the material, as is the case with the rest of the show, though some changes were made for the show, the arcade scene being one of the more notable. Though the arcade did have power in the game, Ellie and Riley were unable to use any of the cabinets properly, instead closing their eyes and imagining playing.
In the show, however, Ellie gets to take part in her love of ’90s aesthetics as she and Riley play multiple rounds of Mortal Kombat II against one another, which subsequently catches the attention of a lone Infected residing in the mall that would eventually bite them both. While the sheer imagination of Riley’s instructions to Ellie on how to play the non-descript fighting game in the DLC was a touching moment between the two, there’s a different energy to The Last of Us episode 7 showing them actually getting to compete with one another, and as such spotlighting their unique dynamic.
Though The Last of Us episode 7’s arcade scene largely hit the same emotional beats of its video game counterpart, the subtle changes made largely worked in its favor. The playful chemistry between Ellie and Riley in the arcade as a whole does just as effective of a job in building towards the pair’s heartwarming expression of love for one another as if they weren’t also squeezing in some fatalities. As The Last of Us episode 8 looks to be heading back to the dangers of the present and more serious territory, it seems unlikely any other Mortal Kombat-like Easter eggs will appear in the show.
