All the major deaths in The Last of Us, ranked by most heartbreaking

6. Riley

Okay, now we’re getting into extreme heartbreak territory. Viewers around the world fell in love with Ellie almost immediately in The Last of Us, so by episode 7, we were ready for more backstory on the character. As we learn in the flashback episode, Ellie was a student in FEDRA school prior to the start of the season, where she had one friend named Riley (Storm Reid).

In the episode, Riley returns after running away from FEDRA and reveals to Ellie she’s joined the Fireflies. Before she leaves to go to Atlanta to join another group, however, she and Ellie share one last night together, breaking into and running around an abandoned mall. Together, they ride on the carousel, dance around in Halloween masks, and play games at the arcade. Clearly, Ellie and Riley are more than just friends and even end up sharing a kiss that night. But soon after, their lives are turned upside down when they are attacked by an infected and both get bitten.

At this time, Ellie has no idea she’s immune, so the girls think they’ll just die together. Of course, that’s not what happens, and Ellie has to learn that she’s special the hard way. The episode doesn’t show Riley’s death, though it’s implied. And we don’t need to see it to know how upsetting it is. Ellie lost the most important person in her life, which changes her forever.

5 and 4. Bill and Frank

The third episode of The Last of Us came out and changed everything we thought we knew about video game adaptations or post-apocalyptic shows. It proved that this series is not only action-packed and thrilling but also deeply moving and compelling. Here, we get to meet Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) in another flashback episode, two lovers who die by suicide after one gets sick. Through their travels, Joel and Tess meet the two men and form a friendship with them as they trade goods.

For most of the episode, we get to see how Bill and Frank meet, how they fall in love, and of course, how they die. Can I just say I was never expecting to cry as much as I did going into this episode? The writers did a tremendous job weaving such a beautiful love story in such a short amount of time, making viewers attached to the characters in a way other shows can’t achieve in full seasons.

Bill and Frank’s deaths are heartbreaking, but their love story certainly lives on.