Written by series co-creator Neil Druckmann and directed by Liza Johnson, it aired on HBO on February 26, 2023.

A flashback follows Ellie as she spends time with her best friend Riley Abel (Storm Reid) in Boston.

Several months earlier, in Boston, Massachusetts, Ellie is an orphaned student at a military boarding school run by the Federal Disaster Response Agency (FEDRA).

Riley reveals the Fireflies are moving her to the Atlanta Quarantine Zone, and she brought Ellie to the mall to say goodbye.

[10] Druckmann and series co-creator Craig Mazin encouraged Johnson and cinematographer Ksenia Sereda to take liberties with the episode and not feel constrained to replicating the source material.

[10] For Riley's first appearance in the comic book The Last of Us: American Dreams, artist Faith Erin Hicks and developers at Naughty Dog created an original fictional arcade game, The Turning, to circumvent issues with licensing;[11] for the television series, Druckmann and Mazin were able to use Mortal Kombat II,[b] the game on which The Turning was based.

[1]: 12:47  The episode was originally written without any reference to Joel; producers at HBO requested a connection to the main story, like Left Behind had.

[13] She watched snippets of gameplay to understand the emotion, but otherwise avoided the game to ensure an original take on the role;[14] she wanted to "hone in on" the manner in which Riley moves and "took up space".

[18] The scene at the arcade was improvised; Ramsey and Reid were playing a working version of Mortal Kombat II.

Ramsey had not watched Ellie's infection scene prior to their performance, and afterwards noted their version was more angry than the game's fearful.

[1]: 38:27  Etta James's version of "I Got You Babe" was reused from the game; Druckmann felt the song's romantic lyrics hidden by joyous music mirrored the feelings of Ellie and Riley.

[24] Paino and his team built around 20 to 25 storefronts in the mall, each rundown versions of real businesses such as Foot Locker, Panda Express, and Victoria's Secret.

[20] Production moved in Okotoks in January, with added trees, grass, and snow; filming occurred in February.

[33] Good was concerned the flashback sequences required more context clues but ultimately found it more interesting to allow the audience to decipher the mystery.

[45] Several critics praised the visuals of the mall;[2][3] Den of Geek's Bernard Boo enjoyed the blend of artificiality and romance,[41] and Push Square's Aaron Bayne applauded its similarities to the game.

[4] Total Film's Bradley Russell found the opening sequence ethereal, mirroring Joel's fading consciousness.

[41][47] Ramsey and Reid's performances received praise;[47][48] Bleeding Cool's Tom Chang called them "award-worthy".

[40][41][42] Bleeding Cool's Chang and /Film's Rafael Motamayor considered the episode Ramsey's strongest to date,[2][49] and IGN's Simon Cardy and Push Square's Bayne found it an effective showcase of their acting talents.

[46] /Film's Motamayor wrote Reid "gives a memorable performance that ... sticks with you long after the credits roll",[2] and Push Square's Bayne felt she effectively captured Riley's sense of "youthful pride".

[4] Bleeding Cool's Chang felt the performances benefited from Johnson's experience in directing female-led drama series.

[46] Kotaku's Kenneth Shepard felt the replacement of The Turning with Mortal Kombat II was corporate-led and failed to recreate one of the game's strongest scenes.