Who is Riley in The Last of Us​?

Last Modified Mar 19, 2025 05:16 EDT
Who is Riley in The Last of Us​?
Storm Reid as Riley (Source: Screengrab from the show)


Riley Abel is a fictional character in the American post-apocalyptic drama television series, The Last of Us. She is portrayed by the American actress Storm Reid in the series. Riley is a survivor who became friends with Ellie.


The Last of Us is an American series made by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO. It is based on the video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog.


Riley’s background in The Last of Us


Storm Reid as Riley, Who is Riley in The Last of Us​
Storm Reid as Riley (Source: Screengrab from the show)


Riley had a family and was born in October or November 2006. She was raised in the Boston quarantine zone at the FEDRA military preparation school because her parents passed away at some point. She made friends with Ellie Williams while she was there under Captain Kwong's leadership. She was fiercely protective of the girl and frequently fought with Bethany and other girls at the school who attempted to harm her.


Riley frequently slipped out at night to explore different parts of the city because she loathed her time at school. Kwong disclosed a month before Riley's seventeenth birthday that he intended for her to graduate as a FEDRA grunt, condemning her to a life of menial sewer work and subservience to officers. Marlene therefore caught sight of Ellie during her subsequent outing in the summer of 2023, while she was in military confinement for disobedience.


Marlene came up to Riley and complimented her skill in navigating the city and staying out of FEDRA's sight. Riley said that she hated FEDRA because she saw them as fascists when she was asked what she thought of them. Riley was then invited to join the Fireflies by Marlene. Riley accepted Marlene's offer because she wanted to achieve more with her life than be a FEDRA grunt.


For the next three weeks, Marlene placed Riley in the Liberty Gardens mall, which FEDRA had incorrectly identified as having a large number of sick people, to create homemade explosives to use at FEDRA checkpoints. Riley was also given a weapon by Marlene to carry with her. She spent an entire day cracking open the money dispensers in Raja's Arcade so they could play the arcade games together, since she wanted Ellie to join the Fireflies and was getting the mall ready for her arrival.


Marlene, however, dismissed that proposal aside and eventually told Riley that she planned to relocate her to the Atlanta zone with a Firefly squad. Riley left the mall to head back to the FEDRA school, worried that she might never see Ellie again.


Also Read : joel in the last of us


Riley’s character in the video game The Last of Us


Riley in The Last of Us​ video game, Riley in The Last of Us​
Riley in The Last of Us​ video game (Source: Screengrab from the game)


Riley Abel is mentioned in The Last of Us Part I and is the deuteragonist of The Last of Us: American Dreams and The Last of Us: Left Behind. Riley was a 16-year-old survivor from Boston who detested the military and frequently defended the Fireflies' allegedly extreme activities. She made friends with Ellie while she was living in Boston, and the two soon became close friends. In the game, she is voiced by Yaani King.


Who plays Riley Abel in The Last of Us series?


Riley Abel, who is Riley in The series
Storm Reid (Source: Storm Reid's Instagram)


Storm Reid plays Riley in The Last of Us season one. Reid made her acting debut in the 2012 television movie "A Cross To Bear," marking the beginning of her professional acting career at an early age. In the episode "Left Behind" of the HBO series The Last of Us, she played Riley Abel.


Also Read : Who is tommy in the last of us

FAQs about Riley in The Last of Us

A. Riley was shot at by Ellie after the former contracted the Cordyceps infection. 

A. Yes, Ellie has a crush on Riley in The Last of Us.

A. Riley is two years older than Ellie.

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