Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for The Last of Us episode 6!

Joel and Ellie are encountering another fan-favorite video game character in The Last of Us episode 7 trailer. Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, the HBO adaptation of the beloved game has seen Joel and Ellie encounter their fair share of threats in their cross-country journey, namely Clickers, Bloaters and Melanie Lynskey's Kathleen. The duo finally got a positive step forward as Joel reunited with his brother, Gabriel Luna's Tommy, though even that came with some controversy.

As audiences continue to reel from Joel and Ellie's dangerous Colorado University visit, HBO has released The Last of Us episode 7 trailer.

The video, seen above, explores how Ellie will have to step up and protect her and Joel following his near-fatal stabbing during their fight with the cannibals occupying the area. The Last of Us episode 7 trailer also teases the long-awaited arrival of Storm Reid's Riley, one of the most iconic characters from the games.

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What The Last of Us Trailer Reveals About Episode 7

Riley smiling while going on the merry go round in The Last of Us

As promised by showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, HBO's The Last of Us has remained very close to the game's story, with episode 6 marking the first major setback for Joel and Ellie in their journey. Though seeing a heartwarming reunion between Pedro Pascal's Joel and Gabriel Luna's Tommy, it did still see the two put in a harrowing new position after encountering a group of bandits at Colorado University. Slightly deviating from the game, Joel found himself stabbed by one of the bandits, rather than landing on a piece of rebar, leaving the character mortally wounded.

The Last of Us episode 7 trailer indicates that the show will take a detour from the main story of Joel's recovery to explore Ellie's backstory, as was the case with the game's DLC, The Last of Us: Left Behind. The expansion pack chronicled both Ellie's efforts to find medical supplies to heal Joel from his stabbing, as well as exploring her relationship with Riley in the three weeks leading up to the game's start.

Storm Reid's Riley was a major part of the show's marketing and The Last of Us episode 7 trailer looks to establish her as a key guest character in the same vein as Luna's Tommy before her. With much of Ellie's backstory a mystery up to this point in the show, it will also be interesting to see if the new episode explores the first time she was bit by an infected, and thus learned of her immunity. Only time will tell when The Last of Us episode 7 premieres on February 26.

More: The Last Of Us Episode 6 Ending ExplainedSource: HBO