With only one more episode left for season one of HBO’s The Last of Us, an otherwise highly scored adaptation has been hit with review bombs for its LGBT+ content.
It is no secret that HBO’s The Last of Us have created an adaptation that both mimics much-loved scenes from the game perfectly as well as putting their own spin on things.
This was seen in episode three which saw an entire episode dedicated to Bill and Frank. Despite being two characters we meet briefly in the game, seeing their love story play out was a heartbreaking addition.
More recently, this was seen in episode 7 which was dedicated to Ellie and her first friend and love, Riley. Although many of this episode’s scenes were taken directly from the game, some viewers were still not happy with the LGBT+ content.
Viewing figures
Episode three, titled ‘Long, Long Time’ currently sits at a 8.0 average score on IMDb. Similarly, episode seven ‘Left Behind’ sees a 7.4 average rating. The former consists of 26.1% one star ratings, whereas the latter has seen 14% one star ratings.
This news was recently discussed via a Reddit post.
With the other episodes in the season seeing much higher average ratings, it is no secret that these low scores could be a result of the same-sex love stories. However, some of these opinions have been masked by calling these episodes ‘filler’ that bring no impact to Ellie and Joel’s story.
Upcoming spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2
The Last of Us Bella Ramsey
With The Last of Us Part 2 featuring a relationship between Ellie and her girlfriend, Dina, questions are already being raised on how homophobic viewers are going to handle this. For Bella Ramsey, the actress who plays Ellie, they commented on the Internet’s hostility towards this storyline:
“I know people will think what they want to think. But they’re gonna have to get used to it. If you don’t want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that’s on you, and you’re missing out. It isn’t gonna make me afraid. I think that comes from a place of defiance.”
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