Attention!!! The article contains spoilers on the sixth episode of The Last of Us
Entitled “Left Behind“, episode 1×07 of the tv series The Last of Ushas seen Storm Reid in the role of Rileythe best friend of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) from the Boston Quarantine Zone. After dragging a Joel (Peter Pascal) wounded in a hidden location, the story goes back in time before our protagonist’s journey across the country to find the Lights.
When Riley back to the FEDRA school after a long absence, door Ellie out for a fun evening at the mall where, already in the first few episodes, the consequences had been hinted at.
Speaking to Variety, Storm Reid has addressed the homophobic criticism the television series has received The Last of Us
The actress recalled her colleague’s previous response Bella Ramsey:
“As Bella said when the third episode came out: if you don’t like it, don’t watch it. We are telling important stories; we’re reporting on people’s experiences, and that’s what I live for. That’s what makes storytelling good, because we’re telling stories about people taking up space in the world. It’s 2023. If you care about who you love, then you need to get your priorities right. There are so many other things to worry about in life. Why do they care that these young people – or anyone else – love each other? Love is beautiful, and for people to argue with it is just nonsense.”
Although the original video game of The Last of Us includes queer characters, the HBO adaptation (available in Italy on Sky and the streaming platform Now Tv), considerably improves their representation – particularly in the much-vaunted episode 3, which takes up the relationship between Bill e Frank and expand it further.
In the first game of 2013, Joel ed Ellie meet with Bill and the three go in search of a working car engine and, in the process, discover the true feelings that Frank had for man. However, episode 3 of The Last of Us shows the full extent of the relationship between the two characters, played respectively by Nick Offerman e Murray Bartlettfrom their first meeting until their tragically romantic death.
Episode 3 was praised by critics and just a slice of the fans, who enjoyed the performances of the two actors and the writing. The co-creator of The Last of Us Craig Mazin he purposely eschewed clichés to provide an honest portrayal of a same-sex relationship. However, a strong minority took aim at the episode on social media and bombarded the series with negative reviews. Offerman e Ramsey they then targeted this slice of viewers, responding to criticism.
Episode 7, “Left Behind“, directly adapted the post-launch downloadable content of the same name from the original video game, which chronicles the last night together of Ellie e Riley. The story confirms the sexual identity of the protagonist through the romantic kiss with Riley after a dance in an abandoned mall. Soon after the episode aired, fans took to social media praising the chemistry between the actors on screen and the positive portrayal of The Last of Us of a homosexual relationship. But, like its predecessor, this episode also came under fire.
