Homophobic The Last Of Us viewers desperate to believe Ellie and Riley were just friends

The latest episode of The Last of Us, 'Left Behind,' told us the story of Ellie and Riley's relationship and how Ellie found out that she was immune to the infection.

Spoilers for that episode will follow. You've been warned.

Originally, Ellie and Riley were introduced in a comic called American Dreams, and this was then built out into a DLC for The Last of Us. When Ellie was enrolled in the military school in the quarantine zone, she soon became despondent following the disappearance of her closest friend Riley. However, Riley returns three weeks later, revealing she's been recruited to the Fireflies and that she's got one last night to spend with Ellie before she's stationed somewhere else.

'When We Are In Need,' the penultimate episode of the show, is airing this Sunday in the US. Check out the trailer here:

Gambolling in an abandoned mall, Ellie and Riley's clear chemistry comes to the fore. Actors Bella Ramsey and Storm Reid floored fans with their deft and adorable approach to portraying teenage romance, and that kiss was the culmination of countless stolen glances, impulsive hand holds and competitive cheekiness across the episode.

That best friend stare. #TLOU pic.twitter.com/eDDp10nxbZ

— HBO Max (@hbomax) February 25, 2023

It is regrettable, at the very least, that this scene was deleted from versions of 'Left Behind' that aired in countries that have stringent laws against homosexuality. And now, a few homophobic viewers seem to see that relationship between the two girls as nothing more than platonic. This hasn't been helped by the official HBO Twitter account posting a shot of Ellie and Riley gazing at each other on the carousel and captioning it, "that best friend stare."

"So 99% of couples in media can be heterosexual, but the minute there’s one or two queer relationships or characters in a show, that’s too much for y’all? Really?" argued one in the series' subreddit. A viewer even compared Ellie and Riley's kiss to a mother and daughter interaction as Ellie wouldn't have survived for long without Riley's assistance. Which is too much to unpack this Thursday. They must be exhausted over the exertion of the mental acrobatics required to reinterpret a romance between two girls to be in fact a sign of very dear friendship.