Bella Ramsey, who has been praised a thousand times for their portrayal of Ellie Williams in The Last of Us, has hit out at homophobes who have not taken kindly to the representation of young romance in the latest episode.
Light spoilers for 'Left Behind' follow.
The Last of Us told the story of Ellie and Riley in a comic called American Dreams, and creator Neil Druckmann has said that Left Behind wouldn't have existed as a playable chapter of their story without the original inspiration. In the TV version, Ellie is stuck in a military school, despondent and rebellious following the disappearance of her close friend Riley three weeks ago. One night, Riley returns to reveal that she's been recruited to the Fireflies, the enemies of FEDRA, and the two escape the dorms to have a night of adolescent silliness and freedom in an abandoned mall.
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Check out the trailer for the penultimate episode below:
Bella Ramsey and Storm Reid's chemistry was absolutely adorable. Ellie's eyes were practically brimming with hearts every time she looked at Riley, and Riley was clearly using every chance she could to close the gap between the two of them. Dancing together, Ellie breathlessly asks Riley to stay with her and abandon the Fireflies and she agrees, sealing their promise with a kiss.
Unfortunately, there are a vocal proportion of so-called fans who have been offended by the presence of gay and lesbian relationships in the show. Might we remind them that these relationships are in the game already and are no reason to review-bomb an episode without actual intelligible criticism.
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"Why wouldn't there be gay storylines in a show like this?" said Ramsey in an interview with Sky News. "I'm so glad that HBO are doing it, and I know it was something that Craig [Mazin - the show's co-creator] was really passionate about."
"It's in the game, like the Ellie and Riley stories in the game and Bill and Frank is hinted at in the game. I think it's really cool. Just because of the apocalypse doesn't mean that gay people don't exist."
Their cool and collected approach to these people's opinions is refreshing, and the actor said that this is in fact born of being immersed in the story of the show as a contained personal experience, rather than a multimillion global production.
"I sort of forget when we're filming that it's going to be on the screen and people are going to watch it, never mind that it will go really well, and millions of people will watch it," they responded. "I think if I was aware of that, I'd be scared every day."
Featured Image Credit: HBOTopics: TV And Film, The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog