The latest episode of The Last of Us, detailing Ellie and Riley's relationship before the present timeline of events, is being barraged with negative reviews on the girls' storyline.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first occurrence for The Last of Us, and it's not the only show to have suffered such an absurd reaction. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law's premiere was review-bombed before the episode had even released and it doesn't take a degree to work out what was the issue here. Indeed, one of the comic's writers said that it was the most "accurate" show in the entire MCU, so it's isn't a measure of whether or not it held up to the original material.
'Long, Long Time' featured Bill and Frank's comical though heartwarming romance, which becomes even more significant when you consider the time at which the apocalypse happens in the show compared to the game. Actor Nick Offerman, who plays Bill, slammed a homophobic fan on social media for their discourtesy, saying "Buddy, your brand of ignorance and hate is exactly why we make stories like this."
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Happily, both Bella Ramsey and Storm Reid have been unfazed by this unfounded backlash, however they shouldn't have to be dealing with these sentiments in this day and age. I won't be writing out anything critical that has been said about the two characters' lesbian romance but the negative responses can be found in the user reviews for the episode on Metacritic.
There have been comments on the fact that 'Left Behind' and 'Long, Long Time' could be called "filler" as they don't serve to propel the present storyline forward in any way. While objectively true, these episodes actually act to underscore development and themes in The Last of Us and grant us a greater understanding of why Joel and Ellie do the things that they do (no spoilers here).
Featured Image Credit: HBOTopics: TV And Film, The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog