The Last Of Us praised for ‘breaking down boundaries’ of menstruation

Spoiler warning: this article contains mild spoilers for The Last of Us episode six - proceed with caution.

There’s no two ways about it - The Last of Us is incredible.

The show has been praised for its stellar casting choices (after the most recent episode, many believe that Gabriel Luna as Tommy is one of the best of all), and obviously, the narrative is also exceptional. The TV show’s shift away from combat has allowed it to shine even more than it did in the game.

Take a look at the trailer for the next episode of The Last of Us, ‘Left Behind’, below.

As LADbible reports, following the release of episode six, ‘Kin’, many viewers have been full of praise for the show’s handling of menstruation. In the episode, Tommy’s wife Maria gives Ellie a menstrual cup as a gift, and even though she initially laughs and says that it’s a strange gift, as Maria tells her, it’s an undeniably useful item for any menstruating person to have. Earlier in the season, Ellie expresses her delight after discovering a box of tampons in an abandoned building, so it’s implied that period products are pretty hard to get hold of in the world of The Last of Us.

“This scene from The Last of Us is another example of why I love it so much. Menstruation is a part of Ellie’s life, she’s 14 years old. The show is based on a video game, it would’ve been easy to play to trope, but between this and the celebration of queer love, it’s special,” @noodles_nood tweeted. “I can’t think of a better example of a show acknowledging basic biology and the needs of menstruation. It’s a zombie action post-apocalypse show based on a shoot-em-up video game and it’s doing a better job of breaking down boundaries than anything in recent memory.”

“One of the best aspects of The Last of Us show is that menstruation during a zombie apocalypse is finally a topic thats brought up,” wrote @kauljade. “I loved that they casually showed a menstrual cup in The Last of Us. Normalising menstruation one zombie show at a time!” said @lozzlemcfozzle.

Episode seven, ‘Left Behind’, will air on Sunday 26 February in the U.S., and Monday 27 February in the UK.