Pretty much every fear people had about The Last Of Us and its live-action adaptation on HBO has been wiped out. The series is everything fans could’ve hoped for and more. We’ve had five episodes so far, and in those five, we’ve had faithful recreations of moments and the characters from the video game. But, we’ve also had an expansion of the characters and their world in a way that made its Naughty Dog creators, such as Neil Druckmann, very happy. However, the fear amongst fans was about the content of Season 2, which we know is coming as the series was renewed.
This hesitancy is because The Last of Us Part 2 wasn’t as fan-beloved as the original. Critics loved it and happily gave it every “Game Of The Year” award possible. But the fans weren’t as thrilled about it as they were. One of the biggest reasons, which we’ll go very light on spoilers for, is the story content in terms of what happens with certain storylines, characters, and moments. New characters also didn’t “ring true,” unlike in the first game.
But sadly, one big reason that “fans” didn’t like the game was the various orientations and gender identities of some of the people we met. Sadly, the hate the game got from that is a reflection of the world, and many are likely wondering if that hate will carry over.
But in the mind of star Bella Ramsay, it doesn’t matter. They can hate all they want, but the show will get made, and the cast and crew will do everything possible to make it as grand as season 1. In an interview with GQ, she spoke on the hate the game gets for these things:
“I know people will think what they want to think,” Ramsey said. “But they’re gonna have to get used to it. If you don’t want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that’s on you, and you’re missing out … It isn’t gonna make me afraid. I think that comes from a place of defiance.”
That gives fans another reason to think she’s the perfect Ellie because Ellie obviously would fight back against such haters.
That said, that doesn’t mean that Season 2 will play out exactly as the games did. As noted, they changed parts of the first game to expand the first season meaningfully. So season 2 may get the same treatment.
