Even after hits like Arcane and Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners, it took HBO’s The Last of Us for mainstream critics to realize there might be something to the stories of these new-fangled “video games.” We’re now four episodes in, and the show has been a monster hit for the network, with episode three in particular lauded as a landmark hour of television for LGBTQ+ representation.
A big part of this is down to the strength of the show’s casting. Pedro Pascal is note-perfect as Joel, with supporting characters like Nick Offerman’s Bill, Murray Abraham’s Frank, and Anna Torv’s Tess all receiving universal acclaim (with whispers of awards season success in 2024 already building). For us, the show is anchored by Bella Ramsey’s Ellie, who has perfectly delivered the damaged yet determined center of the series.
Sadly some don’t agree, and their complaint boils down to the fact that she just doesn’t look much like Ellie’s in-game model. Now fans are hitting back at this shallow take:
This is probably the situation in a nutshell (Ellie is 14 you creeps!):
There was probably no pleasing these people to begin with:
We’d take issue with calling people like this “fully grown”:
Fortunately, there are some more reasonable critiques, though they do still boil down to the show being different from the game:
Even those who were initially skeptical are being converted and we suspect this number will grow as the show continues:
With The Last of Us now confirmed for future seasons, expect much more of Ramsey’s Ellie. The character takes center stage for the events of The Last of Us Part II, meaning that in coming seasons she’ll go on to become the show’s de facto lead character. Based on everything we’ve seen so far, Ramsey is going to smash this out of the park, and we can’t wait to see the character develop alongside her performance.