Warning: The following episode contains spoilers for The Last of Us, Episode 7: “Left Behind.”
Anyone who’s been keeping up-to-date with the thrilling adventures of Joel and Ellie from HBO’s The Last of Us will already be well aware that the show’s third episode, “Long, Long Time,” severely lacked in dad jokes from the astounding comedic duo. That’s because the entire focus shifted for a full 50 minutes to Nick Offerman’s Bill, whom gamers will know from Naughty Dog’s PlayStation Exclusive as a hardened survivor that Joel and Ellie fatefully cross paths with on their way to the Firefly base camp.
In the game, Bill is an invaluable ally to the pair, providing them with resources and information. Offerman’s portrayal is switched up slightly in the television adaptation, but the lore remains the same. It was implied in Naughty Dog’s rendition that Bill is gay, evidenced by the way he refers to his former partner, Frank, whom we meet in the HBO version as Murray Bartlett.
Without reopening old wounds too soon, the long and short of it is that Bill and Frank gradually fall in love and live a long, prosperous and satisfying life together. In their old age, Frank develops an incurable illness that’s slowly killing him, therefore the couple decide to gracefully die together — as the universe intended. It’s a sweet, heart-wrenching story, especially for members of the LGBTQ+ community, who are drastically underrepresented in modern media.
Naturally, the episode received backlash from those who deemed Bill and Frank’s prelude “boring” and made it clear that the episode will be “skippable” during a rewatch. It seems with The Last of Us‘ latest episode, “Left Behind” (which cleverly borrows its title from Naughty Dog’s DLC of the same name), that history is repeating itself.
Ellie’s childhood best friend will be familiar to those who’ve indulged in the DLC. In the side story, the aforementioned Riley brings Ellie to an abandoned mall inside Boston. While inside, the pair play Mortal Kombat, hunt through various stores and even find themselves a photo booth to freeze their memories forever. Throughout the episode, we slowly come to realize that Ellie has romantic feelings for Riley, which come to a head when she boldly leans in to kiss her. Although she apologizes profusely afterwards, Riley reassures her that she has nothing to be sorry for. That’s when things take a turn for the worse and the girls are ambushed by a pack of Runners. In the end, both of them get bitten, which then leads to the reveal that Ellie is immune.
In regards to the criticism aimed at “Long, Long Time,” Ramsey gave a recent interview to GQ UK. She made it clear that she isn’t fazed by the opinions of others, nor does she find the time to rise to the close-minded view on progressive representation for all. Ramsey made a statement that took pity on those who’ll be missing out on The Last of Us merely based on homophobic ignorance.
“I know people will think what they want to think. 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.”
Speaking to Vanity Fair, newcomer Storm Reid (Riley) touched on the fact that “Left Behind” will undoubtedly trigger some homophobic backlash, just like “Long, Long Time” did a few weeks prior. In the spite of that, she stands in alliance with Ramsey and her previous comments, urging that there’s so many bigger problems in the world than same-sex content on television. She also mentions how they’ll be a lot more positivity than negativity in response to “Left Behind” and any future developments in Ellie’s character — who’s canonically lesbian. And Reid has stood by this mindset for several other interviews, never once changing her tune.
“I think Bella put it perfectly a couple of weeks ago: “If you don’t like it, don’t watch.” There’s so many other things to worry about in the world. I think being concerned about who people love is just absurd to me. I just don’t — I will never understand it. I don’t get it. I think despite what people are going to say, if they don’t like it, I think there are going to be a lot more people that appreciate it. A lot more people that feel represented and seen and heard. So that’s what matters. That’s where the work comes in. And that’s when it’s appreciated, and you prioritize looking at those tweets rather than the ones that aren’t the best.”
And there you have it; Bella Ramsey and Storm Reid are in full support of HBO’s sensitive and inclusive treatment regarding LGBTQ+ themes on the show. If “Long, Long Time” and “Left Behind” are any indication, the second season will be adapting The Last of Us: Part II to a T, which means it’s only getting gayer from here.
