'The Last of Us' Has an Entire Episo Foced on Its Gay Characters

Contents:

• HOPEFULLY, THE LAST OF US TV SERI DON’T BURY ITS GAYS
• HBO’S THE LAST OF US GETS REVIEW BOMBED AFTER HISTORIC GAY EPISO
• HBO’S THE LAST OF US IMPROV ON THE GAME’S IMPLIED GAY ROMANCE
• THE LAST OF US’ GEO GAY LOVE STORY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY
• 'THE LAST OF US' STAR BELLA RAMSEY THKS 'S 'IMPORTANT' TO PICT LGBTQ LOVE A POST-APOLYPTIC WORLD: 'IT'S NOT LIKE ALL THE GAY PEOPLE GOT BLOWN UP'
• THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE
• ‘THE LAST OF US’ PRENTS AN ACHGLY BETIFUL GAY LOVE STORY
• JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU
• WAS BILL GAY THE LAST OF US GAME? RELATNSHIP WH FRANK EXPLAED
• THE LAST OF US LETS GAY LOVE FLOURISH THE APOLYPSE

HOPEFULLY, THE LAST OF US TV SERI DON’T BURY ITS GAYS

This post ntas spoilers for the Last of Us prequel game Left, sners, for the gay mhroom apolypse is upon ten years after the vio game of the same name buted, HBO Max's The Last of Us is g to the streamer next year — and the seri' first teaser trailer, which dropped on Monday, has given a peek at our queer a near-future U. In the game, Riley di almost immediately after she and Ellie kiss for the first time; that's generally not unexpected for survival horror, but a naked example of the "bury your gays" trope neverthels. Meanwhile, the characters Bill and Frank (Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett) are nonilly a gay relatnship — or at least were, as Frank is killed off screen before the events of the first game take place.

And Part II, players meet Lev, a trans man whose life is largely fed by parental and relig abe, and whose adname is repeatedly shouted by var 40-mute long Ntendo Direct showse had no shortage of gaymer-gasm, this is survival horror, so we shouldn't expect nice thgs or much of a life expectancy for anyone. And bee of this gay reprentatn on-screen, a ntgent of largely homophobic dience members have been quick to share s vrl.

Bill n’t exist whout beg gay Frank’s arms. Apparently the wrers thk Bill and Frank’s inty was jt that they were gay, nothg more than that.

HBO’S THE LAST OF US GETS REVIEW BOMBED AFTER HISTORIC GAY EPISO

Oh and that person jt happens to also be gay? "And jeroen-10631 even lled out the episo's haters, sayg review bombers should "be ashamed of themselv" and that "clearly the story of two gay men ma you so unfortable:""Some of the people mentg about “polil propaganda” and 'checkg off liberal box' should be ashamed of themselv.

Clearly the story of two gay men ma you so unfortable that you only subnscly realized you are so behd the tim and been raised rigid and immature while htg that '1 star' button.

All tak is a simple Google search to figure out that this is simply the act of homophobic ter trolls. In the game, while not overtly shown, Bill is gay. Bill is gay the game, but ’s referenced so vaguely that plenty of players missed .

HBO’S THE LAST OF US IMPROV ON THE GAME’S IMPLIED GAY ROMANCE

The cisn to keep muted, hted at a sgle le of dialogue and a hidn letter, was both praised and cricized — was easy to overlook, but also avoid a lot of gay-character trop, and allowed Bill to be a human and not “a maniftatn of sexualy, ” as Polygon’s Danielle Rien put at the time. The game’s storyle don’t avoid trop altogether, though: It was cricized for “buryg s gays. What we got stead was a psule episo, and a particularly bracg one, given the show’s opprsively bleak mood th far: The hour is dited to the love story of Bill and Frank, a gay uple who—due ially to Bill’s skills as a bunker-stockg, booby-trappg, Don’t Tread on Me survivalist—manage to build a largely happy existence together an abandoned and eventually fortified ral hamlet for almost 20 years.

THE LAST OF US’ GEO GAY LOVE STORY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY

Wh Bill and Frank, we were given a portra of love—specifilly gay love—that feels surprisg and urgent. In our own 2023, we are not exactly lackg for media imag of whe gay men. For one thg, we see gay sire portrayed all s plexy, but wh a touch as light as a breeze playg through curtas.

'THE LAST OF US' STAR BELLA RAMSEY THKS 'S 'IMPORTANT' TO PICT LGBTQ LOVE A POST-APOLYPTIC WORLD: 'IT'S NOT LIKE ALL THE GAY PEOPLE GOT BLOWN UP'

Bill’s is not a “type” of gay man I n say I’ve ever seen mastream media before, and watchg him slowly reveal and epen that aspect of himself wh Frank’s help—sexually, y (Hollywood: more hairy bear love scen please! But Bill and Frank create somethg else, a ltle oasis of their own that’s regnizably gay, full of quiet bety and joys the size of new strawberri.

THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE

Frank wants to fix up the block and some of the “not stupid” shops—the we and furnure stor, the clothg boutique—bee he hop they might one day have unfected guts (which they eventually do, the form of Joel and Ts), but really bee makg thgs nice, pecially when nicens isn’t valued, is one of the great gay llgs. As an echo of the gay experience wh AIDS, is, as veteran activist Peter Staley put a Facebook post, a ftg tribute to the “tenr love & bravery gay men summoned when facg ath durg the plague years, cludg those who did so on their own terms.

How powerful, then, to see not only a gay uple given an entire hour of a marquee show, but a gay uple who are held up as the keepers of civilizatn, as stewards of bety, as emblems of human digny and possibily.

‘THE LAST OF US’ PRENTS AN ACHGLY BETIFUL GAY LOVE STORY

Episo three of HBO's "The Last of Us" sparked homophobic backlash om some viewers. Homophobia has long been an issue the gamg muny and larger fandoms. The latt episo of HBO's vio-game adaptatn "The Last of Us" has been wily praised — but 's also spired fierce backlash, shg a light on what have been persistent issu the gamg muny and larger cultural fandoms: homophobia and anti-LGBTQ iology.

JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU

Sunday's episo, tled "Long, Long Time, " picts a gay romance between Bill, played by Nick Offerman, and Frank, played by Murray Bartlett. "Plenty more reviews acced the episo of phg LGBT "propaganda" or a "gay agenda. "Insir even received an email om a rear rponse to s story about the episo beg review-bombed, which further exemplifi this homophobia.

"The rponse om some homophobic fans to Sunday's episo nearly a after "gamergate, " a far-right onle movement agast "progrsivism" gamg, built on racism, sexism, homophobia, and of "gamergate" uld be seen cricism agast "The Last of Us Part II, " the 2020 vio game sequel, which Ellie's sexualy is further explored.

The episo tled "Long, Long Time" stars Nick Offerman as Bill, a character om the origal game who is implied to be gay. "It's not like all the gay people got blown up and don't exist anymore, you know what I mean?

WAS BILL GAY THE LAST OF US GAME? RELATNSHIP WH FRANK EXPLAED

Some er reviews on Metacric clud homophobic ments.

HBO's latt episo of "The Last of Us, " s new vio-game adaptatn, aired Sunday to wispread praise and imprsive the episo, tled "Long, Long Time, " is seemgly gettg review-bombed by angry, homophobic fans of the the review aggregator Metacric, the episo has a er ratg of 4. 9, the past, review-bombg — or when people liberately give a show or movie a low ratg to crease s sre on s like Metacric and Rotten Tomato — has typilly occurred for racist, sexist, or homophobic reasons.

Lookg through the er reviews, 's clear that some of the game's fans didn't like the episo's central love story between Bill, played by Nick Offerman, and Frank, played by Murray the game, 's evint that Bill is gay and had a relatnship wh Frank, who never appears HBO seri tak their relatnship a different directn: In a flashback, Frank across Bill's hoe after beg the lone survivor of a group travelg to the Boston quarante zone. MORE FROM FORBES'The Last Of Us' Season 1, Episo 3 Rep And Review: Bill And FrankBy Erik KaI’ve seen every possible reactn to this episo om rears, rangg om the same enthiasm I felt about to blatant homophobia, plag that ‘the gay agenda’ is beg ‘shoved down our throats’ (or the ‘woke agenda’ etc.

THE LAST OF US LETS GAY LOVE FLOURISH THE APOLYPSE

Another important pot: Bill and Frank were always prented as beg gay. His sensibily as a gay artist has shaped and elevated the magaze’s athetic, but he has to keep his creativy check lt Mx be seen as a magaze for gay men. But fish strong, as the nflict over Richie’s bathhoe project grows and Mx has to nsir whether ’s too risky for the magaze to speak to gay men, or even gay moments like this, the historil fictn feels not entirely historil.

After wng turns Lookg, Tal of the Cy and The Whe Lot, he’s fast beg one of the medium’s most proment gay the episo nears s end, and Frank be curably sick, the uple’s last scen together are profoundly movg. The episo is, among other thgs, a subversn of the much-cricised “bury your gays” trope.

Here, y, are two gay characters who die. “It was geo, and I was so not expectg , ” said Darn Lowenste, 41, a vio game nsultant, who is gay.