this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2024
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Nick Offerman Slams ‘Homophobic Hate’ Against His ‘The Last of Us’ Episode: ‘It’s Not a Gay Story. It’s a Love Story, You A–hole!’ (variety.com)
submitted 8 months ago by ZeroCool@slrpnk.net to c/moviesandtv@lemm.ee
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[–] 520@kbin.social 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Before the collapse of society, these two characters would not have been allowed to marry in the place where they live. It was only after societal collapse that they were free to be their true selves without discrimination or government oversight to tell them that their love was wrong.

Before the societal collapse, these people were early ~~teenagers~~ infants, if that. They never lived an adult life under such a regime, and have just as much an understanding about life in such a regime as hetero couples that did live under it: they probably heard about it, and know that on paper it was bad, but they never had to live it.

Ellie is 14 when we first meet her, some ~~6 months~~ 20 years after the collapse. She has zero understanding of what it was like to live under the pre-infection government.

Edit: initially got the time jump wrong. It's 20 years not 6 months

[–] psycho_driver@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

This whole thread is about the two middle aged guys who we meet somewhere around halfway through the first season, not the reveal that Ellie is gay near the end.

[–] 520@kbin.social 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Ah. Huh. In the games, specifically the first one, you not only get this info much earlier, you even get to meet her partner pre-infection, albeit in flashback form.

I thought it was this that would have gotten people pissy.

Still this episode is a nice addition IMO. Don't get why the pissiness, it's not like this is even anywhere near off-brand for TLoU.

[–] psycho_driver@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Honestly when I first watched it, having not played the games, I probably eye-rolled a little and thought about how recent streaming shows have been going full tryhard mode about incorporating LGBTQ characters into existing storylines, but then I learned that was how the original character was portrayed in the game and thought no more of it.

[–] 520@kbin.social 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Back when the game was first released, the inclusion of so many LGBT characters was pretty avant-garde (remember this was before things like Gamergate).

I don't doubt this helped the series gain the fanbase it has. Besides being an excellent game with a well written story and Nintendo ERD levels of technical wizardry, it gave a lot of LGBT people actual characters to connect to, out of a desperately small pool at the time