The Last of Us season 2: this non-negotiable choice already made by the director
The Last of Us is one of the biggest television hits of the first quarter of 2023. Season 2 has already been ordered by HBO despite some criticism from fans.
Neil Druckman, creator of the video game The Last of Usand showrunner of the eponymous adapted series, does not intend to let it go. After the monster success of the first season of The Last of Us, the series, broadcast on Amazon Prime Video by us, the second season has already been ordered by the American channel HBO. And, in fact, Neil Druckmann is sticking to some of his positions regarding this future second season. Even if it means disappointing -or even annoying?- a certain part of the fans.
In a recent interview given to GQ, Neil Druckman answered without detour and especially without language of wood concerning the anger of certain fans about some scriptwriting elements of the first season. In particular the gay romantic relationship between two secondary characters and the latent homosexuality of the heroine, Ellie. television series. “I don’t care! “, balances Neil Druckmann. “The way they [angry fans] react is completely beyond our control. How do you make the best TV version of this story? This is the challenge we try to meet every day”. For the game's creator and co-creator of the series, the anti-LGBT critics, including a bunch that can clearly be described as homophobic, from part of the fanbase of The Last of Us, are not within its purview. And must not hinder the artistic process of the future season. The showrunner seems intent on continuing to stick as close to the original material as possible for his television adaptation.
The Last of Us: homosexuality does not sit well with some fans
The on-screen representation of several characters from LGBT minorities was not at all to the taste of some fans. Just look at the hate reactions the episode centered on the characters of Bill and Frank received on the web and more especially social networks. It is worth remembering at this point that, in the second installment of the original video game, Ellie has a romantic relationship with Dina. A teenager of his age met during his journey. A fully assumed lesbian relationship in the game which had already caused ink to flow at the time of its release on consoles. It is not yet known if Dina will be present in season 2 of The Last of Us, the series, but theories suppose so. And, de facto, given that the first season of the show generally follows the storyline of the game to the letter, it is quite possible that the same will be true for the second season. We will therefore have to arm ourselves with courage to once again face review bombing (intentional bad ratings from homophobic trolls) on episodes showing homosexual love stories. This is the sad flip side of a series as popular as The Last of Us adapted from an ultra-popular video game. Success inevitably attracts a few bad apples along the way.
