Two episodes of The Last Of Us have been review-bombed seemingly due to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ storylines.
As per IMDb’s score system calculated from user ratings, the episodes Long Long Time and Left Behind have become the worst rated of the season.
The third episode Long Long Time, which follows Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank’s (Murray Bartlett) romance, has an 8.0 rating from over 211,000 reviews. The latter number far outweighs the amount of ratings for the rest of the season, with the closest being the premiere which has over 103,000.
Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Riley’s (Storm Reid) relationship in seventh episode Left Behind is the worst rated episode with a 7.4 average from over 57,000 reviews.
Speaking to GQ Magazine, showrunner Craig Mazin discussed the online blowback, referring to the third episode specifically which has been widely praised by critics.
“To the extent that the storylines move people to rage, confusion, or disappointment or anger,” Mazin said. “Well that, I suppose, is preferable to the worst possible outcome, which is indifference.
“There’s been a lot written about the third episode of the season, and it’s an episode we’re very proud of, and it moved a lot of people. It’s one of the lower-rated shows on IMDb for one reason – a lot of people came on and gave it a 1/10. Not 5/10. One. The median score on that episode is 10. And the mean is an 8 or something. And that’s because there are incredibly strong opinions one way or the other.
“But I would much rather have a show that lives off of 10s and 1s, than a show that lives off of 5s.”
The Last Of Us was renewed for a second season by HBO earlier this year, which will adapt the original game’s sequel The Last Of Us Part II.
In a four-star review, NME wrote: “Gamers have been burned before by poorly conceived adaptations of their favourite titles, so they were naturally skeptical. But they needn’t have been. The Last Of Us lacks novel ideas, but when it’s this good it can get away with it.”
