Following a divisive second season of HBO Max’s The Last of Us, actor Bella Ramsey (who plays Ellie in the show) has come forward with a clear message for those with loud criticisms of the show: They can play the game instead.
Speaking during an episode of The Awardist podcast, Ramsey admitted to avoiding the online backlash following Season Two’s finale. “I tried to steer clear as much as I could, to be honest,” Ramsey said. “Because there’s nothing I can do about it anyway. The show is out. There’s nothing that can be changed or altered. So I’m like, there’s not really any point in reading or looking at anything.”
“People are of course entitled to their opinions,” Ramsey added, “But it doesn’t affect the show, it doesn’t affect how the show continues or anything in any way. They’re very separate things to me. So no, I just don’t really engage.”
Ramsey provided a clear message for those who had strong negative opinions on Season Two going into Season Three, stating that they “don’t have to watch it” and that “If you hate it that much, the game exists. You can just play the game again.”
To the fans’ credit, The Last of Us has had a rough time as of late, not only receiving some valid criticisms on how the series altered certain events of its source material, such as, SPOILERS AHEAD, making it so that Mel’s death at the hands of Ellie was now an accidental one, reducing what was originally a heart-wrenching point in the game that cemented Ellie’s descent into darkness into just a mere mishap in an effort to try and make audiences sympathise with her.
Add that to the fact that Season Three, which will now be helmed solely by showrunner Craig Mazin following Naughty Dog franchise creator Neil Druckmann’s departure, will focus on Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever), an often misunderstood character that most are quick to hate due to the character – once again, SPOILERS AHEAD – brutally murdering Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) in both Season Two and the second game, The Last of Us Part II.
To this end, Mazin had some words on those fans who kept asking “Why did you kill Pedro Pascal?” “[Neil Druckmann] did a thing [in the game]. Everyone lost their sh*t, and then I had to do that same thing, because he did the thing. I loved doing the thing, I thought it was great,” he said during a media panel with Variety.
“The big complaint that I’ve gotten is, ‘Why did you kill Pedro Pascal?’ And I keep explaining, we didn’t kill him! He’s a man, he’s alive. He’s fine. And he’s in literally everything else. So I don’t know what the problem is!”
Despite what fans might think of the show, Ramsey’s words still ring true, as those who found issues with the adaptation can simply go straight to the – arguably superior – source, and engage with the narrative of The Last of Us via the two games. For those who wish to stick with the HBO Max series to see how it adapts, or changes, Abby’s tale, they are still in for quite a wait, as Season Three is only expected to premiere sometime in 2027, although according to Mazin, it’s set to be the longest season yet.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Ting Wei
