The Last Of Us Episode 3 Is The Best Example Of Queer Representation I’ve Ever Seen On Screen

HBO’s The Last of Us is fast becoming one of the best shows of this entire decade

The White Lotus The Last of Us Pedro Pascal Bella Ramsey Nick Offerman Murray Bartlett

the last of us writers were like “hey joel needs a car. what if we write the most touching and heartbreaking hour of television in the world”

— zach silberberg (@zachsilberberg) January 30, 2023

The Last of Us

Last night watching the last of us episode 3 🥹 pic.twitter.com/wweULg0EOK

— P (@paolaprietovv) January 30, 2023

too

My pussy caught fire pic.twitter.com/ZcbETYj1Hp

— David Naber (@DavidYoNeighbor) January 30, 2023

wholesome

Last of Us casually dropping a devastating post-apocalyptic queer love story. It’ll vacuum up the Emmy’s and it absolutely should. pic.twitter.com/H3BX4ComlK

— Kevin Groh (@kgrohh) January 30, 2023

that real

gay marriage was never legalized in the last of us universe so bill and Frank getting married meant the fuckin world and more #TheLastOfUs pic.twitter.com/EVy4JL6D9V

— m (@GAM3R90RL) January 30, 2023

I have very strong feelings about this week's 'The Last of Us' and the changes it makes to the game, particularly turning nuanced queer storytelling into condescending manipulative gay awards bait. https://t.co/dqYYYmUUoM

— the morally corrupt juan barquin (@woahitsjuanito) January 30, 2023

own The White Lotus Squid Game “gays suffering” “gays dying” could’ve The Last of Us us that This

i'm glad the show made you feel something positive. I'm sorry for your loss.

— isadora (@oisadola) January 30, 2023

just finished tonight’s episode of the last of us pic.twitter.com/ewa5XD9n0c

— nat (@missratalie) January 30, 2023

The Last of Us

People already mad about the Last of Us getting gay while knowing the show’s going to get Even Gayer pic.twitter.com/XBQIoolJHO

— gianni (@Giannit) January 30, 2023

The post The Last Of Us Episode 3 Is The Best Example Of Queer Representation I’ve Ever Seen On Screen appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .

— a claim that has been cemented by one of its best episodes to date, “Long Long Time” (Episode Three). I’ve truly never had a piece of television move me so much. Now is over, has swung in as HBO’s latest hot and sexy offering that has everyone tuning in at once. It’s based on the 2013 video game of the same name which follows characters Joel (played by in the show) and Ellie (played by ) as they make their way through a post-apocalyptic United States. Episode three however switched things up a bit by putting almost all of the focus on Bill (), a doomsday prepper and conspiracy theorist, and his heartwarming relationship with Frank (daddy ), a survivor who strayed away from the Boston QZ. In the game, Joel and Ellie meet up with Bill (who is very much alive) as he owes Joel a couple of favours. Yes, he’s also a fully stocked-up doomsday prepper there too. Yes, he is also gay. However, we never get to see Frank as it’s implied he left Bill and ended up dead somewhere. Now let’s talk about why episode three is some of the most stunning queer representation ever put to screen. Firstly, the episode takes something so small about a character and fleshes it out with care, time and so much tenderness. is about so much more than mushroom zombies and shooty shooty action — it’s about how humans connect, work together and even turn on each other in the direst of situations. Through meeting Frank, we see Bill slowly open up and get to be himself for the first time in years. For so long he has been surviving (exceptionally well) and has been completely self-sufficient. He doesn’t need anybody. Frank shows Bill the love and affection he has been craving all his life. He brings purpose to his world. I mean, if Murray Bartlett was on my bed like that I would open up, but alas. The sex scene between the pair is really more of a slow and tender love scene. The show never cuts away to get to some sort of action scene, and instead revels in the patience and care these two men are showing each other. Something like this is rarely ever put to screen, especially in a goddamn zombie apocalypse show. The dialogue and the actions taken in this moment just really exemplified how queer relationships can be. I was MOVED. And then we see the two age together. Year after year the pair grow stronger and stronger, making connections, caring for plants around them and even redecorating the house. More importantly, they’re looking after each other. This episode really exemplified what it means to love and to live. Being alone in this world, you’re just surviving. However, with Frank by his side, Bill was given purpose. He was protecting someone he loved. He was happy. Don’t even get me started on their last moments with each other or I may start openly weeping. It hurts even worse when you remember they got married on their final day together despite marriage not even being legal at the time. Now is queer defiance and resilience. That is what it means to be queer even in a post-apocalyptic setting. It was beautifully written and gorgeously acted, and it meant so much to me and my partner watching it. Really, that’s what matters when showing queer love on the screen: that it feels to actual queer people. I want to briefly talk about the fact that some queers took issue with the episode and called it “manipulative gay awards bait”. While I’m not going to argue too deeply with a clearly inflammatory response (which could be called “bait” itself), I will say that it feels trivial to reduce this important piece of television to something that could “win an Emmy”. Could it? Absolutely. Does it fucking matter? Not really. What matters is that a show like this took a massive chunk of time to flesh out and explore two queer characters and how their love for each other drove them to survive. We saw these characters fight, connect and disagree, but more importantly, we saw them grow old together and die on their terms. This wasn’t the usual “fancy gays are so wicked and debaucherous” kind of representation that we usually see (I’m looking at you and ), nor was it the or trope asking us to go for another swing around the trauma pole. I mean, it very well been given the circumstances of ‘ world, but goddamn it, it wasn’t, and that means something. I just feel like if a TV show can make my boyfriend cry and want to come closer to me while we watch it, as it shows people like getting old together, making a home together and thriving against all fucking odds, shouldn’t be called a “huge fucking mistake” but hey, I’m just one guy. Let’s not forget the show didn’t take an “egregious pivot” to offer up some “woke” kind of representation. Bill in the game was really only queer in optional letters and throwaway line(s) of dialogue. You could say this representation is more “real” because it isn’t “in your face”, but I didn’t even realise he was gay when playing the damn game. To go from to something as beautiful as this? Come on now. is the representation we need. Something visible, captivating and unlike anything we’ve seen before. Something heartbreakingly true to life. Something so fucking magical. Anyway, I hope all of you queers and straighties get ready, because has so much more gay shit coming our way. If the source material was already gay as hell I can only imagine how exquisite the show is going to be. Watch out for mushrooms and stay close to your queers. They’ve got survival skills.