The Last of Us episode 7 is being review bombed amid LGBTQ+ backlash

The most recent episode of The Last of Us has been receiving almost universal critical acclaim, however, some viewers have taken issue with the episode and as a result, have begun reviewing bombing episode 7 online.

The recent episode of The Last of Us adapted a beloved DLC from the first game, Left Behind. The narrative provided a look into Ellie’s life before meeting Joel and told the story of how she was bitten, infected, and subsequently discovered she is immune to the virus.

The episode also features a kiss between Ellie and her former best friend Riley, the young love and budding romance between the two represented in the episode culminates in said bittersweet kiss.

However, some online users have seemingly taken issue with the LGBTQ+ representation, review bombing the episode on IMDB and thus, intentionally tanking its reception. While episode 7, Left behind does have almost 10,000 perfect scores on the site, it also has over 3,700 one-star reviews, making up almost 14% of overall reviews.

The only other episode of the show to have a high number of one-star reviews is Episode 3 of the show, which also centers on a queer romance.  On IMDB, Episode 3, Long, Long Time has over 50,000 one-star reviews, making up over 25% of the overall user scores.

As stated above, this isn’t the first time The Last of Us has been review-bombed online. In a recent interview with GQ, Ramsey spoke about the review-bombing after Episode 3, which explored the love story of Bill and Frank, and the inevitability of similar issues occurring in Season 2.

“If you don’t want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that’s on you, and you’re missing out… it isn’t gonna make me afraid. I think that comes from a place of defiance.”

Similarly, shows such as The Rings of Power have been subjected to this treatment in recent months, with Amazon even going so far as to put a time restriction in place for those wanting to review the show on Amazon Prime.

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