HBO’s highly anticipated adaptation of The Last of Us video game series premiered this past weekend, and as we expected, it’s already a hit. The first episode, titled “When You’re Lost in the Darkness,” is the second-most successful HBO premiere in the past 13 years, trailing right behind House of the Dragon. That’s pretty impressive, and we get the hype. The first episode is fantastic, and it only gets better from here!
The Last of Us takes place 20 years after a zombie apocalypse. Jaded after losing his daughter in the outbreak, Joel (Pedro Pascal) has been living in a quarantine zone and working as a smuggler alongside a woman named Tess (Anna Torv). When the pair is tasked with protecting a teenage girl named Ellie (Bella Ramsey), they have no choice but to follow through. Throughout the season, Joel and Ellie form a bond that fans of the best-selling video game have come to adore.
Fans of the game had been looking forward to seeing who would be cast as the iconic duo, and while most were excited to see Pascal as Joel, there were some negative reactions. And Pascal wasn’t the only one to receive blowback.
The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey (Ellie) unfairly attacked online
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Ramsey, 19, talked about how online criticisms over her casting as Ellie have affected her. Since her casting was announced, toxic fans of the game have been complaining that she doesn’t look like the fictional character, something that honestly shouldn’t even matter at all. Ramsey says she got into the bad habit of checking online conversations about her, noting: “It’s the first time I’ve ever had a negative reaction to something.”
There would be times I’d find it funny. Then I’d get to the end of a 10-minute scrolling session, put my phone down and realize: Maybe that was a bad idea.
Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, the creators of the show, felt Ramsey was perfect for the role of Ellie. Druckmann also developed the game, so I think he knows a thing or two about the characters. “We were looking for a specific combination of contradictions: Someone that can be funny and quirky, and violent and rough. I didn’t see Bella acting like Ellie — I saw Ellie,” he recalled about watching Ramsey’s audition tape.
Understandably, the negative reactions have hurt Ramsey’s self-confidence. “It’s only recently that I’ve accepted I am Ellie, and I can do it, and I am a good actor,” she said. “But this will last for a few weeks and then I’ll think I’m terrible again. That’s just the process.”
Ramsey has been a fantastic part of the HBO adaptation so far, and I can’t wait to see her and Pascal act alongside one another more in future episodes. Hopefully, the success the show has had so far and the positive reactions to her performance will help. But it can’t be easy.
The Last of Us releases new episodes every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max.
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