The Last of Us episodes ‘review-bombed’ by homophobic trolls

Series has drawn wide acclaim for its handling of LGBT+ storylines

Murray Bartlett as Frank in ‘The Last of Us' (HBO)

HBO’s TV adaptation of The Last of Us has been “review-bombed” by trolls, seemingly due to its LGBT+ content.

“Review-bombing” is a term used to describe when people post negative reviews of a film, TV series or video game en masse, in a coordinated effort to lower its rating on aggregator websites.

On IMDB, the episodes of The Last of Us that centred around queer storylines show signs of review-bombing.

Episode three of the hit post-apocalyptic series, titled “Long, Long Time”, focused on the same-sex love affair between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett). The episode received widespread acclaim, and was praised by critics and viewers alike for its touching narrative.

Episode seven, meanwhile, titled “Left Behind”, focused on the romance between young lovers Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Riley (Storm Reid).

Both episodes are the lowest-rated instalments of the series on IMDB, with scores of 8 and 7.4 respectively.

“Long, Long Time” received more than 211,000 votes – over twice the amount any other episode received – in what is a very likely sign of review-bombing.

This is not the first time that The Last of Us has provoked the ire of online trolls with its LGBT+ representation.

Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman in ‘The Last of Us’ (HBO)

When the 2020 video game The Last of Us Part II was released, it became the subject of a similar review-bombing campaign, with trolls criticising a prominent new female character and the inclusion of a trans character.

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While The Last of Us season one drew to a conclusion last week, its creators have confirmed that a second season is already in the works, which will adapt The Last of Us Part II.

However, due to the game’s length and scope, the story will be split over multiple seasons.

In the UK, The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky and NOW.