Despite the widespread acclaim for its love story between Frank (Murray Bartlett) and Bill (Nick Offerman), The Last of Us episode 3 is suffering from a review-bombing campaign. HBO's The Last of Us is a true-to-form adaptation of the video game and follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with the latter being humanity's last hope of finding immunity to a Cordyceps fungal disease. However, episode 3 represented a change in focus for the series, as it followed Frank and Bill instead of Joel and Ellie. It narrates two men who survived the early days of the worldwide infection and came to fall in love amidst the devastation.
The Last of Us episode 3 heart-wrenchingly explores romance in a world of zombies and devastation, and it has earned the love of audiences and critics. Unfortunately, it has also earned the attention of review-bombers who went on IMDb to hammer the project by providing over 27,000 reviews rating the episode a 1 out of 10 at the time of this writing. The episode currently sits at an 8.0 rating - significantly less than the first two episodes, which hold a 9.2 and 9.3 rating, respectively.
Why The Last Of Us Episode 3 Is Being Review-Bombed
One of many reasons that the episode is earning love is that The Last of Us avoided anti-gay tropes by depicting a gay love story without unnecessary tragedy or violence against the central characters. Instead, Bill and Frank are allowed to grow old together and go out respectfully even amid an apocalypse. Their love story spans practically the entire episode and is the emotional undercurrent of a major arc in the show, and it's why reviewers are lashing out. Many of the comments on the episode speak out about the episode's "agenda," "pandering," and "alternate motives," and are largely driven by blatant homophobia.
While some of the reviewers discuss the episode slowing down the pace or shifting too far from the source material and Ellie and Joel's journey, homophobia is the undercurrent in many of the reviews, leaving the actual critiques feeling hollow. The Last of Us episode 3 changed expectations by providing a new way of looking at the apocalypse, so there is some cause to anticipate the massive backlash, but not the extent of it. However, with over 50 percent of reviewers rating the episode a perfect ten at the time of writing, the episode is still maintaining a solid 8.0 overall rating, despite the review-bombing efforts.
Why Review-Bombing Is On The Rise
The Last of Us isn't the only piece of media to be review-bombed, and it likely won't be the last. Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power suffered from a review-bombing campaign aimed at targeting its diverse cast and feminist representation. Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law also suffered from review bombs, leaving Ms. Marvel with a 6.2 overall rating on IMDb, with nearly 20 percent rating the show a 1 out of 10, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has a 5.0 with 30 percent rating the show 1 out of 10. The Last of Us episode 3 is still thriving despite the review-bombing, which is a great sign for the project as a whole.
Source: IMDb