The newest episode of The Last of Us was beautiful/sweet/charming/tragic/the most stressful hour of television to date, and fans have had a lot to say about it.
The episode's story follows Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in a flashback to her time training to be a FEDRA soldier, and when her BFF Riley (Storm Reid) joins the Fireflies, the two of them go on a wild one-night-only adventure as a way to say goodbye.
They tromp around an ALLEGEDLY abandoned mall, and if you can get past the feeling of impending doom, then it's a really sweet episode.
After a few hours riding carousels, playing arcade games, and dancing precariously on glass display cases, the two recognize their feelings for each other and share a sweet, sapphic kiss.
Wellllll, if you're thinking the homophobes got their hackles raised like they did when Episode 3 dropped, then *ding ding ding* you're a winner, baby! It's 2023 and we can't have anything nice.
But Storm Reid was not having it. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly addressing the backlash, she said, "There's so many other things to worry about in life. Why are you concerned that these young people — or anybody — love each other? Love is beautiful, and the fact that people have things to say about it, it's just nonsense."
But she's not letting the haters get her down. "I don't care because I'm proud of what we did and I'm proud of the story that we told and I'm proud of the people that we're representing."
And representation is something that is at the front of Storm's mind. "I'm not only representing women. I'm representing young Black women and I'm representing young queer women that are experiencing new feelings and new relationships."
Fans were in agreement that even though the episode ends with both young women getting bit by an infected in the mall (OF COURSE), the episode is beautiful:
ellie being the only person riley wanted to share this with and knowing exactly the things ellie would enjoy like this was the cutest post apocalyptic date
bella ramsey as ellie looking at storm reid as riley in this the last of us scene is what really sent me over the edge
objectively it’s incredibly romantic // we can just be poetic and shit and lose our minds together #TheLastOfUs
the chemistry between bella ramsey and storm reid is SO GOOD #TheLastOfUsHBO
"You mattered to me first." #TheLastofUs
she held her so tight i bet it was like that unil the end wtf :( #tlou