The Last of Us’s gay love story breaks new ground for an entire genre

Contents:

• HBO’S THE LAST OF US IMPROV ON THE GAME’S IMPLIED GAY ROMANCE
• THE LAST OF US’ GEO GAY LOVE STORY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY
• ‘THE LAST OF US’ CONFIRMED THAT BILL WAS GAY YEARS AGO
• THE LAST OF US FOUGHT BACK AGAST THE PAFUL BURY YOUR GAYS TROPE. IT PAID OFF
• HBO’S ‘THE LAST OF US’ SERI WILL SHE A SPOTLIGHT ON GAY UPLE BILL AND FRANK
• ARE BILL AND FRANK GAY THE LAST OF US? RELATNSHIP EXPLAED
• THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE
• THAT ‘THE LAST OF US’ GAY LOVE STORY IS GROUNDBREAKG

HBO’S THE LAST OF US IMPROV ON THE GAME’S IMPLIED GAY ROMANCE

Bill is gay the game, but ’s referenced so vaguely that plenty of players missed . The cisn to keep muted, hted at a sgle le of dialogue and a hidn letter, was both praised and cricized — was easy to overlook, but also avoid a lot of gay-character trop, and allowed Bill to be a human and not “a maniftatn of sexualy, ” as Polygon’s Danielle Rien put at the time. The game’s storyle don’t avoid trop altogether, though: It was cricized for “buryg s gays.

What we got stead was a psule episo, and a particularly bracg one, given the show’s opprsively bleak mood th far: The hour is dited to the love story of Bill and Frank, a gay uple who—due ially to Bill’s skills as a bunker-stockg, booby-trappg, Don’t Tread on Me survivalist—manage to build a largely happy existence together an abandoned and eventually fortified ral hamlet for almost 20 years. Wh Bill and Frank, we were given a portra of love—specifilly gay love—that feels surprisg and urgent. In our own 2023, we are not exactly lackg for media imag of whe gay men.

For one thg, we see gay sire portrayed all s plexy, but wh a touch as light as a breeze playg through curtas. Bill’s is not a “type” of gay man I n say I’ve ever seen mastream media before, and watchg him slowly reveal and epen that aspect of himself wh Frank’s help—sexually, y (Hollywood: more hairy bear love scen please! But Bill and Frank create somethg else, a ltle oasis of their own that’s regnizably gay, full of quiet bety and joys the size of new strawberri.

THE LAST OF US’ GEO GAY LOVE STORY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY

Frank wants to fix up the block and some of the “not stupid” shops—the we and furnure stor, the clothg boutique—bee he hop they might one day have unfected guts (which they eventually do, the form of Joel and Ts), but really bee makg thgs nice, pecially when nicens isn’t valued, is one of the great gay llgs. As an echo of the gay experience wh AIDS, is, as veteran activist Peter Staley put a Facebook post, a ftg tribute to the “tenr love & bravery gay men summoned when facg ath durg the plague years, cludg those who did so on their own terms.

How powerful, then, to see not only a gay uple given an entire hour of a marquee show, but a gay uple who are held up as the keepers of civilizatn, as stewards of bety, as emblems of human digny and possibily. The show is already garnerg high praise for s third episo, which lved ep to a si story wh two gay characters at s re. Several more gay characters are sttered among the game’s st, and future episos — and seasons — will see the h characters realized live-actn for the first time.

‘THE LAST OF US’ CONFIRMED THAT BILL WAS GAY YEARS AGO

Ellie Image via Nghty Dog That’s right, the lead character The Last of Us is part of the gay muny.

The character’s sexualy is hted at the Last of Us gam, and many players termed that he was gay, but players didn’t get nearly the romance the origal that HBO livered wh “Long Long Time. Acrdg to crics who have seen the show, we're gettg a whole lot more of The Last of Us' gay characters than we Last of Us follows Joel and Ellie as they travel across a post-apolyptic Ameri tryg to avoid fung-fected zombi.

You may be able to fd the same ntent another format, or you may be able to fd more rmatn, at their web of you reprentativ om the Miserable Onle League is gonna start somethg about Nick Offerman playg someone gay and I want to remd you he is married to Megan Mullally which qualifi as a gay marriage— nolan (@anxluxe) January 30, 2023Philip Ellis is News Edor at Men's Health, verg fns, pop culture, sex and relatnships, and LGBTQ+ issu. “Long Long Time” has sparked several plats om the worst si of Twter about how The Last of Us allegedly shoehorned a gay relatnship. But the fact is Bill has always been gay.

THE LAST OF US FOUGHT BACK AGAST THE PAFUL BURY YOUR GAYS TROPE. IT PAID OFF

So yeah, Bill has always been gay. The Last of Us actor Nick Offerman lash back at a Twter er who was attackg the show for s portrayal of a gay uple Episo 3.

HBO’S ‘THE LAST OF US’ SERI WILL SHE A SPOTLIGHT ON GAY UPLE BILL AND FRANK

This is due to people floodg the se wh one-star ratgs due to the portrayal of a gay uple. Moral stance towards gay or lbian relatns the Uned Stat 2022.

Moral views on gay or lbian relatns the Uned Stat 2001-2022.

Victims of anti-homosexualy hate crim U. While Bill and Frank’s mise is undoubtedly tragic, the nature of their ath The Last Of Us flips the script on the pervasive pop culture trope of ‘bury your gays’, which queer characters are killed off at a disproportnate rate, often needlsly btal ways.

ARE BILL AND FRANK GAY THE LAST OF US? RELATNSHIP EXPLAED

The Last of Us took a risk on givg s gay uple a new narrative. Episo three was review-bombed after highlighted a gay relatnship. If you don't want to watch the show bee has gay storyl, bee has a trans character, that's on you, and you're missg out.

THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE

Through light dialogue and bs of addnal ntext you fd around Bill’s home and the neighborg abandoned town, players fd out that Bill is a gay man who was tryg to survive wh his now-ceased partner, Frank.

THAT ‘THE LAST OF US’ GAY LOVE STORY IS GROUNDBREAKG

This article was origally published on our sister se, Gaymg Magaze. Ty is Gaymg Magaze’s puty edor and ports expert.

So, are Bill and Frank gay The Last of Us?