How HBO's The Last Of Us subverts the Bury Your Gays trope

Contents:

• ‘THE LAST OF US’ CREATOR REVEALS HOW HE CRAFTED THE GAY LOVE STORY THAT HAS FANS TEARS
• THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE
• THE LAST OF US FOUGHT BACK AGAST THE PAFUL BURY YOUR GAYS TROPE. IT PAID OFF
• THE LAST OF US LETS GAY LOVE FLOURISH THE APOLYPSE
• WAS BILL GAY THE LAST OF US GAME? RELATNSHIP WH FRANK EXPLAED
• ‘THE LAST OF US’ DIRECTOR SAYS HE WANTED TO ‘TRICK’ AUDIENCE INTO WATCHG GAY LOVE STORY
• BILL AND FRANK’S GAY LOVE STORY THE LAST OF US GAME IS PLETELY DIFFERENT
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS
• THE LAST OF US’ GEO GAY LOVE STORY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY
• THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE
• HBO’S THE LAST OF US IMPROV ON THE GAME’S IMPLIED GAY ROMANCE

‘THE LAST OF US’ CREATOR REVEALS HOW HE CRAFTED THE GAY LOVE STORY THAT HAS FANS TEARS

"[Their] story was ls about their homosexualy, and more about the fact that 's a middle-aged romance, " says the wrer. As happens, there are gay people, there are Black people, there are whe people, there are disabled people and there are af people.

All of those thgs happen whether you're gay or straight or anythg.

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

After wng turns Lookg, Tal of the Cy and The Whe Lot, he’s fast beg one of the medium’s most proment gay the episo nears s end, and Frank be curably sick, the uple’s last scen together are profoundly movg. The episo is, among other thgs, a subversn of the much-cricised “bury your gays” trope. Here, y, are two gay characters who die.

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. The Last of Us took a risk on givg s gay uple a new narrative. How The Last of Us creat a betiful oblivn for two gay men love.

The third episo of The Last of Us, “Long, Long Time, ” featur a gay love story between two characters, Nick Offerman’s doomsday prepper, Bill, and Murray Bartlett’s wanrg artist, Frank. Stori on TV featurg queer characters are routely mishandled, givg rise to the “Bury Your Gays” trope where queer stori are plagued wh unwarranted pa and ath, so ’s rehg that The Last of Us shows don’t have to be that outbreak ed massive loss of life and stctn across the world, but for Bill, who adms a letter to Joel that at one pot he hated the world and was happy everyone died, the zombie apolypse is a eeg experience.

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

It’s probably a safe bet that, before the apolypse, Bill chose to stay the closet bee he wanted to spare himself the judgment and discrimatn gay people face, not to mentn humane anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

But, thanks to the outbreak, all that disappeared overnight, and wh , seemgly, all of Bill’s fear about beg openly gay.

Episo 3 director Peter Hoar and wrer Craig Maz get pots for tellg an excellent story that looks at the zombie apolypse genre through a queer lens, showg how would uniquely (and unexpectedly) affect a closeted gay man, but they go one further by learng om mistak ma by other shows. *WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Last Of Us*The story of Bill and Frank is only briefly touched upon The Last Of Us vio game, but episo 3 of HBO’s adaptatn has dramatilly expand on their relatnship what is a notable viatn om the source enthrallg episo is filled wh tensn, joy and heartbreak as tells the pair’s story over almost two s, begng wh their first meetg after Frank fell to one of Bill’s follows is a betiful love story that has left fans wh a number of qutns, wh some askg whether Bill was gay The Last Of Us game self.

THE LAST OF US LETS GAY LOVE FLOURISH THE APOLYPSE

TERMINAL ILLNESS: FRANK’S FATE IN THE LAST OF US SERIES IS A HUGE DEPARTURE FROM ORIGINAL GAME© HBO | Liane HentscherWas Bill gay The Last Of Us game?

Y, Bill is nfirmed to be gay The Last Of Us vio game. Speakg The Last Of Us podst, Craig Maz reerated this pot, sayg: “This wasn’t a new ncept that Bill was gay, that’s the game. The long-anticipated third episo of The Last of Us troduced viewers to the gay love story between Bill (played by Nick Offerman) and Frank (played by Murray Bartlett) an terview whInverse, episo three director Peter Hoar explaed how he liberately “tricked” viewers to watchg a gay love story whout necsarily makg that clear straight away.

WAS BILL GAY THE LAST OF US GAME? RELATNSHIP WH FRANK EXPLAED

I would fely argue that Bill don’t e across as a gay man. ”Even though people who had played The Last of Us gam already knew of Bill’s gay love story, the TV adaptatn of the viogame seri is attractg a wir dience that isn’t necsarily aware of all the characters and storyl. If the TV adaptatn ntu to brg such high viewership numbers, there’s a very big chance that HBO will take the Game of Thron route and ntue to make seasons past the pot of havg enough source now, though, viewers are jt exced to keep watchg The Last of Us and see where this first season Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO and HBO Your Se Articl'The Last of Us' Has an Entire Episo Foced on Its Gay Characters ›'The Last of Us' Bill & Frank Episo Is One of This De's Bt ›'The Last of Us' Bill & Frank Episo Is One of This De's Bt ›'The Last of Us' Bill & Frank Episo Is One of This De's Bt ›Gay Episo of 'The Last of Us' Has an Unaired 2-Hour Director's Cut ›Here's Who Convced Nick Offerman to Play Bill 'The Last of Us' ›The LGBTQ+ Celebs Who Got Engaged 2023 (So Far) ›.

“The Last of Us” director Peter Hoar said he wanted to “trick” his dience to watchg a gay love story an episo of HBO Max’s new apolyptic, who is gay and is known for his work on the Brish LGBT+ miseri, “It’s a S, ” said that he wanted the viewers to see that was the “same love” as straight people, but jt between two guys, Inpennt UK reported. The Last of Us st open up about the gay love story episo 3. The Last of Us fans are cryg over the gay love story between Bill (Nick Offermann) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) episo 3 but 's very different the sce The Last of Us buted on HBO, viewers have been gripped by the show's emotnally rich storytellg.

The Last of Us fans are sobbg over Bill and Frank’s gay love story episo 3. Are Bill and Frank gay The Last of Us game?

‘THE LAST OF US’ DIRECTOR SAYS HE WANTED TO ‘TRICK’ AUDIENCE INTO WATCHG GAY LOVE STORY

One person tweeted: "the last of jt randomly tellg one of the most betiful and vastatg gay love stori i’ve ever seen on televisn…wh nick offerman no ls.. " Another wrote: "image beg smug thkg you know everythg that’s gog to happen on The Last of Us show already bc you played the game and then they show you a gay versn of Up". "Perhaps most heartbreakg of all, a viewer wrote: "gay marriage was never legalized the last of universe so bill and Frank gettg married meant the fuck world and more.

The last of jt randomly tellg one of the most betiful and vastatg gay love stori i’ve ever seen on televisn…wh nick offerman no ls.. image beg smug thkg you know everythg that’s gog to happen on The Last of Us show already bc you played the game and then they show you a gay versn of Up— ًًً (@dunwaIl) January 30, 2023.

BILL AND FRANK’S GAY LOVE STORY THE LAST OF US GAME IS PLETELY DIFFERENT

The NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars strength ach, Kev Maxen, has e out as gay — makg him the first male ach a U. While Maxen is believed to be the first male ach to have e out publicly as gay, there have been a few female ach U.

When to players, there have only been 16 the history of the NFL to e out as gay or bisexual as of September 2022, per Outsports. Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach a US men’s profsnal sports league to e out as gay. Per Outsports, as of September 2022, there have only ever been 16 players NFL history to publicly e out as gay or bisexual.

Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player league history to announce that he is gay 2021. Per Outsports, Maxen is the “first publicly out male ach a major Amerin men’s pro sports league,” wh WNBA ach Curt Miller, who publicly me out to the media as gay 2015, also a publicly out male ach an Amerin profsnal sports league.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS

In other words, they’re a perfect gay uple, a “normal” gay uple, a world which the mere thought of takg re of someone else is somethg of a ath sentence. Some might fd the pivot tone and narrative to be rehg, and the seri has already been praised by crics for liverg a gay love story, but the tonal shift om bter loss to lovg oasis feels disgenuo. Watchg the episo, feels as though the wrg beme stuck 2003, which is when the fungal panmic hs the show, rultg the kd of gay love story that would have been groundbreakg TV back then, but is now jt wearisome.

To settle for a narrative this bland and dated, one termed to wrg tears while both metaphorilly and lerally buryg s gays — bee, y, strippg them of any narrative purpose is a thematic burial before their actual on-screen aths, is flat-out mortifyg, particularly a world where more and more nuanced and plited queer characters e to life every day. His sensibily as a gay artist has shaped and elevated the magaze’s athetic, but he has to keep his creativy check lt Mx be seen as a magaze for gay men. But fish strong, as the nflict over Richie’s bathhoe project grows and Mx has to nsir whether ’s too risky for the magaze to speak to gay men, or even gay moments like this, the historil fictn feels not entirely historil.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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. “It was geo, and I was so not expectg , ” said Darn Lowenste, 41, a vio game nsultant, who is gay. “Obvly, I’ve played the gam religly and I know there’s gay characters there, but I was not expectg an 80-mute … tearworthy piece of art.

” Queer-themed gam date as far back as 1992’s “Gay Bla, ” acrdg to the LGBTQ media advocy group GLAAD. Though Bill’s role the game is small, and his mentn of beg gay brief, did not go unnoticed by LGBTQ gamers like then, he was his early 20s and still the closet about his sexualy.