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

WAS BILL GAY THE LAST OF US GAME?
HBO’S THE LAST OF US IMPROV ON THE GAME’S IMPLIED GAY ROMANCE
‘THE LAST OF US’ CONFIRMED THAT BILL WAS GAY YEARS AGO
WAS BILL GAY THE LAST OF US GAME? RELATNSHIP WH FRANK EXPLAED
WAS ELLIE GAY THE LAST OF US GAME? RELATNSHIP WH RILEY EXPLAED
HBO’S ‘THE LAST OF US’ SERI WILL SHE A SPOTLIGHT ON GAY UPLE BILL AND FRANK
GAMER EXPLAS WHY BILL AND FRANK TOTALLY WEREN’T GAY ‘THE LAST OF US’ GAME, YOU GUYS
Y, ELLIE HAS ALWAYS BEEN GAY ‘THE LAST OF US’
THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE
ARE BILL AND FRANK GAY THE LAST OF US? RELATNSHIP EXPLAED

WAS BILL GAY THE LAST OF US GAME?

The most recent episo of HBO’s The Last of Us has left some fans wonrg if Bill and Frank were a gay uple the origal game. * gay couple last of us video game *

The most recent episo of HBO’s The Last of Us has left some fans wonrg if Bill and Frank were a gay uple the origal game. Wh such drastic chang, pecially when to Bill and Frank’s relatnship, some are left askg if Bill was really gay The Last of Us vio game. The biggt hts towards Bill beg a gay man are his relatnship to Frank and a certa magaze that Ellie steals om his stash the church basement, both of which n be missed by players not engagg optnal ntent or not payg close enough attentn.

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

Episo 3 of The Last Of Us explored Bill and Frank's heartwrenchg relatnship but fans have been askg if Bill was gay the game. * gay couple last of us video game *

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.

“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.

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

Episo 7 of The Last Of Us explor Ellie and Riley's heartwrenchg relatnship but fans have been askg if Ellie was gay the game. * gay couple last of us video game *

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.

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

”Adaptatn giv gamers hope for more reprentatnSome queer viewers exprsed excement that Sunday's episo would expose even more people to gay vio game characters. “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.

WAS ELLIE GAY THE LAST OF US GAME? RELATNSHIP WH RILEY EXPLAED

So yeah, Bill has always been gay. *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. 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.

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

The relatnship between Ellie and Riley is only briefly touched upon the ma story of The Last Of Us vio game, but episo 7 of HBO’s TV adaptatn lv to much more eply, leavg some askg if Ellie was gay the origal game self. © HBO | Liane HentscherWas Ellie gay The Last Of Us game? Y, Ellie is nfirmed to be gay The Last Of Us vio game as well as the the ma game, Ellie’s sexualy isn’t really discsed as there are only a few referenc to Riley dotted throughout the story and we’re only told that she was Ellie’s ’s only the DLC add-on, Left Behd, where the te nature of Ellie and Riley’s relatnship is revealed, meang some players of the origal game may have missed this the TV show, the pair enjoy a night together at the mall where they share a kiss before they are attacked by a hor of nners and get bten and bee we know, Ellie is immune to the fectn but Riley was not so lucky.

Episo three of HBO's "The Last of Us" sparked homophobic backlash om some viewers. Homophobia has long been an issue the gamg muny and larger fandoms. The latt episo of HBO's vio-game adaptatn "The Last of Us" has been wily praised — but 's also spired fierce backlash, shg a light on what have been persistent issu the gamg muny and larger cultural fandoms: homophobia and anti-LGBTQ iology.

Sunday's episo, tled "Long, Long Time, " picts a gay romance between Bill, played by Nick Offerman, and Frank, played by Murray Bartlett.

GAMER EXPLAS WHY BILL AND FRANK TOTALLY WEREN’T GAY ‘THE LAST OF US’ GAME, YOU GUYS

"Plenty more reviews acced the episo of phg LGBT "propaganda" or a "gay agenda.

"Insir even received an email om a rear rponse to s story about the episo beg review-bombed, which further exemplifi this homophobia. "The rponse om some homophobic fans to Sunday's episo nearly a after "gamergate, " a far-right onle movement agast "progrsivism" gamg, built on racism, sexism, homophobia, and of "gamergate" uld be seen cricism agast "The Last of Us Part II, " the 2020 vio game sequel, which Ellie's sexualy is further explored.

Y, ELLIE HAS ALWAYS BEEN GAY ‘THE LAST OF US’

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.

This article was origally published on our sister se, Gaymg Magaze.

Ty is Gaymg Magaze’s puty edor and ports expert.