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

Contents:

• THE LAST OF US’ GEO GAY LOVE STORY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY
• HBO’S ‘THE LAST OF US’ DIRECTOR SAYS YOU NEED TO ‘TRICK’ VIEWERS TO WATCHG A GAY LOVE STORY
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS
• IS JOEL OM THE LAST OF US GAY OR BISEXUAL? THEORY EXPLAED
• THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE
• ARE BILL AND FRANK GAY THE LAST OF US? WHAT’S THEIR RELATNSHIP?
• THE LAST OF US LETS GAY LOVE FLOURISH THE APOLYPSE
• THAT ‘THE LAST OF US’ GAY LOVE STORY IS GROUNDBREAKG
• HBO’S THE LAST OF US GETS REVIEW BOMBED AFTER HISTORIC GAY EPISO
• WHY THE GAY ROMANCE “THE LAST OF US” MEANS SO MUCH

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. 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.

HBO’S ‘THE LAST OF US’ DIRECTOR SAYS YOU NEED TO ‘TRICK’ VIEWERS TO WATCHG A GAY LOVE STORY

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.

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.

HBO’s h vio-game adaptatn seri The Last of Us took an unexpected tour to gay terrory s most recent episo, focg on a buddg romance between the characters played by actors Nick Offerman and Murry Bartlett.

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

In a recent terview, the episo director said viewers sometim need to be tricked to watchg a gay love story.

Director Peter Hoar, who is openly gay, spoke to the science-foced se Inverse about makg the show. Hoar directed the recent Brish miseri It’s a S, which followed the liv of a group of gay men at the height of the AIDS epimic.

IS JOEL OM THE LAST OF US GAY OR BISEXUAL? THEORY EXPLAED

Acrdg to crics who have seen the show, we're gettg a whole lot more of The Last of Us' gay characters than we thought.The 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.

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.

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. The NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars strength ach, Kev Maxen, has e out as gay — makg him the first male ach a U.

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

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.

ARE BILL AND FRANK GAY THE LAST OF US? WHAT’S THEIR RELATNSHIP?

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. For one, there are a lot of gay characters both the game and the HBO versn as we know for a fact that Bill, Frank, and Ellie are homosexuals.

But the thg is that there are fans that also believe that the other ma character uld also be gay or even bisexual. So, is Joel gay or bisexual?

THE LAST OF US LETS GAY LOVE FLOURISH THE APOLYPSE

It is unlikely that Joel is gay or bisexual The Last of Us, even though there are some clu that lead to the possibily of him beg gay or bisexual.

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

Even though some fans have seen hts that uld lead to the possibily of Joel beg gay, that is unlikely the se right now bee of the fact that the are merely speculatns. We n’t say for certa that he is gay unls clear facts pot to that possibily.

HBO’S THE LAST OF US GETS REVIEW BOMBED AFTER HISTORIC GAY EPISO

So, wh that said, let’s look at the possibily of Joel beg gay. Could Joel Be Gay In The Last of Us?

For one, there are a lot of gay characters The Last of Us, as Bill, Frank, and Ellie are exampl of this fact. On top of that, some clu sttered the game lead to the possibily that he uld be gay.

WHY THE GAY ROMANCE “THE LAST OF US” MEANS SO MUCH

In that regard, there are certa clu that uld suggt the possibily that Joel is gay. So, uld Joel be gay The Last of Us? At this pot, is tough to nclu that Joel uld be gay or bisexual The Last of Us.

That means that we n’t really say for certa whether or not he is gay due to the fact that any evince regardg that possibily is not nclive.

As such, whout any clear evince potg to the possibily that he is gay, we believe that Joel is unlikely gay.