It’s been a couple of months since HBO aired The Last of Us season 2’s finale, but discontent around the adaptation is still going strong, it seems. Earlier this month, Bella Ramsey, the actor behind Ellie, went on EW’s The Awardist podcast where they chatted about the tumultuous reception to the season. It was a level-headed discussion, but Ramsey didn’t mince words.
As spotted by GamesRadar, Ramsey notes that while they’re aware that people are unhappy with season 2, they try to “steer clear” of the negativity as much as they can. “The show is out,” Ramsey says. “There’s nothing that can be changed or altered. So I’m like, there’s not really any point in reading or looking at anything.”
As the star of seasons 1 and 2 of the HBO’s The Last of Us, Ramsey probably had some influence over the adaptation. We know, for example, that some aspects of the show in both seasons have been improvised or changed on the fly. At the same time, they’re an actor and much of the criticism lobbed at the show targeted the writing, tone, and direction of the production.
Speaking broadly, there was concern among the fandom that showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann didn’t fully understand the source material, and that the show was turning Ellie from a seasoned killer into an immature child. Those are elements that Ramsey is not responsible for, and is instead primarily tasked with carrying out the vision laid out by its writers and showrunners. Ramsey’s right to feel like they can’t do much about the things people dislike about the show.
“I just don’t really engage,” Ramsey says.
Asked whether Ramsey has a message for critics who dislike season 2, they argued, “I would say, you don’t have to watch it. If you hate it that much, the game exists. You can just play the game again. You don’t have to watch it, but if you do want to watch it, then I hope you enjoy it.”
It’s a sensible answer, but that doesn’t mean it’s being received well by fans. “YES, we could play the game again, but a lot of us didn’t like the game either,” reads one comment on the podcast.
One thing’s for sure: Season 3 of The Last of Us will be quite different. Though Ramsey will likely feature in season 3 of The Last of Us, we know that this portion of the show will focus more on Abby than Ellie. Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann has left the show, and it’ll be curious to see where HBO takes the adaptation without one of its key figures. While Druckmann has directed excellent episodes, like episode 6 of season 2, in which Ellie and Joel explore a science museum, he’s also directed questionable episodes — including the season 1 ep where Tess dies while kissing an infected.
At the same time, a number of groan-worthy changes from the games seemed to stem from Mazin, based on remarks from the showrunnet. He’s the one who considered it unrealistic for Ellie to take on both Owen and Mel. He also contrasted Ellie and Abby by noting that, unlike Ellie, Abby is competent. That infamous “I’m gonna be a dad” line from season 2 apparently popped into Mazin’s head while shooting. When describing the creative process, it seems that Mazin was generally the one who questioned why things in the game played out the way they did and whether the show had to follow suit. Being willing to poke at the story isn’t inherently a bad thing, but it’s evident that the instinct did not always yield positive results.
Whatever the case, hopefully HBO gets it right. Season 3 will be longer than season 2, so it’s going to be painful if the show keeps missing the mark. At least there’s arguably a good reason to go back to the games right now: Over the summer, The Last of Us Part 2 got an update that lets you experience its gut-wrenching story in chronological order.
