When it comes to video games, I’m sure anyone that knows me also knows of my love for The Last of Us. While I could go on about other amazing video games that deserve adaptations, or the ones that are going to be getting them (like God of War), The Last of Us series has always been my favorite for many years. It might be because of my love of zombies, or just badass female protagonists, but even besides that, I love it.
I’ve also learned to appreciate the series for a whole new reason, and that’s for it’s LGTBQ+ representation. As a young teenager, I never really noticed it until I realized I was bisexual and that there was a character like me as a protagonist in a video game that I truly held dear. Now, since the adaptation for the show is coming out, I just have to talk about the queer characters in The Last of Us as well as its other games, and just how important they really are to the gaming industry as a whole.
Ellie Williams (The Last Of Us Part I & II)
Ellie Williams is one of the protagonists of The Last of Us franchise. She was a teenager in the first game, and a young woman in the second, taking place years after the ending of the original story. While it was never confirmed during the first game, it was later shown in The Last of Us: Left Behind, that Ellie was a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Later, in The Last of Us Part II, Ellie is in a relationship with a woman for the duration of the game, and it wasn’t that long after that Ellie was proven to be lesbian since she confirmed to Joel in the game that she wasn’t really “into” guys. This was huge for gaming for many reasons, because Ellie was the first-ever female protagonist in a blockbuster game who was lesbian.
It wasn’t just put into the game just for representation’s sake – Ellie and Dina’s (who will get into it a bit) story was a huge piece of the game, where their partnership and relationship was often a big focus in many scenes. It was a big step for showing these kinds of relationships in video games, and made me even more excited to see them brought to the small screen.
Bill And Frank (The Last Of Us Part I)
Bill and Frank were an interesting concept to my young brain. While I was smart enough to think that there was something going on between those two when I first played as a naïve thirteen-year-old, only as I grew older did I realize that it was deeper than just a partnership.
Bill was an old acquaintance of Joel's that he and Ellie go to in the early sections of The Last of Us for help to find parts for a car. While they’re there, it’s revealed that Bill did have a “partner,” as he refers to him. Frank is never seen in the game, but judging by the notes people have read, and the reactions from Bill himself, players can pretty much assume that there was more going on.
This was only confirmed more when it was announced that episode three of The Last of Us show on HBO is going to dig deeper into Frank and Bill’s story. I mean, I had a feeling, since both of them are a part of The Last of Us cast and I was excited to see Frank there, but it’s still super cool either way.
It’s rare you see a character like Bill who is also a part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum. So rare. As a gamer, most of the time, when you see someone like Bill, you never think of them like that because they’re so rough and tough and he looks as if he wants no one around him, but deep down, there are feelings there that are waiting to be discovered, which is what makes this announcement even better.
I hope we get to see a little more of Bill (played by Nick Offerman) in the show, and here’s hoping that this relationship that’s expanded on will only make me love the story in the game even more.
Lev (The Last Of Us Part II)
Okay, so I won’t get into details at all about The Last of Us: Part II because you really need to experience it for yourself. Lev’s story is a complicated one to address in full without spoiling things, but suffice to say the trans boy is quite the interesting survivor, and one who’s had a rough go alongside sister, Yara. As if growing up in the post-apocalypse wasn’t bad enough, Lev was raised in a closed-minded cult that kept him sheltered from the outside world, thus setting up his tale within The Last of Us Part II.
The reason why Lev is such a groundbreaking character is the same as Ellie – it’s the first time such a character was ever used like this in a video game. Lev was the first ever transgender character in any blockbuster game. And what’s even better is that he was actually voiced by a transgender man, according to Wired, which makes it all the better.
While I would love for The Last of Us to continue into a second season and tell the story of the second game, we’ll just need to be patient to see if it happens.
Dina (The Last Of Us Part II)
Remember when I brought up Dina before? Yeah, she’s pretty awesome – especially to me as a bisexual woman.
Dina is a character that is featured as a companion for Ellie in The Last of Us: Part II, where she acts as Ellie’s girlfriend. Again, I’m not going to get into details about her since I don’t want to spoil the second game, but I love her.
She’s the perfect representation of having two different kinds of love for different people in her life, and her relationship with Ellie is so heartfelt and complete that it feels as if they were just meant to be together. But then you see her friendship with Jesse, a former boyfriend of hers, and you see the love there as well. She’s such a complex character – and having her romance with Ellie as the forefront of the sequel is perfect.
Riley (The Last Of Us Part I)
Okay, so let’s be honest here – none of us who have played the games know for sure if Riley is part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum or not. I won’t get into details about why, but let’s just say that we’re never really let onto it, as she’s only in the The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC. But what I will say is that she is most certainly an ally, at the very least.
Riley is Ellie’s best friend, and the first person she kissed, and Riley even assured her to “not apologize” or feel bad about kissing her in the DLC. It’s because of Riley’s kindness that Ellie wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed about who she is – and how we were able to be given such a beautiful love story in the second game. In the trailer for the show, we do see that the series is going to dig into the Left Behind story, so I’m eager to see if this is a relationship that will be expanded upon.
As a pretty standard gamer, I am so excited for The Last of Us show and can’t wait to see these characters brought to life, but maybe now you just might understand them a little bit more than before, and see why I love them so much. Now, go get a PlayStation and play on. Or check out the adaptation because it’s truly amazing.
