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Now woke mob turns on 'The Last of Us': Hit HBO series accused of 'TRICKING' liberals in Episode 3

According to The New York Times, Episode 3 of 'The Last of Us' tricked sentimental liberals into rooting for a 'nut' who loves guns and weapons

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: ‘The Last of Us’ is undoubtedly one of the biggest shows on the planet right now and it keeps on serving fans with some really riveting storylines. The first two episodes of the HBO series took the world by storm and kept the ball rolling. However, it was Episode 3 that deviated a little from the source material and primarily focused on characters such as Bill (Nick Offerman) & Frank (Murray Bartlett). In the video game series, we never see Frank, and Bill addresses him as a ‘partner’ when he gets to know that Frank has died. However, the series went in to tell their story in depth and how they fell in love with each other. Some people didn’t feel comfortable with Bill & Frank’s love story and started bashing the show for obvious reasons. However, it seems the episode keeps on irking some people and now a renowned columnist named Michelle Goldberg from a popular news outlet has bashed the series for being a ‘right-wing fantasy’.

For the uninitiated, ‘The Last of Us’ is a post-apocalyptic show where people are doing everything and anything to survive the deadly fungal infection that turns people into zombies. In the first two episodes, Joel and Ellie travel through different parts of the US to reach their desired destination. The third episode saw them heading toward Lincoln, Nebraska, to meet Bill & Frank. To get a context of who they are, the episode went into flashback sequences and we get to know that Bill was the only person from his neighborhood who didn’t go to the Quarantine Zones. He was now the king of the town and had fielded many traps for anyone who tried entering his universe. Bill has a lot of weapons with him and that seemed to have irked some people because they feel that the series tricked ‘sentimental liberals’ into rooting for a guy who has a lot of weapons, especially guns, around him.

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In her column for The New York Times, Goldberg claimed that Episode 3 of the blockbuster series is like “some right-wingers dream of building fortresses against invading mobs.” She also claimed that the HBO series didn’t shy away from celebrating Bill’s “deeply conservative story” which begins with Bill not going to a quarantine zone. However, it should be noted that he was right in not going to the QZs because the military ended up killing people when they saw that there was no space for new people.

“But in our paranoid, unstable, armed-to-the-teeth country, where some right-wingers dream of building fortresses against invading mobs, zombie narratives tend to dovetail with conservative concerns. But it’s not just Bill’s vindication that makes the show conservative. It’s the golden light it casts on Bill and Frank’s private paradise. Bill doesn’t just wall off his house; he fences in the whole neighborhood, shops included,” Goldberg wrote in her column.

'Long Long Time' tricked sentimental liberals

However, the most startling assumption made by the columnist came right at the end where she noted that the series has “tricked sentimental liberals” into rooting for a “nut” who loves guns. She also noted that if the show didn’t feature a love story between two men, the conservatives would have considered it to be a major win.

“The Last of Us” has also sort of tricked sentimental liberals into rooting for a resource-hoarding gun nut defying evil pandemic authorities. If the right hadn’t worked itself into such a panic about homosexuality, it might be able to take the win,” added Goldberg.

These allegations come a few days after the right-wing supporters started review-bombing the series after showing a love story between two gay men. A certain section believed that the show deviated from the source material and concentrated more on the romance between Bill & Frank.

Internet slammed NYT and Goldberg for writing a 'dumb' piece

Fans were not amused by Goldberg's op-ed and slammed the media outlet for a such low-quality column. One of the fans wrote, "Oh, please. Just go away. This lens is not needed for TLOU." Another fan tweeted, "Bro make real journalistic reports. No one cares about the politics of an acclaimed game turned live-action show. Just that the story is accurately retold with live people for even more related to the characters we know and love. Also, Pedro Pascal's *chef's kiss* great." Another social media user wrote, "Glad the NY Times is still working hard to ensure that it shouldn't be taken seriously in the next election cycle." 

"Can’t we just watch in peace," wrote another user. "My goodness, this is dumb. Dumb and ill-intentioned. Can't you see that non-radical people are sick and tired of media like you and their divisive political interpretations of everything and everyone? Read the room already," noted another user.

Despite so many criticisms leveled against it, Episode 3 continues to be one of the most-loved episodes of the series so far. A lot of social media users called it one of the greatest episodes in TV history while some said that ‘Long Long Time’ shows that LOVE triumphs even in the most dangerous situations.

‘The Last of Us’ currently holds a rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 9.2 on IMDb.