'The Last of Us': HBO series' episode 3 review-bombed over slow pace and departure from main storlyline
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ever since its premiere, 'The Last of Us' instantly became a fan-favourite, with the HBO series gaining a massive following, not only from lovers of the game but also from other audiences.
This video game adaptation weaves a gripping story that has both elements from the game and original ideas. So far the series has exceeded expectations and managed to gain praise from both audiences and critics. However, now this beloved game-adapted series is embroiled in the infamous trend of review-bombing. But why after episode 3?
'The Last of Us' episode 3 is in a way a vignette, and follows the story of Bill (played by Nick Offerman) and Frank (played by Murray Bartlett) and the companionship they shared during the span of almost 20 years, which is depicted in a heartwrenching tale. As soon as the episode aired, several toxic fans online made their opinion of this episode known by giving negative user reviews online, resulting in a drop in the show's online rating.
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'The Last of Us' episode 3, titled 'Long, Long Time', made an impactful debut, taking an unexpected tonal shift that left almost every viewer of the show in tears. But this quality episode did not stop many to go online and bash the series. It is no doubt that this episode is an experiment, but does it deserves the hate it is receiving? Immediately after the premiere of episode 3, several took the internet by storm and bombed the reviews of the show, with more than 30,000 users giving 1-star reviews to this episode on IMDb. The main reason for this sudden hatred towards the show stems from the love between Frank and Bill. And the hate reviews are posted by veiling their hate towards the love between Frank and Bill, both directly and indirectly. Some of them even criticized the departure from the main storyline and the slow-pace.
Older means we're still here. pic.twitter.com/kwbYiqYDpG
— The Last of Us (@TheLastofUsHBO) February 2, 2023
On the other hand, several fans of the show are defending this episode, calling it well-written and praising the acting of the two leads who show humanity and find love in the midst of the apocalypse. The depiction of their love story and avoidance of all the cliches is also being appreciated.
However, this is not the first time a show is getting review-bombed. Most recently, Marvel's 'She-Hulk' got massive backlash from several fans giving negative reviews even before the release of the show.
Episode 3 of 'The Last of Us' is currently rated 7.9. Though it seems a decent rating, it is a massive dip from its previous 2 episodes' ratings, each reigning with 9.2 respectively. This type of bombardment of online reviews, either underrates or overrates a particular movie or series, diluting all the genuine reviews, and resulting in unreliability. This gives a wrong first impression regarding the series/movie for a first-time watcher.
'The Last of Us' is currently holding a 9.3 on IMDb, out of 147k reviewers.
