Bella Ramsey Tells ‘The Last of Us’ Critics to Not Watch Season 3 If They “Hate It So Much”
Bella Ramsey Tells ‘The Last of Us’ Critics to Not Watch Season 3 If They “Hate It So Much”
The actor, who stars on the HBO show as Ellie, shared the message after Season 2 faced harsh backlash from viewers.
Bella Ramsey is urging critics of The Last of Us to stop watching the show if they don’t like the adaptation of the beloved video games.
Season 2 of the HBO series chronicled the events of PlayStation’s 2020 game The Last of Us Part II and included the brutal murder of lead character Joel (Pedro Pascal) by the show’s newcomer antagonist Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). Additionally, the sophomore season depicted the portrayal of Ellie’s (Ramsey) same-sex relationship with Dina (Isabela Merced). As the show was airing new episodes, several viewers expressed their anger over Joel’s death. Meanwhile, others posted homophobic comments on social media about Ellie and Dina’s romance.
While appearing on “The Awardist” podcast, Ramsey — who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns — was asked to share their reactions to the show’s “louder critics.” They then admitted that they ultimately tried to “steer clear” from the show’s haters.
“Because there’s nothing I can do about it anyway. The show is out. 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,” Ramsey explained. “People are of course entitled to their opinions. But it doesn’t affect the show, it doesn’t affect how the show continues or anything in any way. They’re very separate things to me. So no, I just don’t really engage.”
Ramsey went on to tell the show’s critics that they don’t need to tune into the upcoming Season 3. “You don’t have to watch it. If you hate it that much, the game exists. You can just play the game again,” they said. “If you do want to watch it, hope you enjoy it.”
The premiere date for The Last of Us Season 3 has not yet been announced, though the show was renewed for a third season before Season 2 premiered in April.
Prior to the Season 2 premiere, Ramsey made it clear that they wouldn’t tolerate mean comments about the show while gracing the cover of The Hollywood Reporter in April.
Following the success of Season 1, fans pointed out that Ramsey’s physical appearance did not live up to the character’s unrealistic metamorphosis in the video games. Due to the online backlash, Ramsey deactivated their social media accounts.
“I always knew that I’d [deactivate] it one day and never even really wanted to have social media in the first place,” Ramsey said. “It wasn’t like this big dramatic thing, but there was an element of it that was thinking about the show coming out for season two. If I just avoid Twitter and Reddit, which now I’m doing, then everything’s totally fine.”
Walking Dead boss makes fans' day with game-changing announcement
Few franchises on TV have run for as along as that of The Walking Dead. Even without the original show on the air anymore (
The former has continued to entertain through its long-awaited third season (which has just recently completed its run), meaning that fans got to celebrate the upcoming 15th anniversary of the original show while also enjoying the current storylines within it. And that allowed series producers, as well as longtime TWD stars Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride (who both star in the spinoff) to talk about the original show's legacy while also discussing the current storylines within the franchise.
In the midst of it all, fans got a jaw-dropper of a revelation that has ensured these storylines are far from over for the TWD Universe.
The Walking Dead could go on for another 15 years, TWD boss confirms
The end is far from nigh for The Walking Dead Universe. The iconic franchise may be about to head into its sixteenth year, but the-powers-that-be reckon it could last a lot longer than that. AMC's Chief Content Officer of the TWD Universe, Scott Gimple, reflected on the legacy of this world at a retrospective panel at Mipcom but he also looked forward to the future, too.
As reported by Variety, Gimple said that Daryl Dixon is just one example of the TWD Universe's stories beyond the original series and that, even with its finale coming in its fourth season, there is still plenty more to do with this world and these characters. He even referenced the likes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe in that it has found new and different ways to expand the world around it to tell new stories, adding:
"It was all one story. It went in all sorts of different directions... Even with characters who have done so many things, we can put them in different worlds where they have different challenges and evolve them through these challenges.”
Gimple does have a point. The world of a zombie apocalypse is full of storytelling possibilities, and there's so much more that can be done with that concept - with or without the fan-favorite TWD characters we've come to love over the years.
What's even more exciting is what AMC Networks President Dan McDermott said, as he suggested that some of our favorite TWD characters - Daryl and Carol included - could stick around for a decade and a half, saying:
"It’s quite possible we could see this group up here 15 years from now. There are many more continents to visit. It’s about how [the characters] evolve over time. It’s really exciting to see how far we can take this.”
More Walking Dead to come makes it clear that the TWD Universe will live for many more years
Needless to say, this particular comment sent the internet into meltdown as fans began debating about whether or not the Walking Dead franchise should stick around for another 15 years. The most devoted fans, however, had their days made, as it means that their beloved franchise could be on our screens for a very long time to come.
This is the kind of reassurance that is welcome right now given that both ongoing spinoffs likely have more episodes behind them than ahead of them. Now, it's important to point out that both have been renewed, but it's already been confirmed that
While these comments are the most hopeful yet, they do allude to comments that Gimple had made earlier in the year about there being more spinoffs in development - including one which he was particularly excited about. Although details remain scarce at this point in time, it's clear that the creatives see the value in taking the TWD Universe global as
The only questions are: Where could any potential new TWD spinoffs be set, and who would star in them? Who knows at this point, but we're excited to find out - especially as it could guarantee many,
