The Last of Us Creator Says It’s Important to Show “Upsetting” Moments

In the first episode of The Last of Us Season 2, Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) hears a homophobic slur. This moment felt familiar to many queer viewers. It’s the feeling of being watched or judged just for showing love to someone in public.

Craig Mazin, the co-creator of the show, said that this moment shows how the world in the show is stuck in the past—specifically in 2003, when the outbreak began. Since then, people haven’t grown. Some have even become more hateful.

“If there is a moment that is upsetting, it is in and of itself a reminder of the way things were,” said Mazin. “We didn’t just want to sweep that under the rug.”

Today, in 2025, there are new challenges. Queer and especially trans people are facing attacks from laws and political leaders. But Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the show’s other creator, say they don’t let that affect the story they’re telling.

“How do we deal with what’s going on in the world and how is that bleeding in and affecting our story? And I would say zero percent,” Druckmann said. “We try to just shut out all outside pressure and voices as much as we can and really focus on the story … If people love it, that’s awesome. If people hate it, that’s their choice. But we have a certain integrity and authenticity that we must apply to the story that we will never compromise on.”

The show is based on The Last of Us games by Naughty Dog. The games and the show both include LGBTQ+ characters. Some people praised the stories. Others got angry. Some critics accused the creators of pushing a “gay agenda.”

Still, queer fans often feel seen by the show and the games. For example, the character Lev is a trans boy in The Last of Us Part II. While the game got some backlash for how it handled his story—like using his deadname—many still saw Lev as an important step for trans visibility in games.

One of the most famous episodes of the first season, “Long, Long Time,” shows a love story between Bill and Frank. Before the outbreak, they likely wouldn’t have gotten along. But in this broken world, they fall in love. This shows how queer love can offer hope and connection when everything else is falling apart.

“The deeper message of the games and the show is the idea that there is such a thing as a queer way of being that could also be an answer to collective trauma if only we would be open to it,” said Ramzi Fawaz, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The show is not just about survival. It’s also about how people build new kinds of families and communities—especially queer people, who have always created chosen families.

Season 2 takes place in a town called Jackson, Wyoming. It’s one of the few safe places left. But even in safety, old hate can return.

“One of the problems with Jackson,” said Mazin, “is that they’ve become a bit complacent. They feel safe enough that somebody can get drunk at a party and start tossing out homophobic slurs, to repeat the kind of shitty little sins that [people] used to feel free to commit when the world was not in an apocalypse.”

Telling these kinds of stories can lead to backlash. After the “Long, Long Time” episode aired, some fans praised it. But others were angry and tried to review-bomb the episode online.

Actor Nick Offerman, who played Bill, won an award for his role. When he accepted it, he responded to the critics. “Because you ask questions like that,” he said. “It’s not a gay story, it’s a love story, you asshole!”

The showrunners haven’t said for sure if Lev will appear in Season 2. But they said we will probably see him and that he will be a trans character. HBO has already renewed The Last of Us for a third season.

Ian Alexander, who voiced Lev in the game, understands why some fans were upset by parts of Lev’s story. “Obviously, the writers have the best intentions and wanted to bring authentic representation, and they might have missed the mark a little bit with that,” Alexander said in a 2021 interview.

Telling stories about real people means sometimes making mistakes. But it also means showing characters who are full of emotion, struggle, and love—just like in real life.

The creators of The Last of Us believe that showing uncomfortable moments helps tell the truth. That includes the truth about queerness, community, and what it means to survive in a broken world.

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