A couple of days ago chapter 7 of The Last of Us, entitled “Left Behind” (“What we leave behind” in Spain), and, as expected from its content, it has already generated debates of all kinds. Not only that. In a good number of countries, even a certain scene has been censored, thus ensuring that fans in these regions see a sweetened reality or at the whim of the platform that operates HBO content in these areas. Of course, curiously, the same did not happen with another controversial episode of the series… why?
spoiler alert: Next we will talk openly about what happened in chapter 7 of TLOU. If you haven’t seen it yet, read the article at your own risk.
back to the same
There has never been so much debate about a chapter as the one we recently experienced with episode 3 of The Last of Us. Apparently, many followers of the story found it a scandal that the main plot and that of killing infected people was left on standby to show us how other people had coped with the start of the pandemic. It was about two characters. Bill y Frankwho were closely related to Joel and Tess -for years they saw each other and exchanged food- and in fact the death of both at the end of the chapter and the farewell letter they leave serves as a cathartic and turning point for Joel who arrives at the their house internally destroyed and helpless after the end of their partner and partner.
But none of that matters to many. The fact that it reflected the love relationship between two men has managed to cloud any other hint of criticism, making it the episode that has received the worst rating -despite the great emotional charge that it contains and how well told it is- and that more conversation has generated. The “is that it is stuffed that does not contribute anything» has possibly been the most repeated.
Photo: Liane Hentscher – HBO
Obviously the episode 7 was not going to get rid of a similar criticism: there are already many who consider that what is told in this chapter it is also filler despite the fact that it gives us a good context of what Ellie’s life was like before ending The Fireflies and helps us better understand why she is the way she is and the hard time she lived after the death of her first love. It could be an analogue to the relationship that we see in the first chapter of Joel with his daughter and what they experience -which helps us understand Joel today- but, of course, here again there is a homosexual relationship involved… that bothers too much.
Censorship in the Middle East and part of Africa
The people of Gamespot echo the selective censorship that The Last of Us has suffered after its last broadcast. And it is that in a good number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa in which it operates OSN+, the local streaming platform that manages HBO content in these areas, the timing of the kiss between ellie and riley, jumping directly from the seconds before that approach to the moment when Ellie tells him she’s sorry (about the kiss). You can see it below:
The Last of Us’ ‘Left Behind’ episode is censored on OSN+ (MENA region), with one (pretty key) kiss scene cut out of it; and it absolutely makes no sense given ‘Long, Long Time’ ft Bill and Frank had no cuts.#TheLastOfUs pic.twitter.com/jPCcT20txE
— Mohamed Khairat (@khairatmk) February 27, 2023
Curiously, chapter 3 of Bill and Frank was not censored on OSN+, when it contains many more intimate scenes that could be uncomfortable for many (intolerant). It is possible that these countries have ended up forcibly opening themselves to relationships between men on TV, but unfortunately they still do not manage and reject the same situation between women.
That the kiss is the least of it and it was already clear the love that Ellie feels for Riley without him? Of course. Although Neil Druckman, creator of the video game and actively involved with the production of the series, already commented that it is more than just a kiss: «Ellie experiences first love. The first kiss. And then we took it away.”
That if it had been between a boy and a girl, nobody would have complained, it wouldn’t be considered filler, there would be no censorship and we wouldn’t be talking about this? Well too.
