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The trolls have clocked in to take a dump once again, dragging down what should’ve been another celebration for prestige television. Despite HBO’s The Last of Us returning with a bang, with high ratings, glowing critic reviews, and a rock-solid 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, its audience score is slipping fast, like a runner with a busted ankle in clicker territory. Just hours ago it clung to 55%, and now it’s already sunk to 52%, Collider reports.
The Usual Suspects
There’s a stench in the air, and it reeks of targeted review-bombing. The kind that’s become a tired ritual anytime a show or film dares to cast a woman, especially one who doesn’t fit into some narrow, outdated mold.
Bella Ramsey’s return as Ellie seems to have lit a fire under a subset of keyboard crusaders, most of whom have latched onto their love of the original video game like a badge of authority. But their real gripe isn’t fidelity to source material. In fact, it’s control, masked as critique.
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This behavior isn’t new as Rotten Tomatoes already had to tweak its audience scoring mechanics after Captain Marvel drew similar fire. That time, Brie Larson’s real-world feminism sent trolls into a frenzy. Then came Halle Bailey in The Little Mermaid, attacked for existing in a role they didn’t want her in. Rachel Zegler voiced her political stance and suddenly the Snow White remake saw its numbers tank on IMDb. Even Rian Johnson got dragged through the mud for not delivering a Luke Skywalker frozen in nostalgia.
The Last of Us Is Still Winning Where It Counts
Meanwhile, The Last of Us Season 2 continues to get love where it matters, from critics and fans who aren’t foaming at the mouth over casting. The show, co-created by Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, literally thrives. Pedro Pascal returns as Joel, with razor-sharp tension, and the storytelling is as unflinching as ever. It’s a heavy, emotional ride that doesn’t back down from moral murkiness.
Rotten Tomatoes’ consensus reads, “Grabbing onto thorny moral questions with its bare hands, The Last of Us’ second season is a challenging expansion that retains its predecessor’s superb performances and verisimilitude.” In his review, Collider’s Ross Bonaime wrote, “With Season 2, Mazin and Druckmann prove once again why HBO’s The Last of Us is the strongest video game adaptation ever.”
New episodes air on HBO on Sunday.
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