TV Show review
Review basis: 2 seasons · through May 25, 2025
January 15, 2023 · TV-MA · Returning Series
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Last of Us is an HBO series that adapts the Naughty Dog video games. It follows hardened survivor Joel and immune teenager Ellie as they travel across a post-apocalyptic United States devastated by a fungal infection, then shifts five years later to themes of revenge, lies, and family bonds in Season 2. Visible queer elements appear through Ellie and Dina’s central lesbian relationship and pregnancy arc in Season 2, including the line where Ellie says she will be a dad. Diverse casting fits the story’s survivor world, but marketing and creators focused on emotional drama rather than identity or social messaging.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Last of Us.
Woke representation / casting
Diverse supporting cast fits the post-apocalyptic US setting naturally; prominent queer romance and non-binary lead actor create visible emphasis that some viewers flagged as signaling.
Woke political dialogue
Dialogue stays focused on survival, revenge, family, and moral choices with almost no modern political or activist language.
Identity-driven story themes
Ellie and Dina’s lesbian relationship and pregnancy become central in Season 2 with explicit lines about roles; this adds strong queer visibility per source material but does not drive the main revenge plot.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The story shows oppressive military zones and rebel groups in ways that fit the apocalypse setting without modern activist reframing of patriarchy, capitalism, or Western institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Minor TV expansions like the full Bill and Frank episode and some pacing shifts exist; no major ideological rewrites of characters’ core identities or arcs.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Vocal and widespread review bombing plus social media criticism targeted Season 2’s queer elements, gender lines, casting, and perceived propaganda, stronger than Season 1 complaints.
Creator track record context
Neil Druckmann explores universal themes of hate and revenge drawn from real conflict experiences with no activist or identity-politics pattern; Craig Mazin and other producers focus on dramatic storytelling.
Production
