Bella Ramsey has a message for fans of The Last of Us who are upset about season two.
Earlier this year, the post-apocalyptic drama made its highly anticipated return following a two-year absence.
Picking up five years after the hospital showdown in season one, the new batch of episodes follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they navigate their strained relationship and settle in Jackson, Wyoming, a haven free of the infected.
Throughout its run, season two received rave reviews from critics, with many praising its emotionally charged story and expansion of the video game source material.
However, not all of the feedback has been positive, with some fans criticising Joel’s death, which is canon in the 2020 video game, the pacing, and the adaptation of Ellie’s heartbreaking story.
While there has been some negative response to the latest season, Ramsey isn’t letting it get them down.
In a recent episode of The Awardist podcast, the 21-year-old talent opened up about navigating the season two pushback, revealing that they “steer clear” from it as much as they can.
“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,” the continued.
“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.”
Towards the end of their statement, Ramsey was asked if they had any words for the “louder critics” ahead of the release of season three.
“I would say, you don’t have to watch it. If you hate it that much, the game exists. You can just play the game again. You don’t have to watch it, but if you do want to watch, then I hope you enjoy it,” they stated.
Ramsey’s recent interview comes a few months after the co-creator of the show and video games, Neil Druckmann, announced his departure from the series.
“With work complete on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus on Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilties as Studio Head and Head of Creative,” he said in a statement posted on Naughty Dog’s social media accounts.
“Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It’s been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct and write on the last two seasons. I’m deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part 1 and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II.”
In response to Druckmann’s departure, Craig Mazin released a statement to Deadline praising the two creative talents and their contribution to the show.
“It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO. I couldn’t have asked for a more generous creative partner,” he wrote.
“As a true fan of Naughty Dog and Neil’s work in video games, I’m beyond excited to play his next game. While he focuses on that, I’ll continue to work with our brilliant cast and crew to deliver the show our audience has come to expect.”
The first two seasons of The Last of Us are now available to stream on HBO Max in the US and Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.
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