Bella Ramsey has received two Emmy nominations for their portrayal of the fiercely loyal—and totally bada**—Ellie in The Last of Us. Turns out, the character was a perfect fit for the 21-year-old.
Despite its nearly universal critical acclaim, The Last of Us—which is adapted from a much-loved video game—has also been ruffling feathers since HBO announced it was turning it into a series. Like so many existing properties with a massive fan base before it, fans of the original game had many concerns, and opinions, when it came to just about any piece of news about the show. And Ramsey, who has often been the target of fan criticism, finally seems over it.
While appearing on the latest episode of Entertainment Weekly’s The Awardist podcast, Ramsey got real about the online hate that they and their co-stars, along with the series’ creators, received during the second season—particularly following the (SPOILER ALERT) gruesome death of Pedro Pascal’s character, Joel, just two episodes into the latest season.
“I tried to steer clear as much as I could, to be honest. Because there’s nothing I can do about it anyway,” Ramsey said of their pragmatic approach to online talk about the show. “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.”
“People are of course entitled to their opinions,” Ramsey continued. “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.”
When pressed on what their advice might be to some of the individuals with the strongest critiques of Season 2 as the show enters new territory—and refocuses on a new protagonist with Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby—Ramsey was just as matter-of-fact: “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.”
Clearly, Ramsey knows that just not watching is easier said than done. And to those people, they offered this: “You don’t have to watch it, but if you do want to watch it, then I hope you enjoy it.”
The Last of Us Season 3
While Season 3 of The Last of Us has already been confirmed, production is not expected to begin until next year, with an estimated premiere date of 2027.
