This article may contain spoilers for The Last of Us
Adapted from the extremely popular video game of the same name, HBO’s The Last of Us has us gripped. While there were doubts if the live-action adaptation would even live up to the hype of the video game, it’s safe to say that it has. While the genre has been tried and tested in the entertainment industry, The Last of Us proves why there can be more of it, if done right.
With four episodes released so far, fans of the show excitedly look forward to Sundays for when Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey’s Joel and Ellie have to fight through next. With the fourth episode released just a couple of days back, The Last of Us has not only maintained its popularity but has also increased it as episode 4 witnessed yet another hike in viewership.
The Last of Us Episode 4: Another High
The Last of Us has been surprising its viewers with every episode and maybe that is the reason why the excitement surrounding the show hasn’t burned out yet. In yet another series win, The Last of Us episode four saw a 17 percent hike in viewership from the previous episode.
A total of 7.5 million people tuned in to HBO and HBO Max to take a look at Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) in the next step of their adventure as they take a detour of Kansas City. This is definitely an increase in the audience as episode 3 was watched by 6.4 million people. The Last of Us has consistently seen an increase in its same-day audience ever since it debuted. Comparing the recent episode to the premiere episode, the former saw an increase of 60% in same-day viewership from the latter.
In fact, the prestigious award ceremony, the 65th annual Grammy Awards, aired on the same day as the fourth episode. Even one of the biggest award ceremonies couldn’t stop The Last of Us’ train. This just goes on to say that the show has “infected” the viewers’ brains which keeps them coming back for more.
Fans React to the High
Unfortunately for The Last of Us, the third episode gathered a lot of homophobic backlashes as the episode revolved around Bill and Frank. Blaming the show for getting a bit too woke, the episode Long Long Time was review bombed by the audience. Review bombing in simpler terms means when a project gets a lot of negative reviews online during a short period of time. From pushing the LGBTQ agenda to moving away from the actual storyline, viewers had a lot of complaints about the episode.
While some stated that they wouldn’t watch the show any further, the increase in viewership just proved why a good show will always be a good show and will be watched, no matter what. On the other hand, there is a possibility that the whole ordeal surrounding episode three is exactly what led to an increase in viewership. After all, all press is good press, right? Here’s what Twitter has to say about the series high.
Neil Druckmann, the creator of the video game, talked about why they decided to expand Bill and Frank’s storyline in the series. According to Druckmann, the couple was one of the first things he discussed with showrunner Craig Mazin. Druckmann looked at it as an “Opportunity to go a different way.”
Regardless of what happened with episode three, it goes without saying that the series is moving forward triumphant. As long as Ellie and Joel continue to cruise through the Infected-ridden world, viewers will continue to be on the edge of their seats.
The Last of Us is available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: Discussing Film
