Despite the fact that things are slowly changing for the better in real life for LGBTQ+ people, it is still a long way to go before a proper representation of these themes is brought more often on the big screen and in video games. Suffice it to say that when The Last of Us Part 2 was released last year, it was the very first blockbuster game to ever feature a lesbian woman as its protagonist, and while that's a great achievement it also means that more should be done in the industry to shake things up. However, The Last of Us Part 2 didn't simply stop at Ellie's sexual orientation, and it also featured a bisexual/pansexual character and young trans man. This post contains spoilers for The Last of Us series.
LGBTQ+ themes are not something entirely new to The Last of Us franchise, as the first installment of the series also showcased a gay NPC and then a very graceful lesbian kiss in the Left Behind DLC. The entire project is also delivered by several queer Naughty Dog employees, and some of the characters are portrayed by LGBTQ+ individuals, which makes it even more wholesome and meaningful. The Last of Us Part 2 is especially vocal about LGBTQ+ themes, but it is also a very heavy game where some of these topics can lead to distress, and potentially trauma, not only for the characters but for queer players themselves. Regardless, it is also the first franchise of its kind to feature so much representation, and while not everything is perfect, it is a very big step forward in the right direction.
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As mentioned above, Ellie is a very unique character because she gets to be the first queer woman protagonist featured in a major blockbuster game. Ellie was also a major character in The Last of Us and became the sole playable character of The Last of Us: Left Behind, a DLC where her relationship with a childhood friend named Riley is shown, and it is both the backstory of Ellie's immunity and her adolescent exploration of her sexuality. Ellie's story takes a happy turn at the beginning of The Last of Us Part 2, with her finally finding a suitable partner in Dina, but things go very dark very quickly, and Joel is brutally killed in from of his adoptive daughter.
Joel was always a bit emotionally stunted, and while Ellie seems to have always accepted her sexuality, she ended up hiding it from her father figure not out of shame, but because she feared what Joel's reaction might have been. Eventually, she told him, and he was supportive of her and didn't really make a big deal out of it. That's something that The Last of Us does, as sexuality and gender identity are not such a big thing after the Cordyceps hit, and people are generally more accepting of LGBTQ+ topics, even though others retain views from the old world.
Speaking of Dina, she also offers great representation for bisexual and pansexual people. She was in a relationship with Jesse before she started dating Ellie, and the candor with which she can form intimate bonds with men and women alike is something that The Last of Us Part 2 truly nails. Dina's sexuality is not something that defines her nor something that she wants to be defined by, and she just lives her romantic and sexual life as it comes.
Dina is a great character because she is always supportive of the people she cares about, even when she is dealing with her problems. This shows when she first discovers to be pregnant with Jesse's child but still carries on to help Ellie exact revenge from Abby and her group, despite all the dangers. It's Dina who first kisses Ellie, and she does so in front of everyone because she doesn't see her sexuality as an issue nor something that should be kept secret.
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Lev is probably the most notable inclusion in the cast of characters for The Last of Us Part 2, not necessarily because one of the most important characters in the game, but rather because he is the first trans man to appear in blockbuster games. Not only that though, as Lev's voice actor is also a trans man who went through some of the hardships that the young Seraphite has to endure in the game, thus making his story all the more believable. Lev is the deuteragonist of Abby's story arc, and after losing his sister and his mother he has no one in the world, much like Abby after Ellie and Tommy murder everyone she cared about.
Lev's story also got mixed feedback, unsurprisingly, with a chunk of the player base being happy with the way the young trans man was depicted, and others saying that it felt traumatic for them and that his gender identity could have played a bigger role. Mostly, players were upset about the Seraphites deadnaming Lev (meaning they called him by his birth name rather than his preferred name), and that it was hurtful and unnecessary. Deadnaming is still, unfortunately, a thing that many trans folks have to bear because of how unaccepting people in their life can be, and showing Lev's suffering can also teach other people what it's really like to be transgender.
These characters are not related to each other in any way, but they are honorable mentions when it comes to all LGBTQ+ characters in The Last of Us. Starting with Riley, she is the deuteragonist of the Left Behind DLC, and she is Ellie's best friend. The DLC depicts Riley and Ellie's friendship and even hints at something more when Ellie kisses her friend and then says she's sorry, to which Riley says that she has nothing to be sorry about. Though never confirmed to be lesbian, bisexual, or pansexual, Riley at the very least seems like an ally.
Bill is a character who Joel and Ellie visit in the first game, and he helps them on their journey. Bill is gay and had a relationship with a man called Frank, who is later found dead in the game, much to Bill's dismay. Unlike Dina, Bill tries to hide his homosexuality and initially only refers to Frank as someone he had cared for.
Cat is the only character on the list to not be featured in either game, but she is mentioned in The Last of Us Part 2 as a member of the Jackson community and Ellie's ex-girlfriend. She is a tattoo artist and inked Ellie's arm to cover the marks of a bite she got years before. Not much is known about Cat, but she and Ellie seem to still be on good terms.
The Last of Us Part 2 is available now on PS4 and PS5.
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