The Last Of Us 3: 10 Things We DON'T Want To See
4. Drastic Changes In Portrayals
Building upon the revel of Ellie's sexuality in the Left Behind DLC, Naughty Dog showed Ellie getting intimate with Dina at a dance, way back at E3 2018.
Although Ellie and Dina's relationship felt genuine and was met with praise, this same praise was not shown for their portrayal of Lev.
It is discovered over time that Lev was outcast by his community for identifying as a man instead of a woman, and his character's arc and general portrayal came under heavy criticism for the Scars' dead-naming him.
The criticism comes from the fact that this is a very real issue faced by many members of the LGBT community, with Naughty Dog using it as fuel to hate the Scars even more, and as a segue into Lev's backstory.
On the other hand, it has opened an important avenue of discussion into an area of our society that has not been paid due attention without in-your-face exposition dumps.
Sure, the writing wasn't perfect, but here's hoping the conversation continues and the developers aren't swayed.