How em The Last of Us /em Fans Turned Against Its Breakout Star

By pretty much every objective measure, HBO's adaptation of the hit postapocalyptic video game The Last of Us has been a roaring success. Never before has a video game narrative been molded into Emmy nominations and such warm reception among respectable critics, industry darlings, and people who have no idea what the term "one-shotting" means. You'd think that the devotees who first fell in love with the game back when it was originally released in 2013 would be toasting the cultural ascendance of their favorite medium--and especially how the story's complicated morality has impacted those who've never picked up a controller. And yet, for as long as the show has been on television, its most dogmatic fans have been caught up in a controversy of much inferior consequence: Specifically, they're furious that Bella Ramsey doesn't look much like Ellie. On the most basic level, this observation is correct.