Trolls will find ways to circumvent the system, no matter how hard platforms attempt to send them back into their caves. Most recently, theycrawled out to spread venom againstThe Last of UsSeason 2, based on the acclaimed video gameThe Last of Us Part II, which suffered similarly upon its release. The first season of the HBO series was critically acclaimed, and it initially seemed like Season 2 was being met with similar warmth. But, despite the positive reviews that it opened to a few weeks ago, the audience reception — or, as one should point out,the troll reaction— has been quite negative.
Whether these folks should be taken seriously is another matter. But the fact that they’re able to manipulate audience scores on aggregator platforms, despite the efforts taken to prevent this sort of behavior, is a matter of concern.The Last of UsSeason 2’saudience score onRotten Tomatoeshas now fallen below the 50% markfor the first time, and iscurrently sitting at 49%, despitepositive reviews. The show’s critical rating on the aggregator website is still sitting pretty at 95%. A decline can be observed in the audience score, which stood at 58% not too long ago, before falling to 53%, and then 51%.
There is a difference between negative reviews and review-bombing, and it’s quite obvious thatThe Last of UsSeason 2 has been made a victim of the latter. The complaints this time around seem to be the same as they were when the source video game was released. Review bombers have taken offense to the manner in whichPedro Pascal’s character, Joel,was killed in the second episode. They’ve also continued to rant againstBella Ramsey, who plays Ellie in the series. More recently,Kaitlyn Deverwas also targeted specifically by vicious audience members for the role that her character played in Joel’s death.
Review-Bombing Is Largely Targeted Towards Minorities
Review bombing, as a phenomenon, is unsurprisinglydirected against women and other minorities. Famously, fans of the originalGhostbustersfranchise were so vocally antagonistic towards directorPaul Feig’s all-female 2016 rebootthat it ended up impacting the film’s box office performance. Rotten Tomatoes was forced to alter its rules following the review bombing of the 2019 Marvel Cinematic Universe filmCaptain Marvel, which was targeted because of starBrie Larson’s political comments. More recently, the Disney moviesThe Little MermaidandSnow Whitewere similarly attacked online, with the majority of the hate being directed at starsHalle BaileyandRachel Zegler.
You can watch new episodes ofThe Last of Uson HBO on Sundays, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
The Last Of Us
