About halfway through HBO’s acclaimed series, The Last of Us, we meet one of its most compelling characters: a fearsome rebel leader named Kathleen, played by Melanie Lynskey, who has overthrown the fascist federal government in post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested Kansas City. But what could many fans not stop fixating on? “She’s like a mom shouting at a bunch of kids,” one reddit user, in a riveting piece of TV analysis, noted.
If you haven’t been following the massively popular video-game-turned-prestige-TV-show, the series—which will wrap up its first season on Sunday—explores a world ravaged by a mutated fungus that takes over the minds and bodies of infected humans, turning them into zombies, and leading to societal collapse. It’s unsettling and thought-provoking and, oddly enough, not nearly as silly as it sounds.
When Joel, a surly smuggler played by Pedro Pascal, and Ellie, a rough-and-tumble teenager played by Bella Ramsey, arrive in Kansas City, Kathleen has instigated a tense manhunt for citizen informants who have betrayed her cause. She is brutally violent, blithely giving orders to kill civilians, but also an emotionally complex villain, devastated over the death of her brother—and viewers simply could not handle it. They balked at the mere hint of Kathleen’s femininity (her violence aside), and in particular, bristled at her high, soft voice. The complaints went something like this: Kathleen’s girlish pitch doesn’t fit into a cut-throat survivalist world; her voice doesn’t communicate power or strength; it’s wholly unrealistic that hardened soldiers would be “taking orders from a manager-seeking soccer mom,” as another redditor put it. Basically, in a world where mushroom zombies are a thing, there's just no way this woman would become a ruthless leader of men. |
