We’re just over half way through the first season The Last Of Us, but the HBO show is still breaking boundaries.
Having included a heart-breaking LGBTQ+ love story in a previous episode, the series has now accurately portrayed what it’s like for the those with periods.
Despite being set during a dystopian zombie apocalypse, the show has given one of the most realistic representations of periods ever and fans are bloody (see what we did there?) here for it.
The eighth episode aired last week, with the reunion of Joel (played by Tik Tok favourite Pedro Pascal) and his brother, Tommy.
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Whilst it was a series highlight, hundreds of fans have taken Twitter to praise a moment that happened later in the episode with 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey).
After the teen is introduced to Tommy and his partner Maria (Rutina Wesley), the woman gifts them supplies including a ‘super f**king purple’ coat and a menstrual cup.
For those not in the know, the reusable cups are inserted like tampons and can replace traditional period products – such as pads.
Like most of us at that age, Ellie is grossed out but still grateful for the gift.
Fans have been thankful to the HBO series for showing the reality of periods on TV, when so few shows give it any screentime.
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We even see Ellie take a box of tampons from a basement infested with infected, as she struggles to find something for her period in the post- apocalyptic world.
Showrunner Craig Mazin shared the reason he'd been so keen to show this on screen, telling Vulture: "In a post-apocalypse, it’s annoying to have to deal with that and have a shortage of options.
"Why wouldn’t we show it? Especially because our co-lead is a 14-year-old girl. This is part of her life."
After seeing the episode, fans took to Twitter to thank the show for it’s representation.
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One fan of the series said that it ‘eased an anxiety’ they didn’t know they had, saying: “I am so obsessed with #TheLastOfUs finally showing us how people deal with menstruation in the apocalypse..."
Other quickly followed, with one stating that this realism was why she loved the series.
They wrote: “This scene from ‘the last of us’ is another example of why I love it so much. Menstruation is a part of Ellie’s life, she’s 14 years old. The show is based on a video game, it would’ve been easy to play to trope, but between this and the celebration of queer love, it’s special.”
Another fan even wondered how educational the show had been for cis men, as she joked about them having ‘no idea’ what a menstruation cup was.
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Craig Mazin even touched on this during his recent interview, adding: "The intention was that if you don’t know what [a menstrual cup] is, you can ask someone or you can Google.”
He continued: "It’s more for the people who do know what it is….We do this all the time in shows with things like guns. People don’t know how to load guns, and we don’t explain it to them. Why should we have to explain this?"
Could we love this series anymore?
Featured Image Credit: HBOTopics: Health, Celebrity, TV And Film