Ellie's menstrual cup scene in The Last of Us is being praised by viewers

22 February 2023, 19:19

Bella Ramsey opens up about Joel and Ellie’s fight scene

By Katie Louise Smith

"The glow up from expired, definitely unsafe tampons to actually feasible menstrual cup is phenomenal. Bravo."

Every week, the timeline is full of praise for The Last of Us – as it should be! Whether it's the amazing performances from Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, or the way the show manages to perfectly capture the vibe and spirit of the original game, there's always so much to rave about. This week: Period products in the apocalypse. (Big slay!)

Back in episode 3, viewers saw Ellie find a pack of Tampax Pearls and stash them in her bag when she and Joel stopped by a convenience store on the way to Bill and Frank's house. Three episodes later, in episode 6 (Feb 19), the show delivered another moment by showing Ellie being given a menstrual cup upon her arrival at the community in Jackson.

Viewers were already pretty impressed by the tampon shout-out but people now are obsessed that The Last of Us is continuing to acknowledge the fact that periods are still a thing during an apocalypse.

In the scene, Ellie finds a DivaCup waiting for her on the bed, and she proceeds to open the box and read the instructions on how to use it. She's a bit taken aback at first, but then demonstrates how to fold it correctly in order to insert it, amusing herself in the process.

Not only did Ellie discover what a menstrual cup was in that moment, so did millions of viewers who had never even heard of one before.

Many also noted that they'd never even seen an apocalyptic/dystopian film or TV show take periods into consideration at this level before, let alone show a menstrual cup and how to use it.

In response to one viral tweet that praised the show for "showing us how people deal with menstruation in the apocalypse," one user gave a shout out to creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, saying: "The glow up from expired, definitely unsafe tampons to actually feasible menstrual cup is phenomenal. Bravo."

Another replied: "And the fact that she now has a long term solution so we don’t have to worry about our girl struggling to find tampons or pads anymore."

(Yep, tampons do actually expire after 5 years, as they can begin to attract bacteria or mould. In Ellie's case those tampons would have been made about 20 years ago. According to their website, the DivaCup – which is reusable – can last several years if cared for properly.)

Explaining the scene to Vulture, Mazin said: "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!"

"It goes by very quickly. The intention was that if you don’t know what it is, you can ask someone or you can Google. It’s more for the people who do know what it is," he added. "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?"

Another win for The Last of Us!

Read more The Last of Us news here:

• Does Joel die in The Last of Us game? Here's what happens to him and Ellie
• Bella Ramsey claps back at backlash to LGBTQ+ characters in The Last of Us
• Bella Ramsey wore a chest binder while filming The Last of Us to focus better on set
• The Last of Us' Melanie Lynskey claps back after model says she has the 'wrong body' for the show
• The Last of Us fans are screaming and crying over Nico Parker's "perfect" performance

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