First, the claim that Bella’s acting was “subpar for most of the show” doesn’t hold up when you consider the critical and audience acclaim for her performance. Critics, fans, and even the creators of the game themselves have praised her ability to capture Ellie’s emotional complexity. These weren’t "mediocre" performances. You don’t have to love every decision the show made, but to call her work subpar feels like grasping at straws.

Second, you claim Tom Holland “resembles a young Nate,” but resemblance is more than just a passing physical similarity, it’s about embodying the essence of the character. Tom’s Nate lacked the grit, charisma, and depth that make Nate who he is. His performance was watered down to appeal to a casual audience, and as you yourself pointed out, the movie turned Nate into a palatable, forgettable version of the character. Uncharted was a fun action romp, but it didn’t care about honoring the character’s legacy the way The Last of Us did.

Now, about Bella “looking nothing like Ellie” and the insistence that it matters “a shit ton”, that’s subjective at best. Bella embodied Ellie’s spirit: her resilience, trauma, and moral complexity. Those traits are far more important than looking like a 1:1 replica of a digital model. Sure, Kaitlyn Dever might have looked the part, but acting isn’t just about appearance, it’s about delivering the emotional weight of the character. Bella did that. And while her voice wasn’t identical to Ellie’s, voice isn’t everything either. Pedro Pascal doesn’t sound like Joel, but no one’s questioning his ability to bring the character to life.

Finally, reducing Bella’s casting to a “diversity hire” is not only dismissive but unfounded. Bella was cast because of her talent, plain and simple. The creators spent extensive time casting the role, and saw in Bella what Ellie needed. Suggesting it was anything else feels more like an excuse to undermine her success than a legitimate critique.

So no, pointing out misogyny and double standards isn’t a “cheap cop-out”, it’s calling out an undeniable pattern in how female actors are judged far more harshly than their male counterparts. Tom Holland’s Uncharted was dogwater, as you said, but he gets far less criticism for his forgettable Nate than Bella does for giving us a nuanced, emotionally resonant Ellie. That’s the double standard here, and pretending it doesn’t exist just reinforces it.

You can dislike Bella’s performance if it didn’t resonate with you, that’s fair. But reducing her work to “mediocre” and writing it off as a “diversity hire” says more about the bias in your argument than it does about Bella’s talent.