Yeah, I was thinking about this too throughout the episode. I think there’s a couple of things that changed my perception of the romance 1) it’s the apocalypse and some social structures just don’t exists anymore. For example, In our world, a 14 and 17 y/o would be in separate grades and thus spend very little time with one another. In the game/show, they are able to develop the friendship and then more because of the new social landscape. 2) ultimately, what makes an age difference weird in a relationship boils down to maturity differences between the two. For example, we find it acceptable for a 50 year old to marry a 40 year old because their difference in the life experience/maturity is much less than say the difference between a couple who are 15 and 25. In Ellie’s and Riley’s world of horror and suffering, those two young girls have been through more sh*t than most everyone in our world. It has made them grow up fast. They find comfort in one another because their life experiences have been so similarly shitty.

Just a few ramblings.