Why is everyone cringing at this? Just because they're lesbians?
Assuming the entire board isn't composed of -ists and -phobes here, bear with me.
I think (certainly in my case) it's the exhibition of intimacy front and center like we're *really* supposed to care or be invested that is cringey. Here's a play by play of the relationship from inception to oblivion:
-bisexual pregnant chick gets fucked up at a party and macks on Ellie.
-Ellie gets stoned with the chick and they bone.
-Ellie's father figure is brutally murdered and suddenly "this chick I think is kinda hot when I'm wasted," is now my "ride or die,"
-Synagogues and gay book stores
-I'm preggers!
-Stay on this couch. For the rest of forever.
-You didn't stay on the couch, now you're receiving elective cosmetic surgery on your face from Dr. She-Ra.
-DON'T LEAVE WE HAVE A LIFE TOGETHER.
In a game about mushroom zombies and university raiding cannibal pedos, this by far is the most unbelievable thing that they ask you to suspend your disbelief about. It has nothing to do with sexual orientation. My proof is two-fold. I didn't give a shit about Jesse, either. And I was quite touched, driven and invested in the last scene with Joel and Ellie. It comes down to writing, and the quality (or lack thereof) associated with it.
Giving me details about family, religion, what types of movies and music the characters like, sure thing. That's valuable information that informs CHARACTER. But it does *nothing* to build any sort of bond between two characters. Saying "babe," or "I love you," after having all of an hour together in gameplay is a contrivance. It's a clear case of "we want the characters in this specific spot, but we can't be asked to make it happen organically,"
This is why shit like dancing in the kitchen comes across as goofy at best and flat at worst. Because the player has no reason to be invested in this relationship which has magically formed with no chemistry whatsoever.