The Last of Us' Episode 3

2023 - 1 - 30

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Gizmodo"

The Last Of Us Showrunners Dive Into the Reasons and Meaning ... (Gizmodo)

io9 spoke with Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann about this week's Nick Offerman-centric episode, "Long, Long Time."

It’s been a long time with these characters, and it ultimately reflects back in a really strong, beautiful way to the themes of the game, which is the most beautiful moments in life come from love and sometimes the most horrific moments in life come from love. What if we focused on that and blew that up and do things that we couldn’t have done in the game, which is jump around in time and show these other characters? It feels like it’s part of The Last Of Us. One of the things that I remember from the game was that Bill was safe. In the best of circumstances, you get what you get with Bill and Frank, which is a success. And what kind of love are we going to see exhibited when this is all said and done? So it was an opportunity to just explore theme and the passage of time and to do it with Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett, who are incredible, and our director Peter Hoar’s gorgeous job. That there was an opportunity to, first of all, help people understand how the passage of time functioned between the outbreak to now, but also to really dig into the point of the show, which is the nature of love. And the second episode is incredibly tense and features danger and Clickers and tragedy. I’d just watched episode three of The Last Of Us, called “Long, Long Time” and was stunned. [HBO’s new show, The Last Of Us](https://gizmodo.com/last-of-us-hbo-review-playstation-pedro-pascal-joel-ell-1849950042), I immediately thought [about this moment](https://gizmodo.com/last-of-us-hbo-length-left-behind-dlc-neil-druckmann-1849945355). And one of the things that I felt pretty strongly was, look, we’ve got this insane first episode where the world falls apart and there’s tragedy.

The Last of Us Episode 3 Recap, Theories, and Thoughts (ComingSoon.net)

As a fan of the video game, watching the show change things can make one feel antsy as our The Last of Us Episode 3 recap shows.

Hopefully, the showrunners finally unleash the unruly horror and gritty violence that drew us to the game in the first place. In the game, Ellie is tough and always on the lookout for a fight. Fans of the game will love the inclusion of crafting in this episode. Offerman, in particular, behaves just like his video game counterpart for much of the episode but, unfortunately, doesn’t get the same substance to chew on. Joel only meets Bill in a brief flashback, but he and Ellie never meet up with the character during the present-day storyline. The Last of Us video game works so well because it’s about the relationship that develops between Joel and Ellie during their wild journey across a desolate America. Ellie finds a box of tampons in a secret room, a minor but interesting beat. Later, they discover Frank hanging in a house with bite marks all over his body — depressing, to be sure, but isn’t that more in line with The Last of Us? Rather than follow the beats of the game, the series pivots and allows Bill and Frank to live a mostly peaceful life during which the pair paints, work out, enjoy romantic walks through sunshine-drenched neighborhoods, and pick fresh strawberries. When Joel shows the letter to Bill, he grumbles, “F—ing idiot,” and tosses the piece of paper away. I’m all for good character development and was always curious to see what happened to the pair of star-crossed lovers. Watching The Last of Us TV show is a difficult task.

Bill and Frank Stole The Last Of Us Fans' Hearts (menshealth.com)

'The Last of Us' Episode 3, featuring Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett as gay couple Bill and Frank, is earning an overwhelmingly positive reaction from ...

Response to the episode online has been overwhelmingly positive, with fans praising the writing of the romance between the two characters, and Bartlett and Offerman's understated performances. "One of the beautiful things for me about this experience was being paired with Nick and finding that both of us wanted to just go there. [Nick Offerman](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a31994535/nick-offerman-devs-interview-profile/), who lives alone in a bunker following the outbreak of the cordyceps infection that decimated the population. The episode ends with Frank, who has been getting increasingly more sick from an unnamed terminal disease, asking Bill to assist him in euthanasia so he can die with dignity. Initially distrustful of this newcomer, Bill reluctantly offers Frank shelter and a meal. Several years after the initial disaster, Bill encounters Frank (The White Lotus and [Welcome to Chippendales](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a42041931/welcome-to-chippendales-true-story/) star [Murray Bartlett](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a37328826/white-lotus-finale-poop-death-murray-bartlett/)), who has been caught in one of his many traps.

'The Last of Us' Episode 3 Recap: A Gut-Wrenching Masterpiece (CNET)

The survivalist takes center stage in the HBO Max adaptation, and you're not ready for this incredible episode of TV.

We never see Frank alive in the game, since he and Bill had a falling out prior to Ellie and Joel's arrival. In the show, when Bill finds him in the trap, Frank says he was on his way to Boston. The duo take Bill's car and hit the road to find Joel's ex-Firefly brother Tommy in Wyoming (with Ronstadt's 1970 song Long Long Time kicking off their journey). Tess and Frank immediately hit it off, while the more severe Joel and Bill find a mutual respect. Bill tenderly pushes Frank into their room and the scene fades to black. And you'll cook a delicious dinner," he says, before taking his pills out of his pocket. Bill is a loving caregiver, helping his partner take his pills and get around. Probably for the best, since Bill had an arsenal of weaponry and seemed absolutely ready for a siege. In 2007, Bill's way of life appears to have served him well -- he looks much the same four years after the outbreak. A flashback reveals how Bill managed to avoid getting dragged into a quarantine zone by the US military after the September 2003 outbreak. Their mission is to get Ellie to the rebel group known as the Fireflies, due to her immunity to the [fungus that's turned much of the populace into savage cannibals](https://www.cnet.com/science/biology/features/the-last-of-us-fungal-pandemic-actually-happen-a-scientific-investigation-hbo-max/). The hope is that they can replicate Ellie's resistance and restore the world.

The Last of Us episode 3 review: The first major departure from the ... (OTTplay)

Story: As Joel and Ellie continue on their journey west of Boston, the narrative shifts towards the hosts of their destination — Bill and Frank.

It is undoubtedly the most profound and compelling depiction of a gay relationship since the hit Schitt’s Creek. This deviation in the story is certainly a significant upgrade to Bill’s arc when compared to the game. A few identical scenes and dialogues from the game were thrown in as well to the delight of the video game fans. Unlike in the game where Bill and Frank are depicted as lovers who separated, the TV series has dedicated an entire episode to their committed relationship in a post-apocalyptic dystopia. The story follows Bill from the day of the outbreak in 2003 to meeting Frank a few years later, and then finally to the present day after having lived together for two decades. The character of Bill in the game is played by a popular TV actor W.

The Last of Us Episode 3 Is a TV Moment We'll Never Forget (Esquire.com)

Thanks to Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman, we need an Emmy Award for Best Bottle Episode.

Frank and Bill crush up enough sleeping pills to end their lives together—and go to sleep for one last time. When Joel and Ellie finally arrive in present day (well, August 2023), there’s a key left for them and a hand-written note. Frank tells him that the quarantine zone is completely gone, and Bill lets him out of a hole after testing to see if he’s infected. He plans one final day with Bill, and it’s set to the incredibly recognizable “On the Nature of Daylight” by Max Richter. He wants to spruce up the town and play a little Sims in real life, but Bill reminds him that “we will never have friends, because there are no friends to be had.” Cut to: Joel and Tess having dinner with them outside. Tess thanks the couple for the beautiful meal, but Bill is still on edge. The two of them live together for another three years before he starts to truly feel the isolation of their living situation. With everyone in the town now gone, Bill pops out of a secret bunker he built below his house stacked with guns, barrels of sulfuric acid, and a stack of security camera feeds. Then, he sets up a bunch of booby traps and—as he eats his dinner—watches them go to work on some unlucky infected humans. Next, Joel and Ellie find something even worse: a mass grave of people, all of whom the army didn’t let enter a quarantine zone—because they either had a chance of being infected, or the QZ was just too full. That’s a good thing, because our hero, Joel ( [Pedro Pascal](https://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/a42535800/the-last-of-us-pedro-pascal-jacket/)), must help Ellie (Bella Ramsey) reach the Firefly oasis that she believes is somewhere out there, still trying to find a cure. “You needed a truck battery or whatever, and you made a choice.