This show, man. I’m absolutely stunned that, in only its third episode, The Last of Us could manage to craft such a gorgeous, haunting, human, and heartbreaking story over the course of an hour – one that never felt cloying, silly, or overdone – and present us with two characters who we had only just met but whose love story was so lived in and amazing. I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried multiple times throughout the episode – and yelled “Kiss him!” when Bill and Frank had their piano-playing meet cute moment – because this is what great television is all about: being able to tell us a slice of life story amidst a larger, sprawling epic that will take our central characters from one side of the country to another, that makes us feel deeply.
Really, I knew that we were in for a stunning hour of television as soon as Nick Offerman’s voice was heard at the start of the episode. But the moment I knew this might be an all-timer was when he found Murray Bartlett’s Frank in the pit. Now, Bartlett is having a hell of a couple of years here, but he first made his mark on HBO not in White Lotus but in the lovely series Looking – playing a character much in the same vein a Frank: charming, kind, and good. The pairing of him and Offerman was just perfection – the easy comradery, the joyous chemistry, the twinkle in each of their eyes. I would have gladly watched an entire series just about their life in their gated community with periodic visits from Tess (it was lovely to see Anna Torv back, even if only for a brief appearance) and Joel. I was sad that Ellie wouldn’t get a chance to meet them, as I’m sure she would have had a ball watching their relationship and seeing that it’s possible to find companionship and happiness – or something like it – in this dark and deadly world. But, knowing her, she likely would have been too nervous of revealing too much and would have pulled a Joel and tried to button up any feelings she might have.
Speaking of Joel, the hits just keep on coming for him. Losing Tess is devastating. Losing Frank and Bill is as well – despite Bill’s letter, they were absolutely friends, even if they were too gruff to admit it to each other and there was certainly a love within that friendship. Sure, this is a cruel world where people leave you in various ways far too easily, but that doesn’t make the pain of their loss any easier to bear. Expectation and reality are two very different things, and kudos to Pedro Pascal for showing us that pain writ large on Joel’s face upon finishing the letter.
But what I really want to talk about was the fact that a story like this one – a story that, on its face, is a tale of two broken people finding something close to a familial bond while on the run from bandits, zombies, and government troops in the post-apocalyptic landscape – took the time to tell a gay love story over the course of an episode. It didn’t need to do this. We could have simply had Ellie and Joel arrive at the house, find the note, have Bill impart that key piece of advice (that Joel is a protector) and then Ellie and Joel could head off on their next adventure. The show didn’t need to let us sit in the lives of Bill and Frank, getting to see them fall in love, grow old, and show us what a true marriage means over the course of their 16 years together (in sickness and in health was a vow they may not have taken until they were about to shuffle off this mortal coil, but they lived in throughout their relationship). Those snapshots didn’t just enrich Bill’s advice to Joel – advice that I suspect he will hold close to his heart throughout the rest of this story – they showed us just what Joel’s quest with Ellie is all about. And they did it by telling a gay love story.
Now, for those not in the LGBTQ+ community, you might not understand why this is such a monumental thing for those of us who are. Despite much more widespread representation in film and television nowadays, we rarely get to see huge big budget series like The Last of Us – shows that have captured a huge audience and have a large reach through HBO (which also means they have that shine of prestige television along with it) – provide us with queer characters, much less tell a nuanced, respectful love story between two middle-aged men who fall in love (and into bed – another rarity!), grow old together, and continue to love one another despite all the trials and tribulations that life throws at them. This is huge. And much appreciated. It’s my understanding that the game doesn’t have a sequence like this within it, wherein we see Bill and Frank’s love story unfold, and this makes me all the more impressed that Craig Mazin penned this absolutely wonderful piece of television to flesh out these two characters and provide them with such a moving and amazing life story before we lost them both. I know I’ll never listen to a Linda Ronstadt song the same way again.
It’s interesting, three episodes into the series, to see how each episode is crafted as a single vignette within the wider story being told. For narrative purposes, it works wonderfully, giving us a clear story to tell each time through, a piece within the overall puzzle. The downside is that we’re introduced to characters – Tess, Bill, Frank – only to have them disappear from the fabric of the series just as quickly as they appeared. They burn bright and then flame out, leaving behind key lessons, broken relationships, and a reminder that life is fleeting and it’s crucial to remind those we love just how much we do while we have them with us. I know I’ll cherish this particular episode of television for quite a long time – I haven’t felt this much, cried this much, or wished I could have more time with characters like Bill and Frank for a while.
It’s episodes like this one that make me love television. Where we can take a respite from a larger story – carve out a small piece of time in a longer season – to focus closely on seemingly inconsequential characters. To learn who they are. To see them grow. To watch them love. And to fall in love with them as well. “Long Long Time” was that type of episode. A gem within a larger strong series (I know, presumptuous to make that claim three episodes in, but I think I’m right here). Bill and Frank might be gone from The Last of Us, but their presence in Joel’s life will reverberate as he travels with Ellie, keeping her safe. Because, like Bill, he’s a protector. And I suspect that like Bill, once he’s made a choice to take someone in, he’s all in on them.
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