Welcome back to the blog. I am loving HBO's The Last of Us so far through its first two episodes, and I just finished the third titled "Long Long Time" directed by Peter Hoar. So I just wanted to come here to share my thoughts.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
This show sets the bar higher and higher every week, and this third episode is no different. By doing something different (pun absolutely intended), The Last of Us is becoming the best show on television right now. This episode is fantastic, so that's if you needed a simpler explanation. This is basically a 70-minute bubble episode that dives heavily into the character work of and the relationship between Bill and Frank, while including some Joel and Ellie bonding that connects to the story of Bill and Frank.
A detail from the game I was not aware of, because I obviously didn't play the game, was their relationship. And my brother, who is a big fan of the games, informed me of the in-game fate of Frank, and I believe his in-show fate is much more tragic. And this episode was driven by absolutely powerful performances by Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman as they delve into some unfamiliar territory and break our hearts.
Nick Offerman plays the paranoid survivalist Bill, and I can't believe what I saw out of him. A layered, powerful performance makes this version of Bill so much more engaging, and it shows. One of his better moments include when we first see him in his basement and realizing that everyone in his community is gone. He comes off initially as crazy and just another conspiracy theorist, but all of that changes when he meets Frank.
Murray Bartlett gives a tragic performance of Frank, someone we apparently never see in the first game, and that is explained by my brother as having killed himself after he was bitten. We get to see Frank and how his relationship with Bill begins, and I couldn't be more in love with these two. Their original chemistry is just golden together. I'm just glad they didn't show the nudity, because Game of Thrones was the guilty party for that. I am fine with seeing affection and even some level of sex, but unnecessary nudity is just ridiculous.
One thing I loved about this episode is the theme of love, and fighting for that love however you can. Bill is a man who, for four years, lived alone in his perfect little townscape and had no human connection. Frank stumbles into his trap and convinces Bill to let him eat and take a shower. Turns out they are exactly what the other needed, and the connection is there. I love how they looked at aspects of their entire 16-year relationship; from being attacked by raiders to their initial meeting with Joel and Tess (hey Anna Torv!) to their heart-shattering final moments.
Frank's final day is such a tearjerker, and a very good deviation from the source material. Frank asks Bill to crush up pills and put them in his wine, and we learn that Bill did the same so they can die together. Holy hell, HBO. Way to pull at the heartstrings. The last we see of them is when they spend the day as a couple and doing things like getting nice suits, eating a freshly cooked meal and getting married (!!!) before they go into their bedroom, and presumably die together. That is something that is confirmed when Joel and Ellie get to Lincoln. In total, brilliant performances and a wonderful deviation from the game to tell a deeply personal and tragic story.
The Bill and Frank stuff was so freaking good, I completely forgot that we had some Joel and Ellie action. The opening 10-15 minutes of the episode continues to build the chemistry between the two. Joel still sees Ellie as cargo, but he appears to be warming up to her, and I can't wait until we get into the juicy stuff. There is also a tense moment in a shop where Joel stashed supplies where Ellie confronts a Stalker buried under rubble. She uses her knife to cut the Stalker open and then stab it in the cut, killing it and putting it out of its misery.
And the final 15 minutes bring the stories of Bill & Frank and Joel & Ellie together in a very touching way. Earlier in the episode, it is revealed that in 2010, Frank met Tess over the radio and invited her and Joel to the townscape to talk about forming a smuggling alliance, to which Bill rejected. In Bill's suicide note, he asks Joel to keep Tess safe, something he didn't know Joel already failed to do. And for the first time, Joel felt emboldened to take on this burden of delivering Ellie (who took Bill's pistol without Joel's knowledge) to Tommy in Wyoming himself. And that final shot, man. Very reminiscent of the title screen of the first game, and a bleak reminder that even though two people in this world can find each other and build a relationship, that the world is cruel and is willing to take away just as quickly as it is to give. And that is something you should take with you as we meet more characters, like Henry and Sam.
I didn't even talk about the music used in this episode. When Gustavo Santaolalla's score kicks in, it is soothing when it needs to be, and heartbreaking near the end. But the true MVP of this episode is the use of Linda Ronstadt's song "Long, Long Time." Why do things have to hurt so bad HBO? The juxtaposition of the two uses of this song is super poignant. The first is when Bill meets Frank and Bill plays it on piano, which is what begins this relationship, and it is played again at the end when we hear Linda singing it juxtaposed to Joel and Ellie leaving with Bill's car.
To conclude my thoughts on this episode, "Long Long Time" is a magnificent look at love and togetherness dialed in by two phenomenal performances by Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman. The Joel and Ellie stuff is engaging and begins to flesh out their soon-to-be relationship wonderfully. Be sure to let me know what you thought of this episode in the comments. Thank you for reading, and I hope you join me next week for my review of the fourth episode.
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