by WARNING: This article contains spoilers for HBO Episode 3. The last of us Serie. So if he hasn’t seen it yet, he should seriously reconsider his life priorities.
‘The Last of Us’ is one of my favorite video games of all time.
It’s a game that shines in every aspect, from its harrowing story and performances to its immersive gameplay and stunning graphics.
So when I heard that they were adapting it into a TV series, I was nervous to say the least…
We’ve seen it try many other games before and they usually end up being a complete disaster. Take the atrocious film adaptations of max payne, assassin’s Creed either Hitmanfor example.
But HBO’s take on Naughty Dog’s groundbreaking post-apocalyptic film ‘The Last of Us’ has so far been nothing short of brilliant. And especially its most recent episode, long long time (Episode 3), which for my money is one of the best episodes of TV I think I’ve ever seen.
Like many, he was devastated by the end. And I don’t think I’ll recover for quite some time.
A post-apocalyptic love story
While the first two episodes set the overall tone for the series and introduced viewers to the two main leads, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), the third episode boldly steps away from this journey and instead explores the intimate and heartbreaking love story. between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett).
Cast of two inherently comic and goofy stars from Parks and Recreation Y the white lotus It was a surprising move from the show’s creators, but one that paid off magnificently.
Their on-screen chemistry is wonderful, and they play their roles with tremendous sensitivity and nuance.
The episode flashes back in time to the early stages of the cordyceps outbreak, where we meet Bill, a gruff survivor, who manages to dodge the evacuation of his town by hiding in a surveillance bunker he built under his house before the outbreak.
Now that everyone in the area has left, Bill emerges from hiding and, for lack of a better phrase, begins to truly live his best life. He breaks into his premises without a license, chopping down trees, stealing his neighbor’s boat, and setting up a bunch of devious booby traps to wipe out any nearby Infected. Kevin McCallister would be proud.
Bill is completely satisfied with his new life of freedom, but it is clear that he lacks a sense of purpose.
Four years later. Bill meets Frank, who has fallen into one of his traps. Little does Bill know, she will soon fall for Frank. I’m not sorry you had to read that last sentence.
After Bill begrudgingly invites the helpless Frank to his house for an excellently prepared rabbit lunch, accompanied by a good beaujolaisthe two men share an intimate moment around a piano, as they take turns singing Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Long Long Time’ (who is likely to receive a Kate Bush/ Strange things ‘Running up that hill’ moment). Bill then reveals to Frank that he is gay, to which he replies “I know” and the two kiss.
After this encounter, Frank stays forever. The couple forms a life together within the complex. They cook, make art, treat guests to dinner (Joel and Tess), laugh with delight over strawberries, and begin to find love and meaning in the bleak post-apocalyptic world they find themselves in.
But similar to Pixar’s heartbreaking opening sequence UntilFrank eventually falls ill and decides that he will take his own life.
After spending one last day together, as Max Richter’s incredibly moving piece ‘On the Nature of Daylight’ accompanies the sequence, Bill reveals to Frank that he too will take his own life and that they will die in each other’s arms.
“I’m fulfilled and you were my purpose,” Bills tells a teary-eyed Frank, who responds by saying, “I don’t support this… But from an objective standpoint, it’s incredibly romantic.”
why i love this episode
While the first two episodes of the show stayed fairly close to the original game’s story and characters, episode three deviates drastically from it. And this was something that at first I thought would make me hate the series.
But is the key to creating a great video game adaptation staying 100% faithful to the source material?
clearly not.
Here, the show takes the character of Bill, who in the game has very little backstory and is merely a supporting character to help progress Joel and Ellie’s journey, and transforms him into a complex being with a fascinating narrative of his own. . By delving into his relationship with Frank, which is only briefly mentioned in a hidden suicide note in the game, the series expands the world of The last of us. And this really improves the original game.
Thanks to the series, now Bill and Frank have a lot more backstory in the game, and it makes me want to play it again.
It was also an incredibly brave decision by the show’s creators to dedicate an entire episode to these minor characters, who by the end of the episode are no longer alive and who we as the audience will likely never see again.
But the episode doesn’t just tell an incredibly heartfelt personal story of hope and love; it also provides context for what has been lost to the infection, perfectly shifts the tone of the first two episodes, and expands the depth of the show’s world. Above all, it helps us understand what is really at stake, showing how humanity can be saved from the collapse of a civilization.
In short, if the first two episodes of The last of us build showbiz then long long time it gives viewers a reason to really care.
As if that wasn’t enough, the episode excellently sets up the rest of Joel and Ellie’s journey on a thematic level.
“I was wrong, because there was one person worth saving. That’s what I did. I saved him. Then I protected him,” reads the suicide note left behind by Bill, which Ellie reads aloud to Joel towards the end of the episode.
It’s clear that Joel is on a similar path to Bill’s: one of redemption and healing.
Ellie now gives him “something to fight for.”
The first three episodes of HBO’s The Last of Us are currently streaming.
