‘The Last of Us’ Episode 3 Recap: Love In The Time Of Cordyceps
30.01.2023 - 07:25
/ deadline.com
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of Season 1, Episode 3 of HBO’s The Last Of Us.
WARNING: The episode and recap includes sensitive discussions of suicide.
Calling The Last of Us Episode 3, titled “Long Long Time”, a spectacular piece of television is hardly an understatement. Funneled through the pen of series showrunner and co-writer Craig Mazin, this episode is an incredibly poignant and heartbreakingly tender reflection on vulnerability, love, and the meaning of life through the eyes of two lovers named Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett).
Before we get into the recap, it’s important to explain some things. A notable element of this episode, likely to spawn heated discourse amongst game fans, is how heavily it deviates from the source material to successfully enrich and redeem an otherwise sparse and dark narrative during gameplay.
For those who haven’t played the game, but are eager to join in on the discourse, here’s a quick rundown: In the game, Joel and Ellie come across a former acquaintance of Joel’s named Bill, who is the sole occupant of a small town that he’s heavily reinforced to keep out infected. During their reunion, Bill mentions that his partner Frank went missing some time ago after stealing his supplies. And unfortunately, while scavenging for more supplies, Bill, Joel and Ellie find that Frank has died by his own hand. And not only that, in his final note, Frank admits that after twenty years of living together, he purposefully ran away due to Bill’s increasingly paranoid behavior. Yeah, it’s heavy. And comparisons between the two versions will undoubtedly lead to thoughtful discussions long after the episode airs.
With that context out of the way, it’s easy to see why