Based on the popular Naughty Dog video game by the same name, The Last of Us is an apocalyptic series with a lot of heart. Though the game is known for its brilliant storytelling and queer-inclusive characters, nothing could have prepared viewers for what they would see in episode three.
Warning: The Last of Us spoilers ahead!
The episode steers away from the main characters Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) to instead focus on the love story between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett). It begins with their unorthodox meet-cute in 2003 when the Cordyceps brain infection first started and shows glimpses into their relationship over the next 20 years. We won’t spoil the entire episode but let’s say our gay hearts are SOBBING! It’s a beautiful tale full of love and sacrifice.
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Murray Bartlett Talks Bill and Frank’s Story
Speaking to Pink News, Bartlett said everyone on set knew this episode’s gravity and potential before production had even begun.
“It is such a beautiful script. We were all completely floored by it. I think the entire crew, every department, was treating this episode with such reverence because everyone loved it so much and everyone came at it with such emotion.”
Offerman and Murray are not the couple we expected to see in 2023, but we love it! The actors give such tender and sweet performances that will have all audience members falling in love right from the beginning.
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Bartlett also opened up about meeting Offerman and the bond they formed on and off the screen.
“I love Nick. It turned out he loved me, which was great. And there was chemistry there, which was sort of charged with what we knew we were about to do,” Bartlett recalled.
“[Offerman] is so perfectly cast because he’s such a tough shell of a guy in a way, and just also so incredibly sensitive and like a small child, as a person and as an actor,” he continued.
“I always kind of look for the child in people I guess, and that child was staring right back. There was just this chemistry between us that happened very quickly.”
How the Episode Differs From the Game
Fans of The Last of Us know how Bill and Frank’s story ends in the game, but here is how it goes down for those who don’t. Another warning: It is even more tragic than the TV adaptation.
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When Joel and Ellie find Bill, he is not with his partner Frank. The two got into a heated argument and decided to go their separate ways. Later, they find a dead body and discover it belongs to Frank. He was bit by one of the infected and took his own life. Frank’s last letter to Bill tragically expressed his hatred towards his former partner, not his undying love.
Though a dystopian world overrun by man-eating humans is not a likely place to find love; these two did it. Watch the episode if you have not already. I’m begging you.
The Last of Us is now streaming on HBO Max.
