Episode three of The Last of Us has been hailed by advanced critics as an all time great- and “Long Long Time” lives up to that big time. This one is one of the most emotional and perfectly executed hours ever put to the small screen and tears were definitely shed by this reviewer watching it. Trust me when I say, this one’s a masterpiece.
On We Go | 10 miles west of Boston, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) are camped out by the river, with Joel hardly saying a word. Ellie tells Joel that she doesn’t deserve to be blamed for Tess’s (Anna Torv) death, since no one made them agree to take her. Joel bitterly says nothing before taking Ellie onward to Bill and Frank’s. They stop at an abandoned convenience store, where Elli is fascinated by an old “Mortal Kombat” arcade game, as Joel looks for something that he stashed there. Ellie finds a hatch leading to a basement and curiously goes down there, finding a box of tampons- and a half buried infected man still writhing around. She stares at it for a bit, before jabbing her switchblade into its’ head and then doesn’t mention it to Joel.
Meet Bill | As they carry on, Ellie finds a field full of skeletons and Joel explains that innocent civilians were executed by military if there wasn’t room for them in the safe zones. At that moment, a flashback takes us to 2003 as people are being evacuated from a small town. However, Bill (Nick Offerman), a paranoid doomsday nut, stays locked up in his basement and once the military leave, steals supplies from the Home Depot and gas from the gas station. Bill appears to be thriving in the end times, even setting up traps around his house that kill infected.
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Cut to 2007, and Bill finds a man (Murray Bartlett) who fell into a sinkhole trap. The man claims that he’s not infected and Bill verifies this with a scanner, as the man introduces himself as Frank. Bill reluctantly takes him in and agrees to feed him, but both are clearly wary of each other. Bill cooks Frank a lavish meal and afterwards, Frank starts playing a song on Bill’s antique piano, much to Bill’s irritation- That irritation doesn’t last long, though, as Bill joins in on the song. Afterwards, the two men share a passionate kiss, leading to sex, which is enough to convince Bill to let Frank stay.
Making Friends | Three years later, Frank angers Bill when he reveals that he’s been talking to someone over the radio and has invited them over. Those people turn out to be Joel and Tess, who Bill is untrusting of, until Joel points out the flaws in his security system and offers to help out with materials. Bill, however, ignores Joel’s warnings that infected will come for them sooner or later.
Years later, after Frank surprises Bill with fresh grown strawberries, a group of raiders arrive in the middle of the night, but Bill’s traps ward them off. That’s not enough to stop Bill from getting shot, but Frank stitches him up. Ten years after that, Frank is now in a wheelchair and Bill is still taking care of him, giving him medicine and helping him into bed. The next morning, Frank tells Bill that today is his last day and he wants to spend it with him. They have an informal wedding in their own home and Bill makes one last meal for Frank, the exact same meal he cooked for him when they first met. Afterwards, Frank asks Bill to put all of his sleeping pills in his glass of wine so he can die asleep in Bill’s arms. Bill, however, also puts the same amount of pills in his own wine and they both drink their glasses and go to bed.
In present day, Joel and Ellie arrive at Bill and Frank’s house, only to find it empty. Ellie finds a letter with a key addressed to “Probably Joel,” explaining what happened and addressing Joel that he needs to keep Tess safe because there are people worth protecting in the world. The key is for Bill’s truck and Joel agrees to take Ellie to Wyoming to his brother. As they take supplies from the house, Ellie finds a gun hidden in a drawer and takes it without telling Joel. As they drive off in Bill’s truck, Ellie puts a song on the cassette tape- and it’s the exact same song Bill played on the piano for Frank.
The Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO.