‘The Last of Us’ Episode 3 Review: ‘Long, Long Time’ Is a Beautiful Piece of Television
The latest episode of The Last of Us expands on the backstory of a significant character from the game and makes some pretty major changes as a result. The culmination of that is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful pieces of TV I’ve ever seen.
To say this episode is emotional is an understatement. The previous episode wasn’t exactly action-focused and had plenty of quiet and emotional moments, but Long, Long Time eschews violence almost entirely. Instead, we are treated to a love story that is both beautiful and tragic in equal measure.
Joel and Ellie aren’t even in the bulk of the episode. It checks in with them after their escape from the clickers in Boston, with the pair still reeling from Tess’ death and on their way to Bill’s fortified neighborhood to ask for help reaching Tommy (Joel believes his Firefly connections can help deliver Ellie to the rebel group).
After that, nearly the entire episode is essentially one long flashback sequence as we learn more about Bill. There’s a bit of time dedicated to his relationship with Joel and Tess, but really, this episode is all about his own life. In the video game, Bill serves a dark narrative purpose and a lesson for Joel to learn from, but the show changes his story and enhances his purpose as it relates to the main characters.
Nick Offerman puts in an incredibly touching performance as Bill. I never thought I could love a Nick Offerman character more than Parks and Recreation‘s Ron Swanson, but this might just be the one. The early parts of the story showing Bill surviving an apocalypse are plenty hilarious in their own right — something I expected Offerman would excel at — but I never expected what came next. His dramatic range is let loose here, even if both Bill and Ron are emotionally stunted tough men at first who gradually let down their walls.
I defy anyone not to be hooked on The Last of Us after watching this episode. This show is truly top tier television.
Spoilers ahead…
I don’t know how much of the changes to Bill can be put down to Craig Mazin or Neil Druckmann’s involvement, but what they did was nothing short of genius. In the game, Bill’s purpose for the wider narrative is that surviving in this world is not enough. You have to truly live by making the most of life, and while Joel doesn’t necessarily learn that lesson directly from him, he is the game’s living example that you have to do more than just survive.
The Last of Us series has taken that idea and run with it, giving Bill a beautiful love story that we were never treated to in-game. Rather than having Frank leave Bill for not changing his survivalist ways to the point of emotionally suffocating his partner, the episode shows us how Frank awakened that desire to live and love within Bill.
Sure, he was still extremely careful, not wishing to leave his safe haven, and was generally distrusting of others, but the difference was that he was always willing to compromise when Frank pushed him to let down his walls or change his attitude. When playing the game, I always assumed that Bill’s relationship with Joel and Tess was strictly professional, but the show tells us that Frank actually pushed for the two couples to become friends first, and it was that relationship that led to the trading between them.
Bill and Frank’s first meeting was marvelously written, with the lovely and approachable Frank (masterfully performed by Murray Bartlett) falling into one of Bill’s hidden pits. His charm allows Bill to agree to feed him dinner and give him a hot shower — Frank’s reaction to what must have been his first hot shower in weeks, if not months, was very relatable. I don’t think I’d want to leave either — and Bill quickly begins to let his guard down. Despite his best efforts to keep Frank at an arm’s length, he relents, and Frank gets to see him at his most vulnerable. I don’t think Bill realized how alone he’d felt until this moment. Frank treats him gently with love and respect, and the love between them blossoms.
I watched these adorable moments between them tinged with sadness, waiting for the inevitable moment when Frank would get tired of Bill’s paranoia and leave him. But that never happened, and Long, Long Time gave us something I never expected: it let Bill and Frank grow old together, and the love between them remained as strong as it ever was.
But then, Frank developed a terminal illness. He became wheelchair-bound, and Bill became his carer. It was clear that even as Frank painted, his lust for life was fading as he struggled to reach his easel. His decision to end his life early was understandable but no less heartbreaking. Bill knew that he didn’t want to live a life that didn’t have his love in it, so he decided to mix those pills into the same bottle of wine they shared, so all they needed to do was go to sleep next to each other one last time.
The montage of their final perfect day together was beautiful. I didn’t do too well watching it, and I’m tearing up just thinking about it again. At the end of the day, the show actually uses a piece of music from the game, Vanishing Grace by composer Gustavo Santaolalla, after Bill and Frank drink the wine and head off to bed. The game generally uses it for its quieter and sombre moments, but the piece took on a whole new life here. It was used perfectly, capable of coaxing emotion from even the stoniest of hearts.
When Joel and Ellie arrive at Bill’s town, we realize it’s been a few days since this all happened. Ellie finds a letter that Bill left for Joel, telling him in no uncertain terms that he needs to make the most of his life to keep Tess safe. It hits home with Joel, conveying his grief at Tess’ passing in a way that not even the game quite managed to get across. He then delivers a speech to Ellie that is ripped from the game word-for-word, and although he’s still cold with her, you can tell that he took Bill’s advice on board after his moment alone outside earlier.
I am so happy that Bill got to live out this wonderful love story with Frank. It’s a far cry from the bleak story he gets in the game, and while that story is still a good one, this filled my heart with joy and broke it by the end. A masterful piece of television that I won’t forget in a hurry.
Josh is a huge a fan of Star Wars, superheroes and video games. He spends most of his time wondering who would win in a fight between Boba Fett and Star Lord.
