The third episode of HBO’s “The Last of Us” is a serious departure from what got here earlier than it. That’s as a result of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) solely seem initially and the top of the episode. Most of the episode issues Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (“The White Lotus”‘s Murray Bartlett) and their relationship all through the pandemic brought on by the fungus that modified every thing on the planet. The collection reveals us a lot, far more than the online game the present is predicated on did, and it expands their lives significantly — and modifications their ending. Ahead, we’re breaking down what occurs to them within the present, the modifications the collection made to their plot, and why it is all of the extra devastating for Joel and Ellie.
Bill and Frank in “The Last of Us” Show
At the start of the episode, Ellie and Joel are touring on foot to the place Bill and Frank dwell in Lincoln, MA. There, they will get provides and possibly even a automotive with Bill’s assist to allow them to hold going west and attempt to discover Joel’s brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna). Joel explains that when the outbreak started, the navy herded up folks in small cities to deliver them to quarantine zones. But in the event that they discovered there wasn’t sufficient room for the brand new folks, the navy killed them as a substitute.
The present then switched to a flashback and reveals Bill again when the outbreak first began. He watches because the navy rounds up the remaining of his village’s residents, however since he is a prepper along with his personal stockpile of provides, together with a generator, he hides till they’re gone. Then, he raids the city for much more provides and spends a very long time on their lonesome, shoring up his defenses. He builds refined traps to maintain each the contaminated and human scavengers out. He’s on their lonesome, and his home and city each fall into disrepair round him. But he is alive.
Four years later, a person set off one of his alarms and falls right into a ditch he dug. That man is Frank, and he is not contaminated; he is simply attempting to make it from Baltimore to Boston. He asks Bill if he might simply have a meal earlier than heading out. They argue, however finally Bill agrees and even lets Frank bathe. Frank is in awe of Bill’s home, despite the fact that it is lined in mud. After they eat lunch, Frank finds Bill’s piano, which he says belonged to his mom. Frank searched the sheet music and finds a set of Linda Ronstadt songs. He begins enjoying “Long Long Time,” however he performs a bit too quick and is not a great singer. Bill takes over and performs it slowly. Frank asks what lady Bill is singing about, and Bill admits there isn’t a lady. “I know,” Frank replies, and they kiss, each of them shaking and teary. Bill lastly tells Frank his title.
Frank waits in mattress whereas Bill showers. Once they’re in mattress, Bill admits that he is solely ever slept with one lady earlier than. Frank says that he is not “a whore” so he’ll be staying a pair days so he does not really feel like he traded intercourse for lunch.
The present jumps three years into the longer term, and they’re totally collectively. Frank slowly makes use of Bill’s provides to enhance the city, which Bill thinks is a waste of time. Frank says should you love one thing, you are taking care of it. Frank can also be an artist, and quickly their home is roofed in drawings and work he is completed of Bill. Then Frank reveals that he is been enjoying round on the radio, and he discovered a pleasant lady whom he needs to ask to go to. Bill is livid, however Frank wins. The lady is Tess (Anna Torv), and she brings Joel together with her, a scenario neither Joel nor Bill is blissful about it. They agree to assist one another with smuggling but in addition with friendship.
One night time raiders assault the city and set off Bill’s alarms. Trying to defend them, Bill is shot and Frank carries him again inside. Ultimately, they’re protected, and Frank nurses Bill again to well being.
The present cuts to 10 years later. Frank is sick and makes use of a wheelchair, and Bill takes care of him. He decides he needs to have one final nice day with Bill and then for Bill to place painkillers in his wine so he can die in his sleep. Reluctantly, Bill agrees. But as soon as they each drink their wine, Bill reveals he put ache killers in each their wines so that they’ll exit collectively. They go to mattress collectively and die of their sleep.
In the current, Joel is blissful to have reached Lincoln with Ellie, however realizes shortly due to the rundown nature of the city that one thing very unsuitable has occurred. Bill and Frank’s home is falling aside, and their final dinner has gotten moldy on the desk. Ellie is clearly amazed by their home although, and Joel tells her to remain in the lounge whereas he investigates.
Ellie finds a letter Bill wrote, addressed “To whomever but probably Joel.” It consists of the important thing to his automotive. Ellie reads the letter to him, which asks them to not go into the bed room the place the our bodies are. Bill guesses that Joel discovered the letter, since nobody else might have gotten previous all his traps and protections. “Take anything you need,” he writes.
“Anyway, I never liked you, but still, it’s like we’re friends. Almost,” the letter continues. “And I respect you. So I’m going to tell you something because you’re probably the only person who’ll understand.”
“I used to hate the world, and I was happy when everyone died,” Bill writes. “But I was wrong. Because there was one person worth saving. That’s what I did. I saved him, and I protected him. That’s why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do.”
Ellie continues to studying, “And God help any motherf*ckers who stand in our way. I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep . . .” Ellie pauses. Joel takes the letter from her and reads Tess’s title. Bill takes the letter and sadly reads it exterior the home earlier than crumbling it up.
How Bill and Frank Are Different From “The Last of Us” Video Game
Bill and Frank’s storyline is by far the most important change to the plot of “The Last of Us” the TV present has made to this point. In the sport, when Joel and Ellie get to Lincoln, Bill continues to be alive. Bill is a lonesome, surly, and paranoid survivor who hesitantly agrees to assist Joel and Ellie get a working automotive to proceed their journey west as a result of he owes Joel a favor. His city can also be overrun with zombies, and they should combat them off to get all of the provides they want.
Bill continually warns Joel concerning the risks of getting near folks. “Once upon a time, I had someone I cared about. It was a partner,” he says. “Somebody I had to look after. And in this world, that sort of sh*t’s good for one thing: gettin’ ya killed. So, you know what I did? I wisened the f*ck up. And I realized it’s gotta be just me.”
Near the top of their quest, they discover the physique of somebody who died by suicide in an deserted home. Bill reveals this was his associate, Frank. Frank wrote in a notice that he obtained sick and drained of Bill and tried to depart, however gave up as a substitute. “Trying to leave this town will kill me. Still better than spending another day with you,” he writes. Joel and Ellie finally get a automotive and go away.
Why Did “The Last of Us” Change Bill and Frank’s Story?
Frank and Bill’s storyline within the tv present has a totally completely different which means than the one within the sport. In the sport, the storyline focuses on how arduous it’s to dwell with different folks and the best way that relationships are so fragile within the midst of the apocalypse. It’s a really cynical have a look at love, affection, and partnership. But Bill and Frank suppose they’d have been higher off alone. It reinforces Joel’s personal fears about conveying Ellie west and getting too near her.
But the TV present’s storyline is about how that cynical view of humanity — even throughout an apocalypse — is unsuitable. Bill and Frank made an attractive life collectively, carved out amidst a lot ache and chaos. They modified one another’s lives.
Their relationship, and Bill’s change of coronary heart then, has deep results on Joel. It reminds him of the folks he is misplaced — Sarah (Nico Parker), Tess, and his brother, Tommy — and how he failed to guard them. And it brings into sharp aid the issue of Ellie. Should he probability rising near her, two individuals who’ve misplaced actually every thing and can solely rely upon one another? Or ought to he steer clear of her, lest he fail at defending her, too, and it simply leaves him in ache and alone as soon as once more? Joel and Ellie will each wrestle with their loss and trauma because the collection continues.
What Is the Significance of Linda Ronstadt’s “Long Long Time” in “The Last of Us?”
“Long Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt isn’t just the track Bill and Frank play on piano collectively; it is also the track that Ellie performs within the automotive as she and Joel go away city. Ellie has no thought who Ronstadt is, of course, and Joel says it is high-quality to play it. He appears affected by the track’s lyrics. “Long Long Time” is how Bill and Frank first join. It cuts by way of their deep loneliness to their emotional core.
The track is about loneliness within the face of enduring love. For Joel, it is a warning and a requiem. “And I think I’m gonna love you / For a long, long time,” Ronstadt sings. His love for his daughter and for Tess won’t ever go away, and it is a present and a curse each. To let himself take care of Ellie would ease some of his ache, however at what value?
Did Offerman and Bartlett Really Play the Piano in “The Last of Us”?
Offerman may be very musical and grew up enjoying piano and saxophone (as his “Parks and Recreation” character, Ron Swanson, confirmed off a couple of instances). In the 2018 movie “Hearts Beat Loud,” his character performed guitar, bass, and drums.
Bartlett, in the meantime, hasn’t talked about piano-playing expertise earlier than, however there’s a trace that he might need realized only for this position. In a September 2021 interview with The Guardian, he informed the reporter that he’d had an anxiousness dream about producers critiquing his piano-playing expertise. If we learn between the traces, these producers haunting his desires might need been “The Last of Us” producers. At the very least, he actually tried to play piano for the position.
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