Long, Long Time: TLOU Review

The end of January marked the 3^rd episode of ‘The Last of Us’, and what is the most emotional episode so far.

Episode 3, titled ‘Long, Long Time’ follows Bill (Nick Offerman – Parks & Recreation) and Frank (Murray Bartlett – The White Lotus) as it shines a light on their first meeting, life and relationship during the time of the apocalypse.

This is the best episode of the show, and tragically beautiful. 

The episode starts with Ellie and Joel walking towards Bill’s location, with Ellie wanting to know how the outbreak happened and why. This is a departure from the previous episodes that began with a flashback. Instead, Joel explains to Ellie that the infection spread through flour and sugar, resulting in contaminated food. While Ellie wasn’t born when the Infection started (which is evident at the end when she’s amazed at getting into a car for the first time), Joel remembers the start vividly. It’s very clear that that day and what happened still affects him, which is demonstrated through his monologue explaining how the outbreak started; he even remembered the date it reached his town. 

But the episode’s main focus is Bill and Frank, and the story of how they met. In the game, Bill is a character the player is required to meet in order to gain a vehicle. But the show gives him a second chance by expanding on his backstory with his boyfriend Frank. Known mostly for his comedic work, Nick Offerman gives a beautiful and sincere performance as his relationship with Frank grows. But this episode also proves that other people did survive and could’ve done for years on their own.

Bill, himself, is a survivalist so was prepared for situations just like this, and it was interesting to see how he lived and tried to revive the strange community that he is in. Furthermore, Offerman’s chemistry with Murray Bartlett was perfect. They were believable as a natural couple forming in the time of an apocalypse and, with it being so, this made it so much more tragic as an Infected could arrive at any moment, despite the traps that had been laid out. This episode is the calmest in terms of its tone, but it still felt tense purely because these characters were sweet and could fall to the dangers of the rest of the world so suddenly. 

This episode was also important as an example of great LGBT representation. Like previously mentioned, Bill and Frank’s relationship progressed naturally, and it never felt forced at any point throughout its runtime. Furthermore, the outbreak occurred in September 2003, meaning that the world was effectively stuck in that year. At the time, the only countries that had legalized same-sex marriage were Belgium and Uruguay; America wouldn’t make it legal across all fifty states until 2015.

So, Bill and Frank’s relationship and the way in which it progressed, sadly, wouldn’t have been legal at the time that the outbreak occurred. And Bill’s awkwardness towards Frank when he hints that a love song he sings isn’t directed towards a woman is clear. This was a plot that was beautifully written. 

While episode 3 may not seem important at face value, it truly is. It tells viewers that other people survived and lived outside of the Quarantine Zones, and it was a nice tonal change from the action-packed scenes of the first two episodes. Furthermore, it showcased a wonderful same-sex couple, with Offerman and Bartlett’s chemistry executed perfectly.

This was a welcome tonal change with a good explanation into the cause of the outbreak, and fantastic LGBT representation to top it all off. 

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