Warning: This article contains massive spoilers for The Last of Us, episode three “Long long time.” and The Last of Us video game
Episode three of HBO’s The Last of Us tugged viewers’ heartstrings as it showcased a blossoming love story that thrived in the middle of the apocalypse. At the same time, the episode took the “biggest departures” from the source material, whilst trying to make it fit the show’s main plot. This episode caused a divide among viewers. While most praised the episode for its storytelling and depiction of its LGBT characters, some argued that “the original game plot” would have been better.
To recap, Episode three, titled “Long Long Time” was an hour-long backstory of Bill and Frank’s loving relationship. After FEDRA got all the people and sent them to a Quarantine Zone, Bill, who was a survivalist emerged from his bunker and got an entire town (or suburb) all to himself. Yes, he was protected and owned a lot of supplies. But at the same time, he had no one to share it with. A few days later, he met Frank, who was making his way to Boston but got caught in one of Bill’s traps. Eventually, the two fell in love and died on their terms before Joel and Ellie arrive.
Some viewers argued that the original “Bill and Frank” story could have worked in the show. Why waste viewers’ time watching a backstory of two characters who died in the end when Bill and Ellie can bicker, showcasing Nick Offerman‘s comedic talents? They just needed the car, why not still have a salty Bill, have Frank die the same way, yet add tiny details so the show can continue to be about Joel and Ellie? While it is possible to have Ellie and Bill fight or have Ellie poke fun at Bill’s porn stash, translating the rest of the Bill and Frank scene from the games to the screen would not just work.
Let’s start at the beginning — why Joel and Ellie were heading to Bill and Frank’s in the first place. They needed to get a car in order to take Ellie to the Fireflies faster and possibly safer. In the games, Bill revealed that he doesn’t have any working cars and that he and Frank had a fallout in their relationship. The battery needed was located on Frank’s side of town. Also, the trio discovered that Frank committed suicide because he got infected. In between meeting Bill and finding Frank’s dead body, the player literally roamed around the empty town just to find one working car battery.
I’m sure exploring a deserted area would be boring to watch. It’s going to be the same pattern of walking, maybe trigger some runners and stalkers, and look elsewhere. It’s not that entertaining. Yeah, it worked in the game, but that’s because players are given free rein to explore before going to the next cut scene, and they get to kill some zombies. That can’t happen in the show unless you’re into long scenic shots of an empty environment and get jump scared every few minutes.
Maybe you’re wondering “but what if we get flashbacks of Bill and Frank’s relationship in-between conversations?” Then that would be somewhat disorienting, having changed from the past and present constantly, considering the previous two episodes didn’t do that. The only time I could think of that could work would be when Bill tells Joel the story about how he once cared for someone and we flashback it back to him and Frank. But imagine watching a dramatic and heartwrenching flashback, and then immediately cutting off him yelling at Ellie for touching his stuff? It kinda ruins the moment.
Speaking of mood, it was also argued that it cut off one of the earliest tough encounters of the game — the bloater. During the Bill and Frank story, players encountered the bloater for the first time in an empty school gym. Do you really want the “big tough baddie” to appear in episode three of the show? The series just began, and viewers need to get used to the new world before realizing that there are more dangers in this world. Introducing the bloater this early kinda isn’t a good idea, especially when the Clickers were just introduced in the previous episode.
Lastly, Joel is better off getting wisdom from someone who used to hate the world before finding someone worth protecting. Later in the game, Joel saves Ellie from the Fireflies after it was revealed that the surgery was going to kill her. The two have formed a bond throughout their journey, so it would make some sort of narrative sense that the catalyst of that would be Bill’s words. After all, when the two met in the show, both were heavily suspicious of each other and people they don’t know and trust.
The Last of Us showrunner and game creator, Neil Druckmann explained in a behind-the-scenes video his philosophy when it comes to following or deviating from the original story. He believes that if the writing for the episode could be better, they would go for the deviated version.
One of the reasons video game adaptations failed in the past is because of how it’s formatted. Roaming around the streets with danger everywhere, it’s fine for an action-packed RPG. But in a TV show? Not so much. Shows like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Arcane expanded on the established world set in the games and created shows with amazing stories. Even Sonic the Hedgehog chose to not follow the games for its movie adaptations because it wouldn’t tell a great story. Episode three did just that, expanding the world and characters that we knew previously in the game, even if it meant making some major changes to the story.
Yes, the original Bill and Frank story was grim, dark, and in some areas comedic. But unfortunately, roaming around an empty street looking for a car battery for an hour isn’t something worth watching. The fact that HBO and the showrunners used this opportunity to enhance the story and possibly teach Joel a lesson made sense why they would want to make changes. “Long Long Time” may be an hour-long flashback, but it also showed that bonds can still form in a dog-eat-dog world.
New episodes of The Last of Us release every Sunday on HBO Max.