What did Bill do before the outbreak in ‘The Last of Us?’

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Episode 3: “Long Long Time.”

From eye-watering moments between star-crossed lovers to an endless variety of Infected monsters, HBO’s post-apocalyptic masterpiece The Last of Us has plenty to offer. In a nutshell, the engaging premise follows Joel, a cynical smuggler assigned with the task of transporting teenager Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States. Along the way, however, the critically acclaimed series introduces us to several scintillating characters. One of these characters is Bill (Nick Offerman) — a reclusive survivalist whom Joel and his female companion Tess exchange items and information with.

Due to the show’s events mostly happening during the present day, all that’s made clear in the third episode is that Bill is a survivalist with a keen sense of tactical skills. In addition, it’s quite clear that Bill is against the idea of FEDRA and the government’s entire agenda — having stayed behind in an underground bunker while the government evacuated the town of Lincoln, Massachusetts. And while The Last of Us perfectly conveys Bill’s life as a prepared survivalist, what exactly was his job, and what did he do before the outbreak?

What was Bill’s pre-outbreak job?

Before the outbreak forced Bill to embrace his survivalist tactics, it is likely that Bill might have been either a mechanic or a repair man, seeing as he has a natural gift for fixing items — such as cars, outdoor equipment, generators, and other miscellaneous hardware items. Fans receive hints about Bill’s past throughout episode three — especially when Joel discovers that Bill left his car to him before his death. And considering the world is in a post-apocalyptic time, it seems likely that Bill fixed and made improvements to the car regularly by repairing the car’s battery and making necessary changes, such as fuel and tire repairs.

On the other hand, some fans have speculated that Bill was a permanent scavenger, and would often collect and hoard various items — such as food, weapons, and other survival commodities — to prepare himself for an inevitable end-of-the-world scenario. Such a job would also explain why Bill was terribly reclusive and devoid of human contact — that is until he met Frank, his eventual partner, and the two spent their days and lives together.

Truth be told, Bill’s life was likely unfilled before Frank arrived, seeing as Bill spent most of his previous days hating the world and everyone in it — as he specifically stated in his goodbye letter to Joel. Even with a well-paying job or busy occupation, it was obvious that Bill was suffering from long-term loneliness.

In a perfect world, Bill and Frank would have met much sooner and been able to spend their lives together without a vicious fungal infection spreading across America. And yet, Bill found solace in his life otherwise, regardless of a job, claiming that he was completely “satisfied.”