Episode 3: Long Long Time

Episode three of “The Last of Us” is a far calmer experience than the first two episodes. The episode focuses on the backstory of two of Joel’s acquaintances, Frank and Bill.

This episode is more romantic than anything, and it did not feel like a zombie survival show. 

Joel and Ellie are on the road about 10 miles west of the Boston QZ and are running slightly low on supplies. They eventually reach a run-down gas station that Joel uses to stash his items when traveling. Joel stashes his gun in there because there is not a lot of ammo for it on the road. 

The group goes on their way and the scene changes to 2003, when everything was going down. There were a plethora of military personnel and vehicles in a neighborhood taking people to the QZ. A man who we now know as Bill was hiding underneath the floorboards in his secret bunker.

To put it lightly, Bill was prepared for the zombie apocalypse. He had tons of guns, ammo, chemicals for some reason, and most importantly, a plan. After the military had left his neighborhood, he began to stock up. 

Bill went around from store to store getting whatever kind of supplies he needed. He even went to the power plant and turned it on somehow. He then went back home and began preparing himself even more. 

Fast forward four years to 2007. Bill has set up a fence around five or so houses with barbed wire, a security system with a large amount of cameras covering his entire compound, and traps all around the fence. 

Bill was minding his own business when his alarm went off. He saw that one of his pitfall traps had been triggered so he grabbed his gun and went to kill the presumed zombie that was in the hole. As he approached, a voice called out to him which was quite startling.

Bill was cautious, but helped the man we now know as Frank, out of the hole. Bill was surprisingly friendly to Frank, letting him use the shower, giving him food, wine, and new clothes. After about five more minutes of screentime they became more than friends, to put it mildly. 

Skipping forward a few more years to 2013, Bill and Frank are living together happily. However, Frank has revealed to Bill that he has been talking with a girl on their radio and she is actually pretty nice. Bill is mad, but allows the girl and her husband to visit them for dinner at Frank’s request.

It is revealed that the girl and her husband are actually Tess and Joel. The couple have a nice dinner with Bill and Frank and talk about how things are in the QZ as well as the compound. Although Frank and Tess did most of the connecting, the friendship between the two couples was formed. 

After the dinner, Joel had warned Bill that he is considered rich in this broken world and that raiders will eventually come to steal his stuff. Bill considers this and puts down flamethrower traps around every part of his fence. 

It turns out that Joel was right, and raiders ended up trying to raid Bill and Frank. Fortunately, most of them got set on fire, but the few who had not were still attempting to get into the compound. 

Bill ended up getting shot by the raiders, but lived after Frank grabbed him and tended to his wound. That is when the next time skip occurs, which brings us to the present, 2023. Frank has a disease which is not clearly stated, but it seems like he is suffering the symptoms of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. 

One day, Frank woke up and decided he was fulfilled with life and did not want to live any longer. He detailed a plan to Bill on how he wanted his last day to be spent, which included the couple actually getting married. In the end, Bill decided he would go out with Frank and they both died peacefully in their sleep.

After everything was said and done, Joel and Ellie came by to find a note left by Bill. The note explained the situation to them and included a will of sorts. Bill told Joel in the letter that he left everything to him and anything he wanted in his compound was his. 

The episode ends on a happy note with Joel and Ellie driving into the distance with a ton of supplies provided by Bill in a car also provided by Bill. 

This episode did not turn out as expected. I assumed that the show would follow the video game closer and include more action, but I was mistaken in both of those aspects. In the video game, Frank and Bill are not lovers and there is also a lot more action in that portion of the game. 

As for the next episode, I assume it will follow the journey of Joel and Ellie since they can travel in a car now. All the supplies they have make them a moving target, so I think that the group will probably encounter raiders who try to steal their winnings. I also believe that due to the almost imminent danger, Joel will have to trust Ellie with a gun which he has not done thus far.

I am looking forward to this next episode as we are getting closer to the climax of the story. The group’s story is truly unfolding now.