The Last of Us (HBO) TV Show • Page 36

I saw that drawing during last night’s episode and thought it was Joel. Similar coat.

 

Incredible episode, damn.

 

More and more this episode has consumed my thoughts today. As a non-binary f slur, it made me feel things I rarely get to see on television. The bury your gays trope has been prevalent for years, but this was far different than that. We got to see Bill and Frank find love and solace in a world devoid of hope. Tender, sweet moments. Heartache. Fighting. Such a short span yet feeling authentic. They held a level of power and control in the way they decided their fate. These queer characters were powerful. To see this in a fictional world I have loved for years was truly special and masterful.

 

That reminded me so much of his classic line from “Fargo.”

 

Just incredible television. Had to comfort my wife (and myself) after that one lol

 

I always forget Offerman was in Fargo till I'm watching it

 

When Frank tells him he made a friend over the radio and they’re hosting them and Bill yells “YOU WHAT??”, the cut to him in nice clothes at the dinner table killed me. So pissed off but he still did it because he loves him and will ultimately do whatever to make Frank happy. So sweet and hilarious at the same time.

 

iykyk

 

Love that this episode had several laugh out loud moments. The apocalypse isn’t all gloom and doom, it just is.

 

incredible episode. reminded me of The Leftovers

 

Give us the extended cut cowards

 

I wonder if that is what some press members got, because I could have sworn some reviewers prior to the series even airing were saying Episode 3 was a full feature length episode.

 

OK, I have a dumb question that I'm almost too embarrassed to ask, but...how exactly did Billdie?

Obviously, Bill put all the crushed up meds in Frank's wine. But Bill did not put anything in his wine, correct? Did Bill poison the food? I must have missed something in the conversation, because I remember Bill said something like 'enough to kill a horse' but I thought he was just talking about the crushed up meds he put in Frank's drink. But then Frank said something like 'I should be so mad, but it's so romantic' which made me think I missed something and Bill poisoned the food?

 

Frank asked and Bill confirmed, he had put it in the bottle as well as Frank's glass.

 

The bottle was already opened as the others throughout he opened in front of Frank.

 

his laugh always kills me

 

I love that his actual laugh is so similar to the few ones we get of Ron in Parks and Rec. Like playing football with Andy in the parking lot.

 

you can see Frank’s reaction when bill chugs the glass of wine, just as he did, he knows something is up

 

This show kind of feels like the mainstream appeal, budget, production quality, scope of The Walking Dead, but with the creative quality and ambition of The Leftovers.

 

On a second watch, it hit a little more but that's probably because my wife was balling her eyes out so she got me emotional to. She lost it at the 'I was never afraid till you turned up' line. I concur it was a great episode.

It is interesting to watch some of the discourse around it and I do think there are a few valid complaints beyond the expected homophobic nonsense being spewed.

- For a casual watcher getting into the show for the first time, it definitely slammed on the brakes, and while it wasn't exactly subtle, it's connection to the overall plot has been questioned by a few online (and to me in conversations with friends that haven't played the game) in ways that are genuine. What I got out of it was the note was extremely important to Joel's personality (motherfuckers like us protect), it added depth to Joel and Tess's smuggling operation, and it was a nice way to get the car and explain how they got such a scarce resource. Joel was obviously giving Bill the medication, so there was a debt there that was repaid by Bill when he basically said 'take it all'. It was also a lovely look into a side not often explored in these type of shows, and that was how to find happiness within the ruins, and it showed a tiny glimpse that for some it was possible. It'll be a nice foil to everything that's ahead as uhhh, minor spoilers, the emotional moments and the tough questions about life, are not over. I don't really fault some people for being like uhhh... why did we sidebar here for an hour? but I do fault them if they don't reflect on the episode to get some more substance out of it after pondering.

- A lot of character development from the game (and some just badass action scenes) were cut and need to be inserted later. I am fine with people mulling over the pros and cons of the additions that we got, vs what's seemingly been subtracted at this point.

It is sad to see the mental gymnastics people are going throw though. One clown on facebook (who had a shit ton of likes) said he's boycotting, but he's fine with gay people, has gay friends blah blah blah, no one cares because it's 2023, but that it's also painfully obvious that it was just inserted to spread the message. He's sick of playing 'when will the gays arrive in this show?'. Like the lack of self awareness... 'I don't care that people are gay and it's totally normal, but not normal enough that they should be in a TV show without it trying to be a message'. WHAT!

Also this episode had ZERO messaging whatsoever. None. It didn't even make mention of them being gay for any purpose at all. They just were. It was a love story like any other and the fact that they were gay didn't even come up as a topic for any kind of message.

Lastly, I've seen a few plot holes that are like it's so unlikely that a gay person would happen to stumble upon another gay person. Yet if it was a straight couple, no one would one say it's unlikely that 2 people compatible or interested in each other would meet. But because they're straight, it's automatically okay and assumed they'd shack up and it'd be believable.

 

i have bad news for the rest of the series

 

I gotta say.. Mazin softening Druckmann's sensibilities is paying off BIG time. I'm still in awe that they're pulling this off with source material that was pretty damn close to perfect already.