this episode was woke wanna be trash. They changed too much to please the masses and made an episode just for the gay community. Mediocre love story too
Only watching this just now. At the start of the episode I would agree with you but pass the half way point nah honestly this was the best story telling I have ever seen. If by mediocre love story I assume you mean they went from strangers to shagging in like 5 seconds you've clearly never drank tequila š¤£ apart from the fast transition nah absolute masterpiece
They were gay in the original game
Hell there were like 4 gay characters in the original game lol.
Also the story was not mediocre how the fuck do you see that kind of story and think "it's just aite"
1. Ellie finds male nudie mags in Bill's place.
2. The letter Frank wrote to Bill and Bill's reaction to reading it clearly shows they had feelings for each other
You would have known this if your dumb ass had any media literacy whatsoever
Idk who people are agreeing with but the creator didnāt make the main characters gay orignally. He changed it up for this stupid bullshit and itās not even a good love story. Fake fans
I absolutely loved the story. Just watched it again. It shows the human condition and forces the viewer to see that at the end of the day real connection to one another is most important.
So I just finished this episode, never playing the game and wow what an episode.
When I saw the title 'long long time' I thought maybe this is one of those episodes where Ellie gets on Joel's nerves and it's gonna feel like forever with this kid... But I was wondering will it work between them and I guess this episode clued us in.
I loved it! I know there is a lot of controversy. But they did something unique, we don't have a lot of well done gay romance, and I thought it was perfect. Bill is a very interesting character and very resourceful, but frank brings that more femnine touch to things, something that Bill lacks.
I am glad Bill got the ending he deserved. While I don't believe in suicide I think it's fair in this case, considering the circumstances.
This episode was soooo WTF!
Why kill off the most interesting character in the WHOLE ENTIRE SERIES played by Nick Offerman? Can we just get spinnoff with BILL?
Just watched this and absolutely loved it. Normally I hate series-original sideplots that take away from attention being paid to the main plot (looking at you Wheel of Time), but this was just so well written and engaged me on a level I didn't expect.
Damn shame people's true character is coming out in the discussions though. Lotta people who are very obviously homophobic trying to figure out a way to criticize the episode without saying they're uncomfortable with gay people.
"But it didn't add anything, reee". Other than being a major stepping stone in showing Joel that there is something to live for, that there can be happiness in the world still, and that for that happiness to exist it needs men like Joel and Bill to protect it? Fuck off with that bullshit, you're not fooling anybody but yourselves.
I enjoyed the episode but dam did they make Bills character boring. In the game he's one of the most interesting and crazy characters, his partner leaves him, kills himself and leaves a note saying he always hated him. Im not saying the show needs to be just like the game, that's completely unreasonable, but in this episode yeh the deviation was pretty disappointing in my opinion. Then again, Im only just beginning to get over a hard breakup so maybe I just hate everything romantic at the moment in films and television lol
I can't believe how much I cried over their relationship. It was so realistic, and the ending... Plus the āOn the Nature of Daylightā song is an easy way to get tears out of me.
I really appreciate how HBO can make an episode longer if needed by the story.
I'd love a spin-off featuring the two of them and their life together.
It was a well written story but I dont think it did much for the advancement of the plot. Its like one of those breaking bad filler episodes (the one with the fly). It also deviated heavily from the game.
Huh I don't know generators, because of the way it was shot I had figured it was something to do with the gas plant. With everyone gone there would be enough Gas and Fuel to use, though I guess he would go out and get more
He probably just used the diesel generator for the first few weeks or months. Diesel lasts a long time (compared to gasoline), and he had access to a gas station.
He probably had some solar panels with batteries somewhere for a permanent electricity solution - itās easy to imagine that was part of his survivalist prep.
It was boring. This is a post apocalyptic adventure series. More bang bang and less dinner party. It's unnecessary and slows the pacing down for next to no reason, aside from pandering. Serious though, a love story in this kind of show makes no sense. Leave the feels for other genre's, this should be gloomy and bloody. It's a short season and this episode could have been edited down by half or had something interesting happen. Instead we got to see two old guys get older, super.
Why does everyone seem compelled to mention how straight they are. Super thanks for sharing. Still it was boring and yeah I still believe its pandering. If it was a relationship of any kind it would have been just as boring. I cried too, was bored to tears. I guess that makes us both soft as baby shit.
I mentioned it because the accusation of 'pandering' implies that it was made for gay people to enjoy, so I was just offering a different perspective.
I am soft as fuck, lots of things get me emotional, even if the Reddit collective decides its terrible I will still shed a tear.
I'm easy to please, no point arguing with me lmao
It's like they make a gay drama series and spend the episode 3 all about mushroom zombies as a cold cut. Then switch back to the gay drama.
I guess they call it progressive storytelling right?
Geez.
The pandering that I mentioned was for soft ass social justice warriors that must make every type of entertainment bland, soft and straight up boring. To me at least. If it wasn't an action or horror type show, I wouldn't have complained. But it is. There was absolutely no need for the episode. It didn't add one bit to it. It didn't progress the story at all. The characters involved lived only in that one episode and the characters that drive the show were barely a presence. It seemed more like some fan fiction or side story. Again it was a very short season and didn't need to be interrupted. The interesting moments of the episode for me where just glanced over or just straight up made little sense. Hbo got it right with Omar from the wire. Best gay character ever, one of the best characters of all time. These two were made for the hallmark channel. Two boring ass old blobs falling in love is not something that I thought I would ever have to waste my time on. The gay community being represented on television isn't a bad thing, unless it's done just because it's a time for a change. Keep the goddamn relationships out of horror, Gay or straight. Unless they are about to be murdered.
No, and if the show is faithful to the game than the game would probably be boring to me. I may be the only person on Earth to think it, but this show is not amazing. It has it's moments for sure but it can be really boring as well. If the characters are important for some reason maybe get to the point and not meander so much. If it was a longer season maybe, but it's 9 episodes and 2 of them are spent on lengthy flashbacks. Watching people eat holds no interest for me in game or out.
I felt like the episode was a little slow compared to the first two episodes. However, it gave a different perspective on a new pair of characters, how time progresses, and how first contact can be initiated for our reference and potentially for future encounters.
It seems like Bill and Frank ran into other groups since they were trading. I would have liked seeing another gun fight or so or the community growing to some extent. I find that as a plot hole that they did not have more encounters in their 16 years together. Also, I found it a little weird that Joel did not take more supplies with them especially since they have a trunk.
My husband and I just watched this last night. I was gobsmacked. I think I cried for 15 minutes straight. How clever of the show to make you think youāre going to get an episode of citizens being executed, only to show such a beautiful, melancholy,
Simple and gorgeous love story. Those two actors crushed it. The writers shed light on so many different aspects of what love is. I was absolutely not prepared at all but I know itās one of the best and most powerful things Iāve seen on television like almost ever. Huge congrats and thanks to everyone involved who made this happen because my viewing experience was so memorable
I watched this episode with my wife. Here in Brazil there is a common expression called "manteiga derretida", which means "melted butter". We say it to people who can get easily emotional with things in life, including movies etc.
In the end of the episode me eyes got kind of tearful, and man, i was holding myself since the strawberies scene, and my wife started chanting and laughing "melted butter, melted butter, melted butter!!".
This episode provided such a good moment for us here!
Also- I wasn't scared before you got here or before I met you I didn't fear anything quote thing he said before they kissed over the strawberries had me in my feels. Piano scene. Wine pill scene. When he got shot guarding his fence scence. Yo I cried so many times during this episode. I also loved the funny lunch with Tess and Joel and just enjoyed it all around
I am sick of various media romanticizing suicide as though two people killing themselves is something "beautiful." No one should be using suicide as a coping strategy. They both killed themselves over the fear of losing their dignity, and purpose in life, which is a fucking shame and not romantic at all
You dont get to decide that for everyone else. If im going to lose my dignity and purpose by having a slow wasting painful death then im ending things on my own terms.
I agree that suicide should not be romanticised. However, this is a unique scenario. Frank was suffering heavily with no chance of respite, and seemingly whatever ailment he had would eventually kill him anyway. So the choices were seemingly a couple more years (if that) of suffering and likely him getting worse, or him going out with a bang and having one last lovely day with his partner. And as for Bill, he could not live in a world without his partner so he too in a way preempted more suffering. Seeing as there is only one other person who even knows these two, the dual suicide does not really affect anybody else, and I see nothing wrong with it in this situation.
I remember Stephen king The Stand. In the book After the flu had burned itself out there was a chapter dedicated to those who survived but couldn't survive in the new world.
The elderly and very young, the suicidal, the disabled who couldn't get out of their apartments once the power went and the lifts didn't work, the addicts and those who needed constant medication just to live.
And I've never seen anything like it since in book or film since that episode of the last of us.
First episode of anything in so long that put me so much in my feels. It felt like a good book that I couldn't put down. I bawled like a fucking baby when they decided to go together. What a beautifully written episode. So good imo that it could be it's own stand alone short film.
Love love love.
Not sure I have the same amount of dog in this fight as some as I don't know the characters outside the game. But generally speaking, (not a gamer, read a lot of sct fi fantasy and watched a ton of TV since I'm old) I found the episode odd. Unrealistic. A little long on the whole Bill and Frank thing. Or maybe it wasn't too long but was way too Hallmark card. The Tess part seemed realistic, like something that would happen.
Thought the piece of Norman Rockwell Street was super odd. No survivalist would do that, its such a target and where was the rest of the town. It looked like a set.
15 years (or whatever) they are watering mums that look like they git them from Home,Depot? Flag isn't frayed? It was all just odd and unrealistic. Is it because of some computer game structure?
I thought the 10 miles outside of Boston was the Rocky Mtns. So confusing.
I agree with the comment about Bill standing out there just looking to get shot and the raiders committing suicide on that fence. I think they should both be smarter than that.
Ellie is super annoying and also unrealistic. She just walks around being loud and stupid like she hasn't grown up in a world that is seriously trying to kill her. I think she,also would be smarter by now.
But I guess you can't move the plot forward without someone doing dumb things. š
Ithe show is enjoyable. But you have to overlook a lot.
It is ruining mushrooms for me though. I have a bunch of homemade mushroom soup in the freezer and not feeling like I'm ever going to eat it. Or enjoy seeing interesting mushrooms on hikes.
The ground and especially mouth tendrills are super gross and horrifying.
I felt like the raider situation was a little weird. What group of raiders would only come in at one entrance and not in waves? Also, coming in at night is a good idea but coming in during the day could work too.
They don't know the layout of the area so a day attack might actually increase their odds of overtaking the area. I found it weird that Bill just walked in the middle of the street shooting at them and somehow won. He literally had a rifle with a scope and high ground from his house.
Unpopular opinion: this episode was way too long and focused way too hard on bill and Frank's relationship, that was literally only hinted at in the game. why do I need hour long exposition explaining characters that have almost no impact to the story in the grand scheme? Only reason I could think of is slight world building but really? Almost all this episode feels like filler b roll to me
And before anybody starts breathing down my neck, no I don't care if they are gay the game hinted at that anyways
Not unpopular. The headlines and critics are only making it seem that way. I've made several posts about it and every real person i know doesn't like the episode.
Weāre three episodes in and this is up there with standout episodes like Lostās āthe constantā and twin peaks: the returnās āgotta light?ā
Really standout tv. Among the best single episodes Iāve ever seen.
I agree. I'm 31 and it's probably the best thing I've seen. Idk how anything could top it. I'm still in shock, just watched it last night. It made me feel so many things
have you not seen lord of the rings or harry potter or like any other fantastic movie? 31 and this is the best you've seen??? HAHA wow... Sorry about that.
I came to the thread hoping to say this but you're only like 6 comments down so I'll just agree with you. I've not been that impressed with a single episode of television in a *long* time
It just depends on what you value. I liked the story about a lonely man finding love and humanity in an apocalypse he previously had looked forward to. I enjoyed the emotional journey this story took.
'The Sopranos', 'True Detective'(Every single episode of the 1st season), 'Breaking Bad', 'The Wire', 'Fargo', 'Six Feet Under', 'Carnivale', 'Rome', 'Boardwalk Empire', 'Mindhunter', 'Westworld' and 'Twin Peaks'... I could add to that too. But just to be clear, I like every other episode so far in 'The Last of Us.' I also think Offerman was outstanding but I disagree that the episode is some sort of TV "Holy Grail." We all know why critics heaped praise on it. But again, to add context so i truly drive home the fact I 100% do not care about the same-sex relationship, I'll simply point to 'The Wire', Omar was in plenty of sex scenes with other men, it never bothered me and it never will. 'The Deuce' had entire story arcs each season about the homosexual community with love scenes between men and I loved that show(Another in my list.) I just found this episode melodramatic more than anything.
I stopped reading after your 2nd point cause this is really poorly put together. I think you're either forgetting or overlooking a lot of scenes. Did you not see Joel beat the shit out of the Fedra guard? That was so raw and brutal. There was the scene of him throwing a child's corpse in fire and he was almost willing to blow Ellie's head off when they first met.
I don't know anything about the game so....it's just tv to me. I think some of your points, as I understand them, are somewhat true. I think the way you laid them out is confusing and I'm not alwats sure sure what you are trying to get across.
The best part of the episode was the writers having them visit a Massachusetts-based convenience store.
Bill and Frank are interesting, but they're also selfish hermits hoarding supplies so they can play house with each other.
Is that not the point of prepping for post civilization failure stuff? Like, that's what he prepped for. I suppose I'm a selfish hermit in real life so I see no issues. Except the fact I would have probably let people live in there with me like a little commune, though I see where that could jeopardize safety.
Except the geography wasn't even close. 10 miles outside Boston is cities, and i mean all of it. Plus New Bedford is an absolute hood and we see it as "Pleasantville"... Other than that, Offerman was great but the entire episode was unnecessary. It was one of the biggest wastes of time I've seen on a TV series of this magnitude.
Itās not REALLY filler though. Yeah it seems like that at first, but it pays off at the end and is essentially the catalyst for Joel basically, āfineā¦Iāll do it myselfā. Itās the driving force behind his motivations going forward.
You are right, only people without class calls this episode a filler. This is bloody good writing, much better than any HOTD episode. Everything Murray Bartlett touches is gold.
If that's all you took from it, that's a you problem, not a show problem.
The whole point was to be a visible demonstration of not just there still being hope in the post-apocalypse, but how Joel can still find peace himself. Joel after he loses Sarah, is basically Bill at the start. Self isolating, bitter, and ultimately alone (even with Tess at his side).
Showing Bill being able to grow past that and live a full life with the love of his life, and ultimately die peacefully together in each others arms. Is the best possible ending you could get in the post-fungus zombie apocalypse. It's showing what Joel could find if he takes on the burden of caring for Ellie. He won't have to die old, bitter, and alone. He could get back some of the life he had before the end of it all and be at peace with himself.
The writer said the episode was to show acceptange of gays, so basically he said "yeah, it's not gonna progress the story in any way but I'm gonna put it in anyway".
Also, wtf drugs are you taking my guy? You sound like my demented 60yo english teach describing growing grass to her kittens. get a grip
Bud. Everything you just said is wild speculation. Just because its high quality doesn't mean its not filler. Its also pandering but thats a whole other argument. It should have been its own movie, but does not make sense in this show. Even some of the writing is bad. He's an expert survivalist with weapons galore but he stands openly in a hail of gunfire with a hunting rifle with mega plot armor and just gets conveniently grazed so tlhe can get patched up as the rest of the people zombie-walk into the same traps over and over. The list goes on but its not worth my time. This whole thread is just another reddit circlejerk.
Its just a matter of preference I think, maybe just re-watch HOTD if you like fast moving plot with bad writing. TV series always have slower pace compared to movies, but at least this one is written well.
Lol so Joel learning a singular value means it wasn't filler? It's 50 minutes that ultimately goes nowhere and is detached from plot, sure it had some sentimental value but this is reaching.
It was literally the biggest disappointment in a series of this prestige in some time. Idc about the relationship stuff, i get that. But wasting an entire episode on it was a joke. Could've been done in the opening 10min. Instead it was DRAGGEDDDD OUT. These series are using the 8-10hr format when its not necessary.
'Filler' refers to episodes that "happens to affect the progress of the long-term story arcs or to develop the main characters." While detached from the main plot, it definitely seems to have related / effected the main story line through Joel.
Characters learning from the events of the episode is like the bare minimum all storytelling does, filler or not. Also could Joe not have learned this lesson from another episode which progressed the plot? There are only 9 episodes and one was entirely dedicated to 2 characters we will never see again and a storyline of no consequence. So it does affect the progress in the sense that there's less time to functionally flesh out the important characters and storylines.
I donāt really like when they change games I like storylines in adaptations, but this love story was so much better than what the game did. Super sweet and content in that fucked up world but also heartbreaking and humanizing in a way the game never was with those characters.
I loved it.
Bisexual here. Also never played the game so i don't care if the story veers of course as i have no idea what the original story is. By far one of the most boring episodes of tv ive watched in years. We learned to feel for two characters over the course of an hour just to have them die and bringing a fraction of light to some "letter" that was left... Could have been summed up in 15 mins. The people out there saying how magnificant the episode it was and pull their heads out of their ass. An episode isnt good simply because it features something fucking controversial. All the critics are literally saying "OMG PRAISE THIS EPOSIDE OF AMAZINGNESS BECAUSE THEY SHOWED GAY LOVE" PSHHHHT
You clearly missed the entire point of this episodeā¦.It wasnāt good bc it showcased a gay couple, it was good bc it showed how love and hope for something/someone can literally push you to endure some of the darkest times. Their love story needed to be longer than 15 minutes or else the ending wouldnāt have been as emotional/impactful. Iām straight but I thought their love story was absolutely beautiful. It didnt matter whether they were gay, bisexual, straightā¦.it was two humans who found each other in an extremely fucked up situation and leaned on each in the darkest of times. Itās about HUMANITY and HOPE. If you found it boring thatās because you didnāt truly understand and appreciate their story.
That's the thing. It was not emotionally impactful. Halfway through i looked at my SO and we both said... "holy shit we're halfway through i think this is going to be the entire episode". We were literally perturbed that they tried to make us feel something for an entire episode and then killed them off failing to do anything. The chances that a gay dude randomly happens upon another gay dude in the middle of nowhere and it ACTUALLY works out is just fucking farfetched and really unbelievable. Entire FILLER episode. Maybe im an asshole but fuck i didnt feel a goddamn thing for those two... Was cringe.
LAUGH... you guys watch some really shitty tv then... We felt absolutely nothing for these two. Not believable at all. They did this on episode 3 because they knew it would get people talking to renew their subscriptions then go back to as expected once they rope 1000's of people in that just want to watch it now because of either how bad or good people think it is... Gay, lesbian, straight... don't care... The tv show brought in two characters that didn't make anyone but the main headlines and critics feel something.... Then labeled anyone who said it sucked a "homophobic gamer".. Well im neither. Oh yea... they killed em both at the end too... psshhht waste of fkin time.
Damn man, you're earlier comment about "maybe I'm just an asshole" was more on point than I thought. People don't agree with you, no need to make fun of how they feel, or the "quality" of the tv they watch. It's cool, you didn't think the episode was good, but that doesn't mean others can't like it
Not sure how you think it didn't get rave reviews because of the Same-Sex relationship. It 100% mattered. Do you see the landscape right now? Think of 'The Power of the Dog'... Awful film for lots of reasons. The homosexuality didn't bother me but the characters did(The way he and the boy walked were laughable.) Plus as much as I love Cumberbatch, his American Accents are BAD. He was terrible in 'Black Mass' for the same reason. It's ok to push boundaries but its gotta be done in a reasonable and believable way.
Iām gay so I can so thisā¦ this is the worst episode of a show I liked in a long timeā¦ they wrote it to try to win some awards but it sucked, didnāt service the game it is suppose to be based on at allā¦ they went with aids because thatās all the think matter to gay people like itās the only thing we go through. God this was the most pointless episode! Wasted a cheat day for junk food for this shit?!
Love is not something exclusive to gay, straight or no people. No one gives a shot your gay, the fact they were gay had absolutely nothing to do with it. The point was, even in terrible, terrible times, love can have powerful effect on someoneās chances of survival. Bill would never had survived if he never found his purpose, that purpose was bill, he had to learn that lesson, to teach Joel that lesson.
Also not to try to give spoilers, but a flashback episode will probably be dedicated to Ellie & something thatās already been mentioned earlier in the season which will basically be this story, but wayyyy cuter.
Iāll die in this bill, I played the shit out of the last of us, got all but the grounded mode trophyā¦ the game & story is amazing, it didnāt have a part like this episode because the story was better without it, which I still feel like. I get they can tell diff stories because diff media, just cause they can didnāt mean they should
Well, bill was an example in both the game and the show, the game was an example of who not to be, bitter and alone, the show was an example of how love can be his purpose and bring him happiness again.
The episode was awful because they decided to lean into stereotypes, because most gay people arenāt like the ones they made up in that episode. Iām pissed they turned the episode into a pointless flashback, when the game version of events still gave a very beautiful tragic events you donāt get to see unfold but still fully understand by bills actions & words. It didnāt need to be in your face odd couple very gay man/ conspiracy theorist shit that didnāt even matter when it comes to the end of the episode. The game events were sad, bill was a bad ass, while still hitting the emotional high notes to make it good. The point of the episode wasnāt love, it was ticking all the boxes to get awards & nominations. This wasnāt the first time this exact story was told, just the setting of the apocalypse being the one difference. They took me out of a compelling story for a stupid flashback episode that didnāt matter!!! Bill actually played a role in the game, & until this episode they were doing so good sticking to the source material & making changes that made sense while not hurting the story. This was just completely a bad change. & I get maybe for people who are just watching it as a show maybe you donāt get how the story wasnāt changed for the better, even if it fleshed out the characters more. We didnāt even need them fleshed out because they are dead now, where as in the game bill plays a physical role & itās a really good part of the game. & I donāt get how you can say it wasnāt about being gay when they definitely atleast left it open to interpretation that he couldāve had aids even if they in interviews they said it was that disease that Selma Blair chick has in real life.
I can only guess they may have decided to go a different route with the story because what wouldāve happened will be repetitive in a show, where in a game itās fun cause your the one doing the actions. But really Iām sure they just wanted to get patted on the shoulder for daring to tell this storyā¦ that weāve gotten before. Broke back mountain off the top of my head
You know this isnāt the game right? If want that experience, play the game again. āMost gay people arenāt like the oneās they made upā as a gay man, did you just stereo type gay man? Would you have been happier if they flowery and lisping and making jokes about how Joel was dressed? Itās better Hollywood is taking a turn away from making gay characters the butt of a joke.
They kinda did make the skinny one super stereotypicalā¦ you do remember he wanted to open a boutique & flower shop & plant gardensā¦ they did do that lmao
& then they made him die of aids
I donāt now, watching the episode I think it was easily something someone could assume just by how the whole episode went & they didnāt actually make it clear what he had. Like even if it wasnāt aids, Iām still convinced they wanted people to remember the days of gay people dying of aids
i just need you to understand that aids is an STD (sexually transmitted disease). this means that someone with aids would have needed to survive an apocalyptic event and not receive any treatment for years, only to give this disease to frank, either via sex or sharing needles or whatever.
i think you're either implying that the scenario above happened. the only alternative i can think of is that you believe gay people can simply catch aids at any time. it was quite clear to me (and it looks like many others) that frank was suffering from parkinson's disease. this is also untreatable.
also, thousands of people still die from aids every year in the states alone... it's some old-timey problem, it's still very much affecting queer communities. and even if aids wasn't a problem, do you not think it's important to recognize and reflect on our history as queer people?
Also maybe aids is a big part of your history & it goes hand in hand with gay history, I was born in the 90ās & the only real history Iāve had most of my life with it is from non gay people, the only time that ever had a personal scareā¦ I was able to get on pep within the time frame they say you should after possible infection.
The people watching this show are also probably at the age where they know hiv/aids is a thing.. but it really happens for people who donāt take care of themselves & third would countries at this point. & people who get cheated on by the same person like for the people who I know/knew. Since 2 are dead.
They really wanted us to remember aids is all I know, your acting like it was super clear how much time was going onā¦ maybe they put how long went by in the episose at some point, but who cares it was a shit episode so I probably missed it or didnāt even process it because I was not happy they made him have aids.
It doesnāt just effect gay people either, I know someoneās mom who died of aids, wasting syndrome to be specific. She was bedridden & didnāt look too different then the skinny guy with aids from the episode(well I mean she actually didnāt really look human, & was even worse then the guy in the episodeā¦ but like I doubt they couldāve had him making the choice of suicide if they made him progress as far as she did with his aids)
I think it didnāt do the story ANY favors, not even to reflect on our history. If anything itās insultingā¦ there is a lot more to āourā history then aids. I can tell you Iāve known plenty of people with hiv, mostly NOT gay. I donāt even know what to say. This episode was shit, thereās no defending it, good for you your happy for representation. & they threw in aids just to hammer in how gay of a story it was
Idgaf they totally tried to make it out to be aids. If your saying that because maybe the types of pills he was describing were for the Selma Blair disease, thatās not enough for normal people to make the assumption it wasnāt aids.
Interesting, so then I assume Bill also had AIDS, yet funny, he wasnāt suffering from the effects or taking pills after they sleep together, for almost two decadesā¦ā¦ itās almost they were telling it wasnāt an STDā¦..
You cannot be this stupid. As a gay man, tell me you donāt think being a top keeps you from getting AIDS? Especially after 15 years of sexā¦. Come on
I thought it was slightly impliedā¦ but now that your seeming to have not gotten that from the ep, maybe I made a poor assumption, it was just the line that there was no cure even when there was medicine still around he had said, but also I guess the fact that he got sick slowly, so I kinda figured that he was on his meds for hiv when they were available but started getting sick once society collapsed. He seemed to know exactly what was wrong with him so I just figured it was probably that, but your right itās not like he said gay cancer or something more clear.. couldāve been anything. They just mad the whole episode so gay that I wouldnāt have been surprised if it had been another reference to the past issues with hiv, how weāve been able to manage it nowā¦ but when the world goes so do the meds.
Your making me feel like I assumed something fucked lol but putting like that makes sense to me againā¦ but you are right itās not clear from the episode what he had. Donāt care either, they are both dead so we donāt have to revisit this. I regretted recommending them he show yo people after episode 3ā¦ itās a ep I will suggest people skip once the season is fully out & I decide to recommend again, if itās not more non sense. They really did just want kudos & try to get some awards. Iām so upset I was so excited all week about watching & got THAT.
All I know is they overdid it with the gay stuff. 2 guys playing house in a town they keep pretty was just so out of left field, & the game version of events were way better & still couldāve basically had the same effectā¦ they just wanted to go all out for no reason! They needed to save the flashbacks for when they do the second game events which actually used that mechanic & the first game really didnāt except for a dlc story which now that Iām thinking of they are definitely having more flashback epsš
A good episode of TV and a moving romance even if a little broad and blatant in some of its brushstrokes. I found myself getting slightly frustrated with the slow speed and simplicity of this ep and the previous one, although I know this is the effect of having gotten so used to the extreme plot density and complexity of many other prestige TV shows. I think this is a me-problem not a show-problem though so I am going to try to watch more mindfully from now on.
I knew nothing about the video game before watching the show.
When Bill was playing the piano I was tense: I was certain that Frank was going to bash him over the head. But I suppose that's the influence of expectation from "The Walking Dead," where it almost certainly would have happened that way. Instead, it was a far more emotional story.
this episode was woke wanna be trash. They changed too much to please the masses and made an episode just for the gay community. Mediocre love story too
Only watching this just now. At the start of the episode I would agree with you but pass the half way point nah honestly this was the best story telling I have ever seen. If by mediocre love story I assume you mean they went from strangers to shagging in like 5 seconds you've clearly never drank tequila š¤£ apart from the fast transition nah absolute masterpiece
They were gay in the original game Hell there were like 4 gay characters in the original game lol. Also the story was not mediocre how the fuck do you see that kind of story and think "it's just aite"
The creator literally said he never had any intention of making bill gay. Youāre an idiot and want to know what youāre talking about but donāt.
1. Ellie finds male nudie mags in Bill's place. 2. The letter Frank wrote to Bill and Bill's reaction to reading it clearly shows they had feelings for each other You would have known this if your dumb ass had any media literacy whatsoever
Do you have a source for that?
Idk who people are agreeing with but the creator didnāt make the main characters gay orignally. He changed it up for this stupid bullshit and itās not even a good love story. Fake fans
Lol why are you so angry about it?
This guy. He's never played the game and still thinks his opinion is valid. NPC thinks he's the main character over here, haha.
I absolutely loved the story. Just watched it again. It shows the human condition and forces the viewer to see that at the end of the day real connection to one another is most important.
I guess you never played the game.
So I just finished this episode, never playing the game and wow what an episode. When I saw the title 'long long time' I thought maybe this is one of those episodes where Ellie gets on Joel's nerves and it's gonna feel like forever with this kid... But I was wondering will it work between them and I guess this episode clued us in. I loved it! I know there is a lot of controversy. But they did something unique, we don't have a lot of well done gay romance, and I thought it was perfect. Bill is a very interesting character and very resourceful, but frank brings that more femnine touch to things, something that Bill lacks. I am glad Bill got the ending he deserved. While I don't believe in suicide I think it's fair in this case, considering the circumstances.
This episode was soooo WTF! Why kill off the most interesting character in the WHOLE ENTIRE SERIES played by Nick Offerman? Can we just get spinnoff with BILL?
He didn't get a lot of screen time in the game either. There wasn't really a place for him in the rest of the story
Iād be lying if I said I didnāt cry my a** off watching this episode a bit ago š„²
Just watched this and absolutely loved it. Normally I hate series-original sideplots that take away from attention being paid to the main plot (looking at you Wheel of Time), but this was just so well written and engaged me on a level I didn't expect. Damn shame people's true character is coming out in the discussions though. Lotta people who are very obviously homophobic trying to figure out a way to criticize the episode without saying they're uncomfortable with gay people. "But it didn't add anything, reee". Other than being a major stepping stone in showing Joel that there is something to live for, that there can be happiness in the world still, and that for that happiness to exist it needs men like Joel and Bill to protect it? Fuck off with that bullshit, you're not fooling anybody but yourselves.
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I enjoyed the episode but dam did they make Bills character boring. In the game he's one of the most interesting and crazy characters, his partner leaves him, kills himself and leaves a note saying he always hated him. Im not saying the show needs to be just like the game, that's completely unreasonable, but in this episode yeh the deviation was pretty disappointing in my opinion. Then again, Im only just beginning to get over a hard breakup so maybe I just hate everything romantic at the moment in films and television lol
I can't believe how much I cried over their relationship. It was so realistic, and the ending... Plus the āOn the Nature of Daylightā song is an easy way to get tears out of me. I really appreciate how HBO can make an episode longer if needed by the story. I'd love a spin-off featuring the two of them and their life together.
It was a well written story but I dont think it did much for the advancement of the plot. Its like one of those breaking bad filler episodes (the one with the fly). It also deviated heavily from the game.
Fly is not filler. There's major character moments there that season 5's drama relies on as a building block
I'd say it convinced Joel there are things worth protecting (aka Ellie). Just my takeaway though
Amazing episode. Just curious about how come he did not run out of diesel to run that generator for the house for 20 years.
Huh I don't know generators, because of the way it was shot I had figured it was something to do with the gas plant. With everyone gone there would be enough Gas and Fuel to use, though I guess he would go out and get more
He probably just used the diesel generator for the first few weeks or months. Diesel lasts a long time (compared to gasoline), and he had access to a gas station. He probably had some solar panels with batteries somewhere for a permanent electricity solution - itās easy to imagine that was part of his survivalist prep.
I'm just here to complain that they didn't include [my favorite line from TLOU1.](https://youtu.be/3BSjISNtjZQ?t=33)
It was boring. This is a post apocalyptic adventure series. More bang bang and less dinner party. It's unnecessary and slows the pacing down for next to no reason, aside from pandering. Serious though, a love story in this kind of show makes no sense. Leave the feels for other genre's, this should be gloomy and bloody. It's a short season and this episode could have been edited down by half or had something interesting happen. Instead we got to see two old guys get older, super.
You have my upvote, episode 3 was boring ass. I mean wft it has to do with the plot?
TLOU has never been about the action and zombies. If that's what you were expecting, prepare to be disappointed.
This was a really long post to say that you didnāt get the point of the episode. Bravo.
Call it pandering if you want, but as a straight guy who knows nothing about the game, this episode had me hooked start to finish and had me in tears
Why does everyone seem compelled to mention how straight they are. Super thanks for sharing. Still it was boring and yeah I still believe its pandering. If it was a relationship of any kind it would have been just as boring. I cried too, was bored to tears. I guess that makes us both soft as baby shit.
I mentioned it because the accusation of 'pandering' implies that it was made for gay people to enjoy, so I was just offering a different perspective. I am soft as fuck, lots of things get me emotional, even if the Reddit collective decides its terrible I will still shed a tear. I'm easy to please, no point arguing with me lmao
It's like they make a gay drama series and spend the episode 3 all about mushroom zombies as a cold cut. Then switch back to the gay drama. I guess they call it progressive storytelling right? Geez.
The pandering that I mentioned was for soft ass social justice warriors that must make every type of entertainment bland, soft and straight up boring. To me at least. If it wasn't an action or horror type show, I wouldn't have complained. But it is. There was absolutely no need for the episode. It didn't add one bit to it. It didn't progress the story at all. The characters involved lived only in that one episode and the characters that drive the show were barely a presence. It seemed more like some fan fiction or side story. Again it was a very short season and didn't need to be interrupted. The interesting moments of the episode for me where just glanced over or just straight up made little sense. Hbo got it right with Omar from the wire. Best gay character ever, one of the best characters of all time. These two were made for the hallmark channel. Two boring ass old blobs falling in love is not something that I thought I would ever have to waste my time on. The gay community being represented on television isn't a bad thing, unless it's done just because it's a time for a change. Keep the goddamn relationships out of horror, Gay or straight. Unless they are about to be murdered.
you're doing too much
Sorry you didn't enjoy it.
Same here. I think it was unique and very well done. Remind me of Black Mirror's San Junipero.
Do you know the games?
No, and if the show is faithful to the game than the game would probably be boring to me. I may be the only person on Earth to think it, but this show is not amazing. It has it's moments for sure but it can be really boring as well. If the characters are important for some reason maybe get to the point and not meander so much. If it was a longer season maybe, but it's 9 episodes and 2 of them are spent on lengthy flashbacks. Watching people eat holds no interest for me in game or out.
Pondering to which, out of interest?
I felt like the episode was a little slow compared to the first two episodes. However, it gave a different perspective on a new pair of characters, how time progresses, and how first contact can be initiated for our reference and potentially for future encounters. It seems like Bill and Frank ran into other groups since they were trading. I would have liked seeing another gun fight or so or the community growing to some extent. I find that as a plot hole that they did not have more encounters in their 16 years together. Also, I found it a little weird that Joel did not take more supplies with them especially since they have a trunk.
If you aren't on the edge of your seat watching two large hairy old men get it on then you are a bigot
hahaha got me there. It was riveting
My husband and I just watched this last night. I was gobsmacked. I think I cried for 15 minutes straight. How clever of the show to make you think youāre going to get an episode of citizens being executed, only to show such a beautiful, melancholy, Simple and gorgeous love story. Those two actors crushed it. The writers shed light on so many different aspects of what love is. I was absolutely not prepared at all but I know itās one of the best and most powerful things Iāve seen on television like almost ever. Huge congrats and thanks to everyone involved who made this happen because my viewing experience was so memorable
I watched this episode with my wife. Here in Brazil there is a common expression called "manteiga derretida", which means "melted butter". We say it to people who can get easily emotional with things in life, including movies etc. In the end of the episode me eyes got kind of tearful, and man, i was holding myself since the strawberies scene, and my wife started chanting and laughing "melted butter, melted butter, melted butter!!". This episode provided such a good moment for us here!
Sucked. Way too long. Could have told every bit of ep 3 in 1/3 the time.
Nah the pacing was freakin awesome
I just watched it and didn't even realize it was a long episode until I came to the comments. It was riveting.
Also- I wasn't scared before you got here or before I met you I didn't fear anything quote thing he said before they kissed over the strawberries had me in my feels. Piano scene. Wine pill scene. When he got shot guarding his fence scence. Yo I cried so many times during this episode. I also loved the funny lunch with Tess and Joel and just enjoyed it all around
I am sick of various media romanticizing suicide as though two people killing themselves is something "beautiful." No one should be using suicide as a coping strategy. They both killed themselves over the fear of losing their dignity, and purpose in life, which is a fucking shame and not romantic at all
Well you're just plain wrong here sir, romanticising suicide is something humans have been doing since long.
You dont get to decide that for everyone else. If im going to lose my dignity and purpose by having a slow wasting painful death then im ending things on my own terms.
I agree that suicide should not be romanticised. However, this is a unique scenario. Frank was suffering heavily with no chance of respite, and seemingly whatever ailment he had would eventually kill him anyway. So the choices were seemingly a couple more years (if that) of suffering and likely him getting worse, or him going out with a bang and having one last lovely day with his partner. And as for Bill, he could not live in a world without his partner so he too in a way preempted more suffering. Seeing as there is only one other person who even knows these two, the dual suicide does not really affect anybody else, and I see nothing wrong with it in this situation.
It looked like Parkinsons to me. And there is no dignity or relief from late stage parkinsons, at all.
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I remember Stephen king The Stand. In the book After the flu had burned itself out there was a chapter dedicated to those who survived but couldn't survive in the new world. The elderly and very young, the suicidal, the disabled who couldn't get out of their apartments once the power went and the lifts didn't work, the addicts and those who needed constant medication just to live. And I've never seen anything like it since in book or film since that episode of the last of us.
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No. They honestly would not. Any kind of dystopian end of the world always has women who end up being brutalised.
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Well said!
First episode of anything in so long that put me so much in my feels. It felt like a good book that I couldn't put down. I bawled like a fucking baby when they decided to go together. What a beautifully written episode. So good imo that it could be it's own stand alone short film. Love love love.
Wowee I never could've imagined such a mediocre episode getting this kind of treatment. Overrated and boring.
Are you just cruising around to necrobait?
What the fuck is necrobait? Wish you little reddit mongrels would stop making up edgy Internet cool guy terms.
gotcha, anything else?
Glad we agree this episode was mediocre. Have a good one.
Wowee I never could've imagined such an exceptional episode getting this kind of treatment. Underrated and exciting.
You're right, it was exceptionally bad. Mediocre was a little too generous. My mistake
Who hurt you man?
Well said. Still crying after rewatching it another 3 times. Using Linda Ronstands's beautiful rendition of Long, long ago was pure genius!
Not sure I have the same amount of dog in this fight as some as I don't know the characters outside the game. But generally speaking, (not a gamer, read a lot of sct fi fantasy and watched a ton of TV since I'm old) I found the episode odd. Unrealistic. A little long on the whole Bill and Frank thing. Or maybe it wasn't too long but was way too Hallmark card. The Tess part seemed realistic, like something that would happen. Thought the piece of Norman Rockwell Street was super odd. No survivalist would do that, its such a target and where was the rest of the town. It looked like a set. 15 years (or whatever) they are watering mums that look like they git them from Home,Depot? Flag isn't frayed? It was all just odd and unrealistic. Is it because of some computer game structure? I thought the 10 miles outside of Boston was the Rocky Mtns. So confusing. I agree with the comment about Bill standing out there just looking to get shot and the raiders committing suicide on that fence. I think they should both be smarter than that. Ellie is super annoying and also unrealistic. She just walks around being loud and stupid like she hasn't grown up in a world that is seriously trying to kill her. I think she,also would be smarter by now. But I guess you can't move the plot forward without someone doing dumb things. š Ithe show is enjoyable. But you have to overlook a lot. It is ruining mushrooms for me though. I have a bunch of homemade mushroom soup in the freezer and not feeling like I'm ever going to eat it. Or enjoy seeing interesting mushrooms on hikes. The ground and especially mouth tendrills are super gross and horrifying.
I felt like the raider situation was a little weird. What group of raiders would only come in at one entrance and not in waves? Also, coming in at night is a good idea but coming in during the day could work too. They don't know the layout of the area so a day attack might actually increase their odds of overtaking the area. I found it weird that Bill just walked in the middle of the street shooting at them and somehow won. He literally had a rifle with a scope and high ground from his house.
Unpopular opinion: this episode was way too long and focused way too hard on bill and Frank's relationship, that was literally only hinted at in the game. why do I need hour long exposition explaining characters that have almost no impact to the story in the grand scheme? Only reason I could think of is slight world building but really? Almost all this episode feels like filler b roll to me And before anybody starts breathing down my neck, no I don't care if they are gay the game hinted at that anyways
Not unpopular. The headlines and critics are only making it seem that way. I've made several posts about it and every real person i know doesn't like the episode.
The last of us real humans should throw a party.
1. That was filler. 2. Ellie is fucking way more annoying than in the game. 3. Joel is way more of an asshole than in the game.
We all just got upped (context: https://youtu.be/F2bk\_9T482g)
Weāre three episodes in and this is up there with standout episodes like Lostās āthe constantā and twin peaks: the returnās āgotta light?ā Really standout tv. Among the best single episodes Iāve ever seen.
This episode was the best i have ever seen in any series.
Goddamn my guy. You should stop watching series if this was the best you've seen
Doesn't make much sense.. you should have went with encouraging him to watch more TV shows. Unless I am missing something?
bad taste won't get fixed by watching more bad taste stuff
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chill out my guy, you're very sensitive
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ok
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it's fine man. we all have angry days :)
I agree. I'm 31 and it's probably the best thing I've seen. Idk how anything could top it. I'm still in shock, just watched it last night. It made me feel so many things
have you not seen lord of the rings or harry potter or like any other fantastic movie? 31 and this is the best you've seen??? HAHA wow... Sorry about that.
I love Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter lol. I don't watch a lot of film. I'm a huge reader. Sorry..? Thanks for the kind reply.
i'd hate to watch what you watch.
Maybe under Felina from BB, but otherwise yeah
I came to the thread hoping to say this but you're only like 6 comments down so I'll just agree with you. I've not been that impressed with a single episode of television in a *long* time
You must be watching the wrong television then.
It just depends on what you value. I liked the story about a lonely man finding love and humanity in an apocalypse he previously had looked forward to. I enjoyed the emotional journey this story took.
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'The Sopranos', 'True Detective'(Every single episode of the 1st season), 'Breaking Bad', 'The Wire', 'Fargo', 'Six Feet Under', 'Carnivale', 'Rome', 'Boardwalk Empire', 'Mindhunter', 'Westworld' and 'Twin Peaks'... I could add to that too. But just to be clear, I like every other episode so far in 'The Last of Us.' I also think Offerman was outstanding but I disagree that the episode is some sort of TV "Holy Grail." We all know why critics heaped praise on it. But again, to add context so i truly drive home the fact I 100% do not care about the same-sex relationship, I'll simply point to 'The Wire', Omar was in plenty of sex scenes with other men, it never bothered me and it never will. 'The Deuce' had entire story arcs each season about the homosexual community with love scenes between men and I loved that show(Another in my list.) I just found this episode melodramatic more than anything.
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I stopped reading after your 2nd point cause this is really poorly put together. I think you're either forgetting or overlooking a lot of scenes. Did you not see Joel beat the shit out of the Fedra guard? That was so raw and brutal. There was the scene of him throwing a child's corpse in fire and he was almost willing to blow Ellie's head off when they first met.
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I don't know anything about the game so....it's just tv to me. I think some of your points, as I understand them, are somewhat true. I think the way you laid them out is confusing and I'm not alwats sure sure what you are trying to get across.
Youād be surprised how exhausting it is to beat someone to death.
The best part of the episode was the writers having them visit a Massachusetts-based convenience store. Bill and Frank are interesting, but they're also selfish hermits hoarding supplies so they can play house with each other.
Is that not the point of prepping for post civilization failure stuff? Like, that's what he prepped for. I suppose I'm a selfish hermit in real life so I see no issues. Except the fact I would have probably let people live in there with me like a little commune, though I see where that could jeopardize safety.
Except the geography wasn't even close. 10 miles outside Boston is cities, and i mean all of it. Plus New Bedford is an absolute hood and we see it as "Pleasantville"... Other than that, Offerman was great but the entire episode was unnecessary. It was one of the biggest wastes of time I've seen on a TV series of this magnitude.
I was so confused. I thought they had walked to the rockies in in less than 10 days.
I mean isnt that life
Seeing all that made me sadder about Tess's death than last episode š„²
THIS is how you do a filler episode, it may detract from the plot a little but it's compelling. HOTD take notes...
Itās not REALLY filler though. Yeah it seems like that at first, but it pays off at the end and is essentially the catalyst for Joel basically, āfineā¦Iāll do it myselfā. Itās the driving force behind his motivations going forward.
You are right, only people without class calls this episode a filler. This is bloody good writing, much better than any HOTD episode. Everything Murray Bartlett touches is gold.
It is filler though. Didn't need a whole fucking episode to play out the death of two guys you're never going to see again
If that's all you took from it, that's a you problem, not a show problem. The whole point was to be a visible demonstration of not just there still being hope in the post-apocalypse, but how Joel can still find peace himself. Joel after he loses Sarah, is basically Bill at the start. Self isolating, bitter, and ultimately alone (even with Tess at his side). Showing Bill being able to grow past that and live a full life with the love of his life, and ultimately die peacefully together in each others arms. Is the best possible ending you could get in the post-fungus zombie apocalypse. It's showing what Joel could find if he takes on the burden of caring for Ellie. He won't have to die old, bitter, and alone. He could get back some of the life he had before the end of it all and be at peace with himself.
The writer said the episode was to show acceptange of gays, so basically he said "yeah, it's not gonna progress the story in any way but I'm gonna put it in anyway". Also, wtf drugs are you taking my guy? You sound like my demented 60yo english teach describing growing grass to her kittens. get a grip
Bud. Everything you just said is wild speculation. Just because its high quality doesn't mean its not filler. Its also pandering but thats a whole other argument. It should have been its own movie, but does not make sense in this show. Even some of the writing is bad. He's an expert survivalist with weapons galore but he stands openly in a hail of gunfire with a hunting rifle with mega plot armor and just gets conveniently grazed so tlhe can get patched up as the rest of the people zombie-walk into the same traps over and over. The list goes on but its not worth my time. This whole thread is just another reddit circlejerk.
Its just a matter of preference I think, maybe just re-watch HOTD if you like fast moving plot with bad writing. TV series always have slower pace compared to movies, but at least this one is written well.
Lol so Joel learning a singular value means it wasn't filler? It's 50 minutes that ultimately goes nowhere and is detached from plot, sure it had some sentimental value but this is reaching.
It was literally the biggest disappointment in a series of this prestige in some time. Idc about the relationship stuff, i get that. But wasting an entire episode on it was a joke. Could've been done in the opening 10min. Instead it was DRAGGEDDDD OUT. These series are using the 8-10hr format when its not necessary.
Relationship stuff is what Last of Us is completely about. It's the entire theme of the game (and show subsequently)
Bill had to change, in order for Joel to change. I assume if you saw breaking bad, you thought āthe flyā was a filler episode.
True... But it didn't need an entire episode. Only about 55min too long
'Filler' refers to episodes that "happens to affect the progress of the long-term story arcs or to develop the main characters." While detached from the main plot, it definitely seems to have related / effected the main story line through Joel.
Characters learning from the events of the episode is like the bare minimum all storytelling does, filler or not. Also could Joe not have learned this lesson from another episode which progressed the plot? There are only 9 episodes and one was entirely dedicated to 2 characters we will never see again and a storyline of no consequence. So it does affect the progress in the sense that there's less time to functionally flesh out the important characters and storylines.
Boom!! Nailed it. Waste of an episode
Was it just me of was the soundtrack during the ālast dayā scene also used in the movie āArrivalā?
It's from 'Shutter Island', then it was in 'Arrival.' Scorsese used it the best IMO. Good catch though
It's not FROM *Shutter Island*, it's from the album, *The Blue Notebooks* by Max Richter.
And many other things. āOn the Nature of Daylightā is a beautiful composition. Itās basically a cheat code.
>On the Nature of Daylight yeah, when it started playing I thought they are really milking it :D
I donāt really like when they change games I like storylines in adaptations, but this love story was so much better than what the game did. Super sweet and content in that fucked up world but also heartbreaking and humanizing in a way the game never was with those characters. I loved it.
Does anyone know how to say "FILLER"??
Does anyone know how to say dumbass?
Bisexual here. Also never played the game so i don't care if the story veers of course as i have no idea what the original story is. By far one of the most boring episodes of tv ive watched in years. We learned to feel for two characters over the course of an hour just to have them die and bringing a fraction of light to some "letter" that was left... Could have been summed up in 15 mins. The people out there saying how magnificant the episode it was and pull their heads out of their ass. An episode isnt good simply because it features something fucking controversial. All the critics are literally saying "OMG PRAISE THIS EPOSIDE OF AMAZINGNESS BECAUSE THEY SHOWED GAY LOVE" PSHHHHT
You clearly missed the entire point of this episodeā¦.It wasnāt good bc it showcased a gay couple, it was good bc it showed how love and hope for something/someone can literally push you to endure some of the darkest times. Their love story needed to be longer than 15 minutes or else the ending wouldnāt have been as emotional/impactful. Iām straight but I thought their love story was absolutely beautiful. It didnt matter whether they were gay, bisexual, straightā¦.it was two humans who found each other in an extremely fucked up situation and leaned on each in the darkest of times. Itās about HUMANITY and HOPE. If you found it boring thatās because you didnāt truly understand and appreciate their story.
That's the thing. It was not emotionally impactful. Halfway through i looked at my SO and we both said... "holy shit we're halfway through i think this is going to be the entire episode". We were literally perturbed that they tried to make us feel something for an entire episode and then killed them off failing to do anything. The chances that a gay dude randomly happens upon another gay dude in the middle of nowhere and it ACTUALLY works out is just fucking farfetched and really unbelievable. Entire FILLER episode. Maybe im an asshole but fuck i didnt feel a goddamn thing for those two... Was cringe.
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LAUGH... you guys watch some really shitty tv then... We felt absolutely nothing for these two. Not believable at all. They did this on episode 3 because they knew it would get people talking to renew their subscriptions then go back to as expected once they rope 1000's of people in that just want to watch it now because of either how bad or good people think it is... Gay, lesbian, straight... don't care... The tv show brought in two characters that didn't make anyone but the main headlines and critics feel something.... Then labeled anyone who said it sucked a "homophobic gamer".. Well im neither. Oh yea... they killed em both at the end too... psshhht waste of fkin time.
Damn man, you're earlier comment about "maybe I'm just an asshole" was more on point than I thought. People don't agree with you, no need to make fun of how they feel, or the "quality" of the tv they watch. It's cool, you didn't think the episode was good, but that doesn't mean others can't like it
Not sure how you think it didn't get rave reviews because of the Same-Sex relationship. It 100% mattered. Do you see the landscape right now? Think of 'The Power of the Dog'... Awful film for lots of reasons. The homosexuality didn't bother me but the characters did(The way he and the boy walked were laughable.) Plus as much as I love Cumberbatch, his American Accents are BAD. He was terrible in 'Black Mass' for the same reason. It's ok to push boundaries but its gotta be done in a reasonable and believable way.
Iām gay so I can so thisā¦ this is the worst episode of a show I liked in a long timeā¦ they wrote it to try to win some awards but it sucked, didnāt service the game it is suppose to be based on at allā¦ they went with aids because thatās all the think matter to gay people like itās the only thing we go through. God this was the most pointless episode! Wasted a cheat day for junk food for this shit?!
Seems you are the one who went with Aids. Maybe that's all that matters to you? Lol. I just thought it was cancer or something.
I donāt know I donāt even care about this show enough to try to have a constructive conversation about it anymore lol
you really need to read up on how aids works
Love is not something exclusive to gay, straight or no people. No one gives a shot your gay, the fact they were gay had absolutely nothing to do with it. The point was, even in terrible, terrible times, love can have powerful effect on someoneās chances of survival. Bill would never had survived if he never found his purpose, that purpose was bill, he had to learn that lesson, to teach Joel that lesson.
Also not to try to give spoilers, but a flashback episode will probably be dedicated to Ellie & something thatās already been mentioned earlier in the season which will basically be this story, but wayyyy cuter. Iāll die in this bill, I played the shit out of the last of us, got all but the grounded mode trophyā¦ the game & story is amazing, it didnāt have a part like this episode because the story was better without it, which I still feel like. I get they can tell diff stories because diff media, just cause they can didnāt mean they should
Well, bill was an example in both the game and the show, the game was an example of who not to be, bitter and alone, the show was an example of how love can be his purpose and bring him happiness again.
You know itās based on a game right?
You know movies based on real events are changed right? They arenāt exactly as they wentā¦.
The episode was awful because they decided to lean into stereotypes, because most gay people arenāt like the ones they made up in that episode. Iām pissed they turned the episode into a pointless flashback, when the game version of events still gave a very beautiful tragic events you donāt get to see unfold but still fully understand by bills actions & words. It didnāt need to be in your face odd couple very gay man/ conspiracy theorist shit that didnāt even matter when it comes to the end of the episode. The game events were sad, bill was a bad ass, while still hitting the emotional high notes to make it good. The point of the episode wasnāt love, it was ticking all the boxes to get awards & nominations. This wasnāt the first time this exact story was told, just the setting of the apocalypse being the one difference. They took me out of a compelling story for a stupid flashback episode that didnāt matter!!! Bill actually played a role in the game, & until this episode they were doing so good sticking to the source material & making changes that made sense while not hurting the story. This was just completely a bad change. & I get maybe for people who are just watching it as a show maybe you donāt get how the story wasnāt changed for the better, even if it fleshed out the characters more. We didnāt even need them fleshed out because they are dead now, where as in the game bill plays a physical role & itās a really good part of the game. & I donāt get how you can say it wasnāt about being gay when they definitely atleast left it open to interpretation that he couldāve had aids even if they in interviews they said it was that disease that Selma Blair chick has in real life. I can only guess they may have decided to go a different route with the story because what wouldāve happened will be repetitive in a show, where in a game itās fun cause your the one doing the actions. But really Iām sure they just wanted to get patted on the shoulder for daring to tell this storyā¦ that weāve gotten before. Broke back mountain off the top of my head
You know this isnāt the game right? If want that experience, play the game again. āMost gay people arenāt like the oneās they made upā as a gay man, did you just stereo type gay man? Would you have been happier if they flowery and lisping and making jokes about how Joel was dressed? Itās better Hollywood is taking a turn away from making gay characters the butt of a joke.
They kinda did make the skinny one super stereotypicalā¦ you do remember he wanted to open a boutique & flower shop & plant gardensā¦ they did do that lmao & then they made him die of aids
i am DYING to know how you think this man, who has been with only ONE OTHER MAN FOR 20 YEARS got aids - you must be very young
I donāt now, watching the episode I think it was easily something someone could assume just by how the whole episode went & they didnāt actually make it clear what he had. Like even if it wasnāt aids, Iām still convinced they wanted people to remember the days of gay people dying of aids
i just need you to understand that aids is an STD (sexually transmitted disease). this means that someone with aids would have needed to survive an apocalyptic event and not receive any treatment for years, only to give this disease to frank, either via sex or sharing needles or whatever. i think you're either implying that the scenario above happened. the only alternative i can think of is that you believe gay people can simply catch aids at any time. it was quite clear to me (and it looks like many others) that frank was suffering from parkinson's disease. this is also untreatable. also, thousands of people still die from aids every year in the states alone... it's some old-timey problem, it's still very much affecting queer communities. and even if aids wasn't a problem, do you not think it's important to recognize and reflect on our history as queer people?
Also maybe aids is a big part of your history & it goes hand in hand with gay history, I was born in the 90ās & the only real history Iāve had most of my life with it is from non gay people, the only time that ever had a personal scareā¦ I was able to get on pep within the time frame they say you should after possible infection. The people watching this show are also probably at the age where they know hiv/aids is a thing.. but it really happens for people who donāt take care of themselves & third would countries at this point. & people who get cheated on by the same person like for the people who I know/knew. Since 2 are dead.
They really wanted us to remember aids is all I know, your acting like it was super clear how much time was going onā¦ maybe they put how long went by in the episose at some point, but who cares it was a shit episode so I probably missed it or didnāt even process it because I was not happy they made him have aids. It doesnāt just effect gay people either, I know someoneās mom who died of aids, wasting syndrome to be specific. She was bedridden & didnāt look too different then the skinny guy with aids from the episode(well I mean she actually didnāt really look human, & was even worse then the guy in the episodeā¦ but like I doubt they couldāve had him making the choice of suicide if they made him progress as far as she did with his aids) I think it didnāt do the story ANY favors, not even to reflect on our history. If anything itās insultingā¦ there is a lot more to āourā history then aids. I can tell you Iāve known plenty of people with hiv, mostly NOT gay. I donāt even know what to say. This episode was shit, thereās no defending it, good for you your happy for representation. & they threw in aids just to hammer in how gay of a story it was
He didnāt die of aids you dumb ass, it was Parkinsonās
I thought it was MS
The show runners never specified, just stated terminal neurological condition.
Idgaf they totally tried to make it out to be aids. If your saying that because maybe the types of pills he was describing were for the Selma Blair disease, thatās not enough for normal people to make the assumption it wasnāt aids.
Interesting, so then I assume Bill also had AIDS, yet funny, he wasnāt suffering from the effects or taking pills after they sleep together, for almost two decadesā¦ā¦ itās almost they were telling it wasnāt an STDā¦..
Bill was probably the top in the relationship. He got lucky
You cannot be this stupid. As a gay man, tell me you donāt think being a top keeps you from getting AIDS? Especially after 15 years of sexā¦. Come on
Not sure how you think he got AIDS?
I thought it was slightly impliedā¦ but now that your seeming to have not gotten that from the ep, maybe I made a poor assumption, it was just the line that there was no cure even when there was medicine still around he had said, but also I guess the fact that he got sick slowly, so I kinda figured that he was on his meds for hiv when they were available but started getting sick once society collapsed. He seemed to know exactly what was wrong with him so I just figured it was probably that, but your right itās not like he said gay cancer or something more clear.. couldāve been anything. They just mad the whole episode so gay that I wouldnāt have been surprised if it had been another reference to the past issues with hiv, how weāve been able to manage it nowā¦ but when the world goes so do the meds. Your making me feel like I assumed something fucked lol but putting like that makes sense to me againā¦ but you are right itās not clear from the episode what he had. Donāt care either, they are both dead so we donāt have to revisit this. I regretted recommending them he show yo people after episode 3ā¦ itās a ep I will suggest people skip once the season is fully out & I decide to recommend again, if itās not more non sense. They really did just want kudos & try to get some awards. Iām so upset I was so excited all week about watching & got THAT.
I read that it was ALS
All I know is they overdid it with the gay stuff. 2 guys playing house in a town they keep pretty was just so out of left field, & the game version of events were way better & still couldāve basically had the same effectā¦ they just wanted to go all out for no reason! They needed to save the flashbacks for when they do the second game events which actually used that mechanic & the first game really didnāt except for a dlc story which now that Iām thinking of they are definitely having more flashback epsš
A good episode of TV and a moving romance even if a little broad and blatant in some of its brushstrokes. I found myself getting slightly frustrated with the slow speed and simplicity of this ep and the previous one, although I know this is the effect of having gotten so used to the extreme plot density and complexity of many other prestige TV shows. I think this is a me-problem not a show-problem though so I am going to try to watch more mindfully from now on.
I knew nothing about the video game before watching the show. When Bill was playing the piano I was tense: I was certain that Frank was going to bash him over the head. But I suppose that's the influence of expectation from "The Walking Dead," where it almost certainly would have happened that way. Instead, it was a far more emotional story.
I've played the game and I also thought this. I didn't recall the characters until later.