Spoilers ahead for the third episode of The Last of Us!
Leave it to Stephen King getting full of cujo in an otherwise touching part of television.
On Sunday, HBO premiered the third installment of its hit drama The Last of Us, based on the popular video game of the same name.
The episode, titled “Long, Long Time,” shifted its focus from the series’ two protagonists, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), and their bleak circumstances to tell a refreshingly tender love story between two new characters.
But before Joel and Ellie’s storylines could collide with those of the new characters, the pair had to successfully sneak out of Boston, where a quarantine zone teeming with murderous soldiers and succulent-headed mushroom zombies looms large. The show went on to update viewers that the rebellious duo had successfully left town, using overlaid text to explain that they were “10 miles west of Boston” — but their surroundings confused many New Englanders.
A shot of the area featured a scenic river surrounded by mountains, and King, a proud Mainer, couldn’t help but evoke the stunning backdrop.
Many viewers were just as amazed as King, because there are certainly no scenic mountain ranges in the Boston area.
become belligerent when “the last of us” attempts to claim that mountainous terrain clearly northwest lies “10 miles west of Boston.” pic.twitter.com/IHL9gcNrWM
After that I got into it, but when this text appeared on the screen, my husband and I looked at each other at the same time and said “bullshit”. But I had forgotten about it until this tweet because the rest was so good
Despite this hiccup, the rest of the episode was extremely moving.
Long, Long Time deviated from the video game’s plot to explore a romance between Bill (Nick Offerman), a hardened survivor whose pre-pandemic paranoia made him uniquely suited to the series’ new and chaotic world, and Frank (Murray Bartlett). A charming survivor who Bill falls in love with after Frank gets stuck in a hole Bill created as a trap.
Murray Bartlett and Offerman as Frank and Bill in the third episode.
The show then uses multiple time-lapses to provide glimpses into Bill and Frank’s intimate, year-long romance in a quaint — but deserted — New England town. Their story is filled with rollicking dinners, jogging, a strawberry garden, a lovely outdoor brunch where Bill and Frank meet Joel for the first time, and Bill taking care of Frank after he has an illness that leaves him in a wheelchair. Their love story ends with Frank asking Bill to “have a good day”.
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“My first reaction to the episode was surprise. It was this unexpected, beautiful love story in this dark world,” Bartlett said during an episode synopsis for HBO.
Creator Neil Druckmann explained in the same synopsis that he hopes to show a “reflection of where love can take you” in each episode of the series.
“And that was the pure, innocent version. That’s the beauty that love can bring us,” he said.
Given the sweet plot, many viewers of the show called out to King for focusing on a minor flaw in an otherwise impactful episode.
Did you take that with you from one of the most beautiful episodes of television?
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