love will abide

We need to talk about Murray Bartlett and last night’s heartbreaking gay episode of ‘The Last Of Us’

Image Credit: “The Last of Us,’ HBO

The massively popular The Last Of Us video games have been praised for their world-building and cinematic storytelling, not to mention their inclusiveness when it comes to LGBTQ+ characters—something that still feels like a rarity in the mainstream gaming scene.

So, now that the The Last Of Us has been adapted into an epic HBO series, we’ve been tuning in each week eagerly awaiting the queer characters we were promised. Don’t get us wrong, we’re hooked on the post-apocalyptic survival drama, plus we love nonbinary star Bella Ramsey and ultimate daddy Pedro Pascal in the lead roles. But where are the gays?

Well, the latest episode finally delivered what we’ve been waiting for, and honestly? We’ll never be the same. Let’s get into it…

Spoilers ahead for The Last Of Us, episode 3,”Long Long Time,” as well as the original video game.

After the previous episode’s tragic conclusion, Joel (Pascal) and Ellie (Ramsey) find themselves on the road to the Boston surburbs, where they hope old pals Bill and Frank can supply them with what they need to make their cross-country trek. But this check-in with our heroes is merely the prologue to what ends up being the decades-long love story between Bill (Parks And Recreation‘s Nick Offerman) and Frank (The White Lotus’ Murray Bartlett). And it’s a tearjerker.

We jump back in time 20 years—at the beginning of the fungal outbreak that turns humans into flesh-eating creatures—as the picturesque town of Lincoln, Massachusetts undergoes mandatory evacuation. Everyone is shipped out except for doomsday prepper Bill, who’d been hiding out in his fully equipped basement bunker.

Far from the city (and, apparently, the mushroom monster mob) Bill makes quite a life for himself, erecting a security perimeter around his block, and creating a self-sustaining quarantine zone all his own. He seems perfectly content—that is, until journeyman Frank falls into pit just outside the property. Talk about a meet cute!

Related: Murray Bartlett on the evolution of gay sex in film and TV

Brandishing a rifle, Bill warily helps Frank out of the trap, and attempts to shoo him along to his next destination. But, like all of us, he’s helpless against the charms of Murray Bartlett, and agrees to have Frank in for some sustenance first.

As overjoyed as Frank is to have his first home-cooked meal in ages, he can’t help but notice his host has a taste for the finer things in life—and sure knows his wine pairings—which gets the gears turning. It’s not until Frank discovers the piano and the Linda Ronstadt songbook that he realizes, “Wait a minute, this man is gay.”

By the way, the Ronstadt classic they play is the song that gives this episode its name: “Long Long Time.”

A scene later and the two are in bed together. Sure, it was only their first date, but who can blame them? We imagine post-apocalypse Grindr isn’t really popping off anyway! Bill says it’s his first time, hinting that he’s maybe never even considered his own queerness before.

Not that that matters because we then jump to some years later, with Bill and Frank clearly beyond their honeymoon phase, bickering in the way that only longtime couples do (including a funny reference to the fact that Bill is something of a conspiracy nut, which did ultimately save both of their lives).

As the years pass, we see Bill reluctantly opening his home to friendly smugglers Joel and Tess (long before her heartbreaking demise), the pair fending off dangerous raiders, and generally helping each other survive the end of the world. There’s an especially sweet moment where Frank shows Bill the strawberry patch he’s secretly cultivated, inspiring the latter to admit ,”I was never afraid before you showed up.” *sniff* Got those tissues ready? Because the tears are only going to keep flowing from here on out.

Related: Gay Redditors list the movie and TV scenes that broke their hearts

Suddenly its 2023, the series’ present-day timeline, and the couple’s looking significantly older, especially Frank who is wheelchair-bound and contending with some form of debilitating illness. One morning, Bill awakens to find his partner has already gotten himself out of bed. This is it. Frank’s decided the pain is too much and today’s going to be his last day.

Calmly, Frank lays it all out: He wants them to get dressed up, get married, and have a nice dinner before Bill fills his glass of wine with pills and puts him to bed one last time. Bill, of course, is reluctant, unable to imagine how he’ll press on alone. “Love me the way I want you to,” Frank pleads, breaking our hearts into millions of pieces.

Their day continues on in a beautifully melancholic montage, until it comes time for Bill to pour the wine. “You’re my purpose,” he tells Frank. At this point, we’re a blubbering mess—who knew a zombie show could deliver this level of gay heartache? And that’s before Bill tells his partner the whole bottle’s been spiked, and that they’ll both be saying their goodbyes that night.

Image Credit: “The Last of Us,’ HBO

An indeterminate amount of time later, Joel and Ellie arrive in Lincoln, but Bill and Frank are nowhere to be seen. A note from the couple lays it all out, trusting our heroes with whatever supplies they can get their hands on—and a working vehicle. As they speed away, Bill and Frank’s song plays on the radio. “Love will abide / Take things in stride….”

Bravo to Murray Bartlett for another stunning performance, continuing his post-White Lotus hot streak (if you haven’t seen him in Physical or Welcome To Chippendales, you should!). And what an incredible dramatic turn from Nick Offerman, who manages to make Bill an empathetic figure while never reducing him to a stereotype of a gay man—or a doomsday-prepper, for that matter.

And, finally, we have to commend director Peter Hoar for his fantastic work helming the episode with so much tenderness. He previously worked on Russell T. Davies’ limited series It’s A Sin, so it’s safe to say he’s becoming one of our favorite directors.

Related: The 15 most anticipated LGBTQ+ TV shows we can’t wait to binge in 2023

How does the Bill and Frank story differ in The Last Of Us game?

Another episode of The Last Of Us, another soul-shattering death scene. But here’s the thing: Bill and Frank’s end could’ve been even more bleak. When it come to the storyline of these two lovers, the HBO series actually opted to go a more uplifting route, believe it or not.

In the original video game, when Joel and Ellie arrive in Lincoln, a significant portion of the town is overrun by the infected. Bill’s there to greet them, even more brusque than Offerman’s version of the character we meet in the show, and he’s alone. He makes mention of a “partner” he once had, but boasts that he’s better off solo.

Eventually our heroes come across Frank’s body—he was bitten and decided to hang himself to avoid succumbing to the fungus. Bill admits they were together, and we later learn the two had gotten in a major argument and gone their separate ways.

Frank was gathering supplies and had been planning to take the truck to skip town when he was attacked by the infected. Joel even finds a goodbye note Frank left for Bill, but this was no fond farewell—he was writing to tell his ex-lover that he hated his guts.

So, again, Frank and Bill’s love story nearly had an even more devastating conclusion, but The Last Of Us decided to send them off together with one final grace note and a message about love helping us survive even the worst of times. We’ll be curious to see what other ways the HBO series deviates from the video games moving forward.

Related: 9 of our favorite LGBTQ+ video game characters from 2022

Gay Twitter™ reacts to The Last Of Us “Long Long Time”

Still in your feelings after that emotional episode? Thankfully, Gay Twitter™’s got the jokes and more The Last Of Us hot takes to help you laugh the pain away. Enjoy a few of our favorites below:

 

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