The Last of Us 1x3 “Long, Long Time” | FIRST TIME REACTION

In the game, Bill is a cautionary example of what Joel could become if he continues being a detached loner. In the show, Bill is an inspirational example of what Joel could be if he stands up and takes responsibility for Ellie.

As an older gay guy thank you for not having an adverse reaction to the love story. I have seen some other reactors react to that in a disappointing way. One even said “ew” when they kissed. I appreciate you guys. Big fan.

They did make some changes from the game. In the game, by the time you meet Bill, Frank has already left and you find his dead body later with a letter saying he hated Bill for being a coward. It is heavily implied though that they were a couple that had a falling out. Bill is alive when you leave him in the game but he's bitter and hateful basically. This episode was much better to me. They took the backstory that the game had, that they were a couple, but they gave them a much better and loving send-off instead of the bitter breakup from the game. Absolutely loved this episode

Im sure you guys know by now, but Bill does meet Ellie and Joel in the game, and yes he is dead in the show. I like the change because it turns yet another tragic gay love story into something much rarer, a more hopeful story about two old men living out their lives together despite everything. Instead of Bill being a cautionary tale for Joel like he is in the game, he's become something to aspire towards, basically serving the same purpose.

A bit about the reasoning behind this episode: The creator himself didn't like Bill's bitter end back in 2013. He was left alone in a town always reminded of his mistakes with Frank. He said that if they (him and the director Craig) could improve the story together, he'd be down for it. And so they did. After that he said in a conversation with Troy (Joel's actual voice actor in the game) that he prefers this version over the game one and that all of that action scenes you experience in this part of the game wouldn't translate well for TV: you'd meet Bill and then get out of town with a car, no empathy whatsoever for a character a good chunk of players remember. He thought about giving him purpose in an apocalypse and reminding Joel with his letter not only about his failure with Tess but also igniting him once again because Joel knew the good life the couple had together once they found each other and got merged their conflicting personalities. You can see in the house and town how much Frank changed Bill over the years and they were still happy. Craig Mazin also said the letter and gun will play out later in the show. My opinion: this episode's going to be nominated for an Emmy at least.

In the game, Frank is just a hanging body, and he leaves a hateful note for Bill. The scene in the game is about 3 minutes. They managed to turn it into one of the most beautiful episodes of television I’ve ever seen. Murray Bartlet and Nick Offerman were just incredible.

Masterpiece of a episode in TV. Nick and Murray gave us amazing performances.

AGREED about the music. I held it together right up until I heard that first note of 'On the Nature of Daylight' and literally said "OH NO".

While the episode was sad I think it really was happy. Imagine the odds of them finding each other at the end of the world and having that much time together and going out on their own terms. It’s not a tragedy, it’s a miracle.

My husband and I cried during the montage of Bill & Frank’s last day… that music gets us every dang time!! Haha I loved seeing the story of two people living a seemingly normal life during a very abnormal time in the world. The fact that Frank was dying of some kind of degenerative disease, makes you think that even if the world did get flipped upside down, people would still be going through things like this. It added such a human element to the show. I loved this deviation from the storyline in the game. It’s so much better. ❤

Bill served two purposes in the game: 1. To get a usable truck to Joel and Ellie (check) 2. To convince Joel to take Ellie (check) How they went about achieving these goals in this episode is so much better for TV than the game's story would have been on TV. What they did create is an episode of TV that moved me more than anything else on TV in a long, long time. (see what I did there? LOL)

I believe it wasn’t cancer that affected Frank but rather ALS instead.

In the accompanying podcast Craig Mazin or Neil Druckmann (forget whom) explain that the role Bill serves in the story has been preserved in the transition from game to show. However, the way that role is served has changed dramatically. In the game Bill is meant to show what happens when you turn your back on the people you love. In the show they portray what happens when you embrace that love and make it your purpose in life.

You got what you wanted! You said you weren't that gripped because you knew what was coming, then you got this episode 🙂 Great reactions!

That’s 3 episodes in a row I have cried. This show is absolutely amazing I loved this more in depth episode with bill and frank.

It's like the beginning of UP in the apocalyptic world. But it's called DOWN. 😂

I predict multiple awards for this episode - One of the best TV moments I have ever seen

No this is the best fleshing out of a portion of the game yet even with the changes. Yes you meet Bill in the game and you learn a small window of the life that he and Frank had including hints that they were a couple. You also leave Bill alive but hateful and miserable. This reimagining gives you so much more back story for them as well as a glimpse of what kinds of experiences people may have had during this chaos that is not the world. I love what they did here and the way they tie in the more complete experience that we see with Bill and Frank that then ends with the game like experience of reading about them in a letter, which is how you experience so much side story in the game. I loved this episode and this game just gets better by now experiencing it's counterpart in this series version.

At the end you said you hope it gets more optimistic, but I feel this episode was optimistic. 2 people were able to find each other and live a fullfiling life in the apocalypse. They were able to overcome obstacles and not die of the fungus, raiders, or Fedra. They were able to live to old age and succumb to the same types of illnesses that we deal with. It is sad but shows the triumph of the human spirit to accept the good and bad and grow as human beings.

The point of going to Bill on the game is to get a vehicle. They did that here. Everything else is gravy. TBH the way Bill and Frank's story went is literally the only thing in the original game that I hated. This is so much better. They won. They beat the apocalypse, lived their lives and exited on THEIR terms. Win. Plus, as you said, he lit a fire in Joel and gave him his marching orders.