Reaction Review: The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 3: Long Long Time
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
EPISODE SUMMARY
Warning: major spoilers for The Last of Us season 1 episode 3, “Long Long Time”, are throughout the entire review. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
There’s no prologue this time: we just hop straight to the intro credits, only to find Joel digging for rocks in a nearby stream shortly afterward. We’re told that we’re 10 miles west of Boston, after the tragic events at the end of “Infection” (Tess getting hit by the cordyceps fungus, starting to turn, and sacrificing herself to save Joel and Ellie). Ellie and Joel begin bickering over the death of Tess, with Joel being upset that his partner is dead and Ellie not wanting to feel responsible for something that wasn’t her fault. They don’t see eye-to-eye, but they put enough of their differences aside to set on a five hour hike. Ellie eyes the pistol on Joel’s belt, and begins asking, seeing that Tess is gone and there are two weapons. Joel quickly shuts her down.
They reach Joel’s stash: an abandoned store where he places much of his important inventory. Ellie gets bored when the Mortal Kombat arcade machine inside doesn’t seem to work, so she heads downstairs. Ellie finds an infected man buried under debris in the basement that’s still alive. She pulls out her knife and begins cutting open its forehead: the fungal spread is exposed.. Out of frustration, she stabs it in the head and puts it out of its misery. This is all hidden from Joel, who begins to worry about her whereabouts until she emerges from the basement below. They leave once ready.
As they keep walking, they spot the remains of a crashed plane and Joel reveals he’s flown before: it looks like they’re opening up for pleasant conversations again. With this door open, Ellie needs clarity on how this crisis really started, and Joel gives her the most speculated answer. The cordyceps fungus mutated, got into the food supplies around the world (primarily in flour and sugar) and slowly infected everyone one by one. It was impossible to slow down or stop. We can see this in the form of the next sight Ellie and Joel come across: a mass grave. It seems as though these are all infected corpses, but Joel infers that these were all healthy people. As Joel puts it: “Dead people can’t be infected”. In the way that the previous episode began with the horrifying revelation that cities were bombed to stop the infection and prevent others from getting sick, we see the many ways that mass hysteria went in the worst possible direction.
We zoom into a swaddle in the grave, and zoom out of the same one, now covering a live baby. We have flashed back to September 30th, 2003: the beginning of the end. A new character, Bill, is preparing for the worst while staring at his various TV monitors and brandishing a shotgun. People are being evacuated from the town, and we learn that they’re going to be killed, so we don’t think Bill is a conspiracy nut. He unearths himself and heads outside with his weapon and a gas mask, inspects his front porch, and then rips the mask off with a smile: he has been spared. It’s time to loot the local Home Depot and get shit done (he fulfils a number of other errands as well, like getting a backup generator up and running). He enjoys a nice wine and steak in his dining room alone in the evening, notices an infected walker fall into a trap of his, and he continues eating (his livelihood is the best kind of dinner entertainment he can have).
We zip to four years later, and Bill’s hideout is a thing of beauty, with high walls, traps everywhere, and all the protection he can muster. He approaches a civilian that falls into a well of his: a healthy wanderer trying to find Boston. He seems to pass the test as Bill plants a ladder into the well (however, he still has a pistol aimed at the vagabond, because he can’t be too cautious). He tests to see if he is telling the truth about not being affected, and that test gets passed as well. Bill tries to steer this lone soul towards Boston and spares him his life. The stranger uses this opportunity to introduce himself: he’s Frank. He wants to stay with Bill for a short while at least to get some food, and swears that he won’t talk to anyone else about Bill’s hideout. Bill is a suspicious man, but there’s something about Frank that gets him to crumble: Frank can stay.
Frank is getting a little too comfortable and snooping around when Bill serves them both dinner, and Bill isn’t oblivious to this. Frank truly appreciates his wine and meat offering, as it is clearly the best meal he’s had in years. He cannot thank Bill enough. Frank is satisfied enough to get going, but he must inquire about the antique piano that Bill owns before he departs. Frank opens up a book of Linda Ronstadt sheet music and starts playing. He is rusty, because he clearly hasn’t played in years, and Bill wants him to stop, but it’s clearly not because Frank is bad: there’s something about this song that gets to Bill. Frank offers Bill the opportunity to play next, and he has clearly been performing for himself for the last handful of years: this music has been his only friend for nearly a decade. Bill’s singing and playing of the song “Long Long Time” (the episode’s namesake) isn’t perfect, but it comes straight from the heart. As Bill concludes, Frank asks who the girl that Bill sang for is. Bill responds that there wasn’t a girl. Frank isn’t stupid: he replies “I know”, and the two embrace in a kiss. Frank finally finds out Bill’s name after this tender moment which is kind of comedic but also handled with sincerity: there is finally love in the lives of these two broken men.
As the two get intimate, Frank states that he is not a sex worker, and should they have sex, then he wishes to stay longer as this is an act of love; he must know Bill is serious about this as well. Bill is okay to move ahead. Three years later, Frank is now storming out of the house (not the same hideout as before, but an actual house in the abandoned town, which Bill has made their property with the proper fencing and traps to protect them); Bill and Frank clearly have been living together, but now there has been a rift. It’s revealed that Bill is still being cautious about resource management and Frank is feeling like he is not being treated as a lover should be: he feels like he’s in another world while Bill stays in his conspiracy-theory-harbouring universe.
Frank finally opens up a little more and reveals that he’s been talking with a “nice woman” on the radio: they're now expecting company. Said company is Joel and not Ellie, but instead Tess: clearly before the events of our current storyline take place. Bill is clearly furious and cautious the entire meal, as he keeps his hand on a pistol at all times. Joel is trying to be understanding, but Bill is still being gruff with his new guest when Tess and Frank head inside the house. While Joel tries to connect, Bill reminds him that he will not let anyone distract him or Frank from protecting themselves.
We cut to three years later yet again. Frank and Bill are still together — thankfully — and they’re enjoying a quick jog to a surprise location that the former wants to share. It’s a fruit and vegetable garden! Frank had traded a gun (“just a little one”, Bill is assured) for a packet of seeds. The two can enjoy homegrown, organic food together. In the same way Frank was overwhelmed by Bill’s cooking many moons ago, Bill is now sobbing over the delicious strawberry that he is savouring. This is an opportunity for Bill to confess: he was never afraid before Frank existed. He’s insinuating that he has a reason to live, and that makes dying all the scarier. We cut to a stormy night later on, and this is clearly pathetic fallacy after this beautiful exchange. Looters are trying to break into their house, but Bill’s trap — now a flame-throwing extravaganza — catches them. Frank wakes up to an empty bed, and begins chasing around for Bill, who seems to be missing. Frank is having to fend for himself, so he picks up a handgun and heads outside. Bill is already there with a sniper rifle in hand. Bill gets shot at right in the gut as the looters that were once aiming at him are now completely set ablaze. Frank brings Bill inside and has no choice: he’s going to have to save him. Frank quickly gets to work to remove the bullet. Bill wants Frank to call Joel to live with him, assuming he will die, but Frank refuses to let him perish and saves him.
Ten years later, Frank is in a wheelchair now and can barely function: he's clearly dying of cancer. It’s time for Bill to save him in a similar way. He has taken a big liking to painting, and Bill encourages this hobby after having promised to take care of him a decade prior. During dinner (Frank still loves Bill’s cooking!), Bill provides his partner his pills. He helps him into bed afterward. Bill awakens to Frank sitting up in his wheelchair, and he gets protective: he wants to make sure Frank doesn’t hinder himself. Unfortunately, it sounds as though that Frank has made up his mind: this is the last day he wants to live. Bill is clearly shocked, but accepts his lover’s request. The itinerary for this last day: Frank wants toast, to be taken to a boutique, and to finally get married to Bill. He lastly wants to look forward to one last meal from Bill, with drugs crushed into his dinner so he can later fall asleep for good in Bill's arms. Bill breaks down and admits defeat: he doesn't want to do this. Frank asks him if he loves him, and Bill admits yes. Frank then pleads “love me the way I want you to”. Bill has to fulfil this last request.
Max Richter’s “On The Nature of Daylight” provides musical narration over the very day that Frank has asked for, and it’s the kind of montage that will have tears flowing from your eyes. We reach the dinner, and Bill is doing exactly as is asked. You can tell it’s taking everything in him to do this, and Frank can acknowledge this commitment. That’s the power of love. The music cuts out towards the end of the dinner, and so you can gather the final exchanges will be made as Bill opens the bag of drugs and pours it into Frank's wine. Frank asks if this amount will be enough to kill him: Bill ensures that it is. Frank is starting to be slightly apprehensive, but then he remembers that this is what he wants as he chugs the whole glass. Bill drinks his serving shortly after, knowing he's going to need all that it will take to get through this. In actuality, Bill has also drugged himself, wanting to die with his new husband. Bill then savours the moment by promising that this isn't the tragic suicide at the end of the play. He is “satisfied”, and Frank gave him purpose to live. Frank appreciates this eventual sign of a romantic side that Bill likely never shows. It’s time to take Frank to bed, as he is starting to feel the effects of the drug-induced death that is to come (the episode cuts away, and we are spared this morbid finale).
We cut to what was expected from the beginning: Joel and Ellie arriving on Bill’s property. Joel remembers the code, and he gets them in. However, flowers are dead, and notices this: something isn't right. Inside, the place isn’t well kept like it once was. Joel senses that something is wrong. Ellie, on the other hand, is intrigued by the piano in the same way that Frank was. She finds a key that was addressed to Joel left by Bill: it appears that Bill is also dead, likely having committed suicide after Frank’s passing. Ellie reads the note attached to the key, and it is a list of instructions for Joel to use should he ever wind up back here. The letter concludes with the following: “I used to hate the world and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong, because there was one person worth saving. That’s what I did. I saved him, then I protected him. That’s why men like you and me are here. We’ve got a job to do, and god help any of the motherfuckers that stand in our way.” However, there is one part that Ellie omitted and Joel catches upon reading the note himself: an order to keep Tess safe. This clearly bothers Joel, who needs to get outside of the domicile and piece his thoughts together. He tears up, and crumples the note.
Joel uses the key to get the truck battery: finally, there may be an escape plan that can be fulfilled. First, Joel needs to inspect Ellie’s bites again to make sure that she really isn’t infected: the coast is clear. He reveals that they're going to use the truck to head to where Joel’s brother is for safe keeping, but there are two rules: one, never bring up Tess ever again, and two, no one can ever know about her “condition”. They grab what they can from Bill’s, as was instructed by the late friend, and prepare for the road. Bill's arsenal impresses Ellie (and likely the hardcore fans in the audience that are anticipating a guns-blazing showdown like you'd find in the original game). It's also worth noting that Ellie picks up toilet paper (a sight that's too familiar for all of us that have experienced the COVID-19 madness). What also must be brought up is how Ellie finds a handgun away from Joel’s line of sight (likely the one Frank used to try and protect Bill): she swiftly hides it from Joel. They hop in the truck and prepare for the long road ahead, especially Ellie who has never been in a vehicle like this before and cannot stop gushing over what she can find. Her searching continues, and she digs up a cassette in the glove compartment: it’s some more Linda Rondstadt, and Ellie conveniently puts the side with “Long Long Time” on it to close the episode out. This isn't a song from the 80s, so maybe things will be okay for now.
FIRST REACTION
Good lord. Wow. What a heartbreaking episode. Clearly, the series has completely rewritten how Bill’s involvement is handled. Bill and Ellie never meet and bicker, and we never see Frank only post-life while Bill carries on. Instead of a small reference to Frank and Bill’s romance, we get a full on episode with a beautifully written backstory: a sign that there can be a life and there can be love in this awful reality. While Joel and Ellie squabble, there is hope in the form of the most stubborn person opening up to a stranger during the worst moments of the world. The majority of this episode acted as a short film that is fully realized, and it is guaranteed to make anyone cry (or even bawl uglily).
On one hand, I’m sad that we only got this hour of Nick Offerman (Bill) and Murray Bartlett (Frank), but there isn’t much about this episode that I would change either. This was painfully extraordinary. This is a sign of how far the series is willing to go in order to carve its own path away from the video games: this is proof that it will be brilliant in its own right. I don’t even have many more words about this episode. It’s self explanatory. “Long Long Time” is an exemplary episode of television, and it will likely be talked about on many year-end lists (even though we’re only at the end of January). if The Last of Us manages to outdo this episode, I’ll be shocked (but, then again, maybe I won’t be: this series is clearly being handled exquisitely). This is an episode for those that feared that this would be another run-of-the-mill “zombie” story: you have to believe the hype now.
Final Grade: 4.5/5
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.