The Last of Us‘ Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett Break Down Bill, Frank and the Episode That Wrecked Us
Warning: This post contains spoilers from Sunday’s The Last of Us.
To take a note from Linda Ronstadt, I think I’m going to be talking about this week’s The Last of Us for a long, long time.
Episode 3, which aired Sunday, introduced us to a gruff survivalist named Bill (played by Parks and Recreation‘s Nick Offerman) who was perfectly happy as the lone, post-Outbreak Day survivor in his Massachusetts suburb. But when an affable man named Frank (White Lotus‘ Murray Bartlett) stumbles onto Bill’s property and winds up staying for lunch, the two become an unlikely romantic pair. The course of their entire relationship — from tentative first kiss to their lovingly conceived and executed double suicide — is covered in the 81-minute episode. Frank and Bill’s link to the main narrative? They traded goods with Joel and Tess in the past, and Bill leaves a note for Joel, knowing he’s the most likely person to show up at the house after their deaths. (Read a detailed recap here.)
The episode gives Frank and Bill a happy ending, which is a far cry from their plight in the video game on which the HBO series is based. (You can Google it if you want to know what happens in that version of the story. Rehashing it here will harsh my post-ep buzz the way that crushing the strawberry patch would’ve messed with Frank, and nobody needs that.)
I was so into the episode that I couldn’t wait to talk about it with Offerman, Bartlett and series co-creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin. Press PLAY on the video above to hear what they have to say about surviving the unsurvivable, big packages of all types (seriously) and finding love in a hopeless place.
Two brilliant actors and I sincerely hope their acting here receives all the accolades they so richly deserve.
This is one of the best television episodes I’ve ever seen. It was emotional in all the right ways throughout and its ending was equally heartbreaking and hopeful. Many kudos to Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman and series co-creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin.
Great episode. Destined to be remembered alongside such classics as Mad Men’s “The Suitcase” and Breaking Bad’s “Fly.”
Agree! While it was almost a bottle episode, it brought so much richness to the bigger story. Utterly compelling.
And I love that a show based on a video game has such amazing depth to it!
A great episode, but definitely overrated at the moment.
I expect multiple Emmy nominations for this episode. If not, then the industry is corrupt.
This has award winning episode all over it.. beautiful from start to finish .. the break we needed and didn’t know we wanted and a tug at the heartstrings to boot. Love.
Nick Offerman was so phenomenal in this episode. My husband and I have been talking about it for two days. The other guy was okay but it was really Nick Offerman’s performance that blew me away. I loved this episode. The love story was beautiful and all that but I could have watched 80 minutes of Bill prepping the town and his house. What other traps did he have?
One of the most outstanding episodes of the series. Storyline was great. Performance by both actors was unforgettable. Left me in tears. Emmy awards must be awarded for both actors for their beautiful caliber of work, no question about it!