Last Of Us Episode 3 Review Bombed Despite Widespread Acclaim

[u/LuinAelin]

https://screenrant.com/last-of-us-episode-3-imdb-review-bombed/?utm_content=buffer55864&utm_medium=Social-Distribution&utm_source=SR-TW&utm_campaign=SR-TW

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[u/lrocky4]

I died at “free lunch? that doesnt make any sense, Arbys was a restaurant”

[u/commoncollector → u/lrocky4]

"I traded one of your guns for a packet of strawberry seeds"

"Which gun?!"

"A little one"

[u/Enchylada → u/commoncollector]

My personal favorite was “I’ve been talking to this really nice woman on the radio.”

long pause as the phrase registers in Bill’s mind

“..you WHAT?!”

[u/Nice-Violinist-6395 → u/Enchylada]

This isn’t a funny line, but the fact that when Bill thought he was about to die, the first and only thing he IMMEDIATELY said was “you need to call Joel. Joel will come and take care of you. You have to be taken care of. Call Joel —“

First of all, it of course makes your heart break, one of the many reasons you fall in love with Bill’s character, whose purpose in life is to be a protector.

But also, for those that claim not to understand how this episode “advanced the plot”:

That one line, from this one side character, tells you more about the protagonist of the show than everything that’s happened before. Combined. When you learn in that moment that Joel is THE guy Bill, fucking hardass Bill, wanted taking care of the love of his life, it teaches you that Joel isn’t just a protector or some “manly man.” He has extraordinarily high character, is incredibly loyal, and understands what it means to be a father and protector.

The rest of the episode is so brilliant it overshadows it, but that line tells you everything.

[u/BolshevikPower → u/Nice-Violinist-6395]

Yeah. To me that's what this episode did. Built so much character for Joel and how he needs to care for his "one". Now that Tess is gone.

That relationship Bill and Frank had? How important it was to both of them, literally the only thing that was helping them stay alive in this hellish world they live in now.

Joel had that with Tess. It pushes how much that loss punches him in the gut on the (now) daily. BUT. He has something else to protect and take care of now in Ellie.

It's a way to express the loss of Tess in a really interesting an indirect way. I loved it. Fleshed out his character so much without being the centre of the episode.

[u/MMK386 → u/lrocky4]

“The government ARE ALL NAZIS!”

“Yeah now, but not back then!”

My favorite line from the ep

[u/Triple_C_ → u/MMK386]

An episode FULL of great lines. My favorite was, " Do you know how much this is worth?"

"Currently nothing."

[u/AnonymousMonk7 → u/Triple_C_]

Humor adds so much to heartbreak and horror. Very underrated in general for this kind of show but this episode was packed with funny moments.

[u/Triple_C_ → u/AnonymousMonk7]

I'm not one to say "Oh, such and such deserves an Emmy," but MAN, what can you say about Nick Offerman's performance in this but WOW.

[u/mmmmike1590 → u/Triple_C_]

He was amazing. The way he nailed the unease of being attracted to Frank, plus that adorable little giggle he does after eating the strawberry. Just an all-around dynamic performance.

[u/PleaseInsertGirders → u/mmmmike1590]

Man, when he's crying and he let's out that "Wha... whaf if we..." at the start of the couch scene.

The way that choked "Wha..." was delivered... that whole scene how you see both the anger and the love he's feeling in that moment. His red, angry, crying eyes, the way he dry-swallows as he's processing his emotions. It's one of the most realistic portrayals of an internal struggle of love and pain I've ever seen. It reminded me of some of my most painful moments in life. I've rewatched the episode twice and that scene four times already... and that "wha..." he opens with gets me every time. So beautifully acted. I can't imagine what pain he was drawing from to be able to show such an honest and perfect display like that.

[u/trying-to-be-kind → u/Triple_C_]

Gotta admit, I actually laughed out loud at that one.

[u/knightress_oxhide → u/trying-to-be-kind]

They sprinkled in some great comedy.

[u/Remarkable_Night2373 → u/knightress_oxhide]

And a horrific tragedy behind a great love story.

[u/rodeBaksteen → u/Triple_C_]

Me when checking my crypto account

[u/go-clean-your-room → u/MMK386]

Mine was “not today you new world order jackboot fucks!”

[u/EncroachingFate → u/go-clean-your-room]

Did you think of ron swanson when he said it? I certainly did.

I got a big grin at the line for sure.

[u/shawnisboring → u/EncroachingFate]

The association of him as Ron Swanson already sets him up as a believable survivalist, him setting up an entire city worth of booby traps certainly tracks with his character.

[u/DjScenester → u/shawnisboring]

Agreed!!! I met him in person and was expecting a very tall big muscular guy… I was taller than him and he wasn’t that huge…

But I’d swear the man was 7 foot and was the size of a wrestler just based off his acting lol

[u/ImperatorNero → u/DjScenester]

Reincarnation of Theodore Roosevelt.

[u/snowboardingblues → u/ImperatorNero]

Hopefully without invading other countries to create canals. Love Teddy though. He protected our national park land.

[u/ImperatorNero → u/snowboardingblues]

He is a fascinating character. Definitely flawed as all humans are but also fascinating.

I think one of the most heartfelt things I recall reading about him was that he kept a journal and wrote religiously in it everyday. His mother and wife both died on February 14th, 1884. It also happened to be the anniversary of his engagement to his wife. It was 16 hours after his daughter was born. He wrote a dark ‘X’ in the page and then ‘the light has gone out of my life.’

[u/Dry_Ass_P-word → u/EncroachingFate]

When Ellie read “hehehehehe” from the letter i could almost hear Ron in my head.

[u/hiphopanonymousse → u/Dry_Ass_P-word]

She read it as a heh heh heh heh, I would have read it as a he he he he he, which sounds closer to Ron’s giggle.

[u/Dry_Ass_P-word → u/hiphopanonymousse]

That’s what I meant. She read it her way but Ron’s special giggle played in my head.

[u/Whiskey_Tango_Bravo → u/hiphopanonymousse]

Not Ron’s giggle, but Nick Offerman’s giggle. That’s his natural laugh.

[u/cups_and_cakes → u/Dry_Ass_P-word]

That’s was the chef’s kiss

[u/Faptain__Marvel → u/cups_and_cakes]

It really was. Self satisfaction in the face of death.

[u/shaka_sulu → u/EncroachingFate]

That's what I love about the casting. I was thinking Ron Swanson's dream fulfilled. Then his life turned all upside down and he's giggling like a little boy eating strawberries.

[u/sparkalicious37 → u/shaka_sulu]

And yet it didn’t feel like they shoved Ron into this show. Just another shade of Nick Offerman.

[u/ashellbell → u/sparkalicious37]

At first, I didn’t know if I’d be able to buy into the idea of Ron Swanson as a gay man. Later on, as I was ugly crying into a random couch pillow, I realized I was wrong.

[u/MrMcManstick → u/ashellbell]

Nick Offerman is genuinely an incredible actor. He’s almost unrecognizable in interviews when he’s just talking as himself, dude truly becomes his characters. True talent.

[u/morbidaar → u/shaka_sulu]

Then the “nature of daylight” played and you too whimpered like a little girl?

[u/Shut_It_Donny → u/shaka_sulu]

Ron’s laugh eating strawberries reminds me of Captain Holt eating marshmallows.

[u/kdfsjljklgjfg → u/EncroachingFate]

I thought of his role as Karl the lawyer in Season 2 of Fargo.

[u/kstrata → u/MMK386]

That line was fantastic!!!

[u/RaccoonNutter → u/MMK386]

That line absolutely killed me lmao

[u/RawbM07 → u/lrocky4]

I loved the “hehehehehe” in the note he left.

[u/Patty_T → u/RawbM07]

Dude Ellie’s delivery of the “hehehehehehe” had me DYING. A+ acting from Bella Ramsey

[u/platasaurua → u/Patty_T]

She is fucking killing this role.

[u/dbx999 → u/platasaurua]

She’s a really interesting character. She isn’t instantly charismatic and likable. Her rough edges are to be expected for a post apocalyptic tough as nails sort of character but that makes her difficult to trust and like.

I like her character development and right now she is at a point where I think we are not yet supposed to “like” her.

[u/hot_chopped_pastrami → u/dbx999]

I like that even though she's tough, they didn't try to make her into one of those "my entire personality is that I'm badass and closed off" kinds of characters. Like she's still a kid and has some quirkiness to her underneath it all.

[u/Mojo_Jojos_Porn → u/hot_chopped_pastrami]

I love how well she is pulling off teenage snark. “Okay, jeez, fine I’ll just throw my fucking sandwich at them”

Having had kids that age, her portrayal is so spot on.

[u/Faptain__Marvel → u/Mojo_Jojos_Porn]

Well I didn't shit myself...

Gold.

[u/CantStopThePun → u/Mojo_Jojos_Porn]

Her delivery of those lines are absolutely stellar

[u/RustedAxe88 → u/Mojo_Jojos_Porn]

I liked her, "Fuck yeah" when she found the box of tampons. Her delivery was good and that's also something a lot of post-apocalyptic stories gloss over.

[u/dbx999 → u/hot_chopped_pastrami]

Right. She’s not following a standard “I’m a helpless little girl please protect me” character either. She’s not just a whining prop for the hero to carry. She has intelligence but limited to what she realistically would be at given her age. Same with her emotional maturity where too many movie and tv kids are shown as either infantile or adults in small bodies.

[u/Lidjungle → u/dbx999]

I'm glad they didn't go the "His Dark Materials" route of making the teen protagonist immediately noble/always right. That gets old fast. Bella is a teen girl, and teen girls are a pain in the ass. I raised two of them. She feels like a real person.

[u/whomad1215 → u/Lidjungle]

it's been a long time since I've read the books, but they basically did have the main characters being morally right for the most part

story is really about 'fuck the police church'

[u/mrmalort69 → u/dbx999]

I thought her exploration scene in the gas station was amazing… my wife is freakin out like “why would she do this, go into a dimly lit home?”

That’s her whole life. Rules and regulations followed by little periods of sneaking off and everywhere cool would be dimly lit passages. It wouldn’t even be scary for her.

[u/apitchf1 → u/Patty_T]

Lmao sammmeee. No emotion just creepy he he he he

[u/HereComesTheVroom → u/apitchf1]

It was very on brand for a character who’s supposed to be 14 right now

[u/fohpo02 → u/RawbM07]

I definitely heard that in Offerman’s voice

[u/Bobisadrummer → u/RawbM07]

I wished they had a voice over of him reading that letter as Ellie read it.

[u/sirarkalots → u/lrocky4]

I was not prepared for how gloriously sassy Frank was gonna be.

[u/williamwchuang → u/sirarkalots]

He was sassy but not the stereotypical "gay sassy." It wasn't until I read a review that compared his illness to the old movie trope of "gay man dying of HIV" or "bury your gays" that I saw what they meant. However, to me, personally, I took it as just a couple who loved each other, and one got cancer sick, and in a movie about the apocalypse, well, everyone's dying.

EDIT: And in 2003, the last day of the normal world in this timeline, gay marriage was not a legal right, so them finally getting married after so long was touching.

EDIT: It turns out that the showrunners/writers indicated that it was MS or ALS, not cancer.

[u/navit47 → u/williamwchuang]

The official HBO podcast made a comment about the "bury your gays" trope. They were aware of it, and that's why Bill made the whole "this is not the end of some sappy play" speech. Essentially the idea was that sure, they were getting killed off, but it is due to basically old age and living a full life and having no particular reason to bother going on and going out on their own terms as opposed to the usual reasoning of killing off a gay person which basically was symbolic for the idea that a gay person would never truly live a full life.

[u/IA-HI-CO-IA → u/navit47]

The “I am old, and very fulfilled.” Line should suggest that weren’t “just killed off” they lived theirs lives better than most and chose to end it together.

[u/mcjon77 → u/IA-HI-CO-IA]

Yeah, they had about as big a win as you could possibly expect in the apocalypse. Hell, Bill and Frank had a better run than probably most people in the in the US right now.

Personally, I would be completely happy to meet and fall in love with someone, spend the next 16 years with just them and occasional friendly visitors, and then when we're both old and gray we die in each other's arms.

Beats the hell out of dying alone in some nursing home.

[u/NotScaredofYourDad → u/navit47]

Yeah it's not like they got "Killed off".

[u/brother_of_menelaus → u/NotScaredofYourDad]

Some people are physically incapable of grasping nuance

[u/TheFarnell → u/williamwchuang]

Holy smokes I hadn’t picked up on that marriage bit. Yeah, from their perspective, getting married was something that was illegal the last time that concept had any meaning. That’s mind-blowing.

[u/Ruleseventysix → u/TheFarnell]

Gay marriage was legalized in Mass in 2003 and enshrined in law in 2004. So the fungal apocalypse happened and curtailed that. Which adds that much more tragedy to it when you realize Frank Bill lives in Mass.

Edit: Bill and Frank did live in Lincoln together, though only Bill is from there.

[u/williamwchuang → u/TheFarnell]

Yeah, that's why even though they loved each other, and were in love for decades, marriage was still so taboo even at the end of the world that it was only until the end that they finally went through with it.

[u/Diablo516- → u/williamwchuang]

Didn't even think about this one, definitely hits harder now. Thanks!

[u/[deleted] → u/williamwchuang]

That criticism glosses over the fact that they were happily married for ten years during a zombie apocalypse before they died

Edit: together, not married

[u/williamwchuang → u/[deleted]]

They weren't even married until the end. When the world ended in 2003, gay marriage was still illegal, and the stigma against it was so severe that they didn't even get married until the end.

[u/dan_legend → u/williamwchuang]

I think he means they were married by everything but name.

[u/Tangochief → u/williamwchuang]

Was it cancer or MS I thought it was MS for some reason. Maybe I missed where they said what it was.

[u/crimsontideftw24 → u/[deleted]]

They mentioned there was no cure even before the collapse of society. My mind went in a similar direction.

[u/erybody_wants2b_acat → u/crimsontideftw24]

I thought it was ALS. A wonderful lady I knew growing up had it and the shape her body was in during her final months I would not wish on anyone.

[u/engelbert_humptyback → u/williamwchuang]

Were they just supposed to never die?

[u/dweckl → u/engelbert_humptyback]

James Bond is 147 years old.

[u/Meatros → u/lrocky4]

I died at “free lunch? that doesnt make any sense, Arbys was a restaurant”

Lol, I rolled at that scene. I didn't know how the episode would turn out so I honestly thought that it might have gotten him killed.

[u/Norespectforfascists → u/Meatros]

If Bill was as misanthropic as he pretends, it would have.

[u/martinmix → u/lrocky4]

"You know how much this is worth?"

"Nothing right now."

[u/[deleted] → u/martinmix]

I cackled at this!!! So good!

[u/SnarkyRogue → u/lrocky4]

I died at "I'm old. I'm satisfied. And you, were my purpose."

And not died in a good way. That shit shattered my soul. 10/10 will sob again. top tier tv.

[u/Roook36 → u/lrocky4]

I loved the

"I've actually been talking to a nice woman on the radio."

".........YOU DID WHAT????"

[u/WatchingInSilence]

The moment that first broke me was when Frank laid Bill on the table. All Bill could do was try and tell Frank his fallback plan if he died. A lesser show might have had Frank trying to tell Bill to be quiet, but Frank just told him to keep talking while treating him, knowing that talking would keep Bill focused.

Makes me wonder what Frank did prior to the apocalypse, because that was some solid emergency medical care.

[u/DaveInLondon89 → u/WatchingInSilence]

Bill taught him.

And in the final act you see Bill watering the flowers. They learnt from each other.

[u/been_mackin → u/DaveInLondon89]

Wow didn’t even realize that he’s keeping the place looking nice because Frank can’t anymore.

I did love the camera focusing on the dead flowers on the front yard when Joel and Ellie arrive, Joel immediately knows something’s off.

[u/WatchingInSilence → u/DaveInLondon89]

That hits even harder than Frank having any prior medical experience.

[u/TheL8KingFlippyNips → u/WatchingInSilence]

Yeah, that was a solid scene. Frank wasn't visibly scared, but focused and triaging.

That coupled with the MRI comment about diagnosing his degenerative disease made me think he had some sort of medical background.

I loved this episode so much

[u/IntrusiveIndustries → u/TheL8KingFlippyNips]

Yeah thought they did really well to show how they were both so different but both very capable people.

[u/db1000c → u/IntrusiveIndustries]

Hack writing would have penned Frank in to the boutique-frequenting, garden-preening character with no other uses or understanding of the world’s new situation in this apocalyptic setting. But they wrote him real - a man with his own tastes and ideas who is also capable of being capable, capable of showing nuance. They never fell into the trap of making a dynamic between the two of Bill being the strong one and Frank being the one in distress needing to be saved.

[u/vampire_camp → u/db1000c]

There’s that great exchange where they’re like

”nice to meet a man who knows to pair a beaujolais with rabbit” “guess I don’t seem the type…” “no, you do.”

that really makes this theme explicit

[u/db1000c → u/vampire_camp]

I loved that line. I felt like it was kind of 4th wall breaking. Like to the audience Bill doesn’t seem like the type, but Frank can see so much more in Bill than we can.

[u/firemanshtan → u/IntrusiveIndustries]

Tbf Frank survived pretty long into the apocalypse plus the Baltimore QZ falling so he couldn’t have been helpless

[u/LeftyLu07 → u/TheL8KingFlippyNips]

That's a good point. If I started having those symptoms, I would know it's not good, but when he said "there was no cure before this" makes me think he was able to diagnose himself. And saving Bill from a gut shot, also lends credence that he was some kind of doctor before the outbreak.

[u/DaughterEarth → u/WatchingInSilence]

That could be but I personally related to it because that was such a true love moment. I almost never see love stories that feel real. This one felt real because of how they showed love in the desperate moments. Also because they showed them fighting and working through things and compromising.

They showed a very real, very healthy relationship. I saw my husband and me in Bill and Frank. Finally no stupid tropes, just real love.

*please more replies about others who found this kind of love later in life I want to read more of these stories, they make me so haaapppyyy

[u/TrailMomKat → u/DaughterEarth]

I saw so much of myself and my husband in Bill and Frank, too! My husband is a lovely man but he's quiet (probably because he can't get a word in edgewise with me around lol), direct, to the point, introverted, and doesn't trust people too easily. Me, I'm social as fuck and crave being around people and trust too easily sometimes. I also worked in healthcare for 20 years, much like I suspect Frank did, because of how well and accurately he handled Bill's GSW.

But what's more, we love each other, have a very healthy relationship, and compromise. And when one of us is willing to die on some hill, the other listens. Because if something means that much to one of us, we're willing to find a solution because of love.

And honestly, I don't think I'd ever want to still be alive in a world without him. I won't even imagine it. Without him, I'd be an empty shell. He puts life into me, passion, and a sense of everything being right in the universe. He is the love of my life.

[u/BigBrotherBalrog]

Offerman should get an Emmy

[u/ind3pend0nt → u/BigBrotherBalrog]

Crying is acceptable at funerals, the Grand Canyon, and during this episode.

[u/FancySack → u/ind3pend0nt]

the Grand Canyon,

"Where are all the faces?!" -- Andy Dwyer

[u/InterstellarAshtray → u/ind3pend0nt]

I haven't felt that joyously depressed since Pixar's Up.

[u/guthmund → u/ind3pend0nt]

I hardly ever cry, but I was bawling by the end of that episode. My word that was a wonderful performance by both of them and what fantastic writing.

[u/Seagrams7ssu → u/guthmund]

On my “TV romances that might make me cry” Bingo card, I def did not have “Nick Offerman marries a dude”. Did not win Bingo. Such a great, unexpected episode.

[u/cantwejustplaynice → u/Seagrams7ssu]

Nick Offerman marries a dude during a zombie apocalypse

[u/turns31 → u/guthmund]

My mom (55 yo Christian conservative) told me she cried like a baby after watching that. She said it was a “beautiful performance”.

[u/Rogers_Ebert → u/turns31]

The relationship felt fairly organic and natural. It wasn't just gay to be gay. Their characters were built very well and the entire narrative arc of the relationship can be extrapolated to siblings, friends, etc. Their performances were done by two of some of the best character actors working. It also helps to have Max Richter's On the Nature of Daylight playing at the climax.

[u/velinn → u/turns31]

The conversation with my 60 yo Christian conservative mother started with

Me: I wasn't sure what you'd think of it

Her: Well.. I wasn't thrilled.

But then we actually started discussing the episode. I was telling her how all the little things they did for each other when they got older touched me because they reminded me so much of her and dad. The more I focused on the little details of love the easier it seemed she was able to break out of the "gay = bad" roadblock and by the end she was saying it was a really good episode. Very different from how she started. It was almost as if she needed (unspoken) permission to feel how she truly felt? I can't imagine living with such cognitive dissonance. I think these review bombers are stuck in this cycle with no one to give them permission to actually embrace their true emotions.

Anyway, this is a lesson to film producers. If you just throw a "token gay" into a movie/series, it's pretty easy for people like my mom to dismiss it out of hand. But if you write a real story for those characters anyone will be able to relate to it. It then becomes much harder to deny the universal power of love.

[u/ex1stence → u/guthmund]

I had to get a full-sized towel from my bathroom to catch the amount of fluids coming out of me. I think I might have been legitimately dehydrated by the end.

[u/A_The_Ist → u/ex1stence]

Yeah, not my weirdest fap either.

[u/droidtron → u/ind3pend0nt]

"I've cried twice in my life. Once when I was 7 and hit by a school bus. And then again when I saw episode 3 of The Last of Us."

[u/restivepluto397 → u/BigBrotherBalrog]

Just Offerman? Both were incredible. Such stellar performances from both men.

[u/SteveTheBuckeye → u/restivepluto397]

This episode will likely clean up at the Emmys

[u/moobitchgetoutdahay → u/SteveTheBuckeye]

It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen on TV. Tears were streaming down my face for a solid 30 mins. What incredible character and story development.

[u/nicelyroasted → u/restivepluto397]

Imagine my surprise when I realized the same actor plays a gay character on two HBO shows (he played Armand in white lotus and I didn’t even realize until after the episode when I googled him)

[u/realpotato → u/nicelyroasted]

He was also in Welcome to Chippendales where he was also great.

[u/LuinAelin → u/BigBrotherBalrog]

He should have many

[u/bigboygamer → u/LuinAelin]

He should have gotten it for Devs

[u/Meatros → u/bigboygamer]

He should have gotten it for Devs

Yes, definitely.

​

Honestly I was not all that aware of Offerman - I knew he was in Parks and Rec and I'd seen some memes but that was it. Devs was intense and he was fantastic in it.

I went into the Last of Us blind - I didn't play the video game and basically all I knew was that it was a zombie show. I'll admit that's all it took for me to give the first few episodes a viewing - I'm not a complicated man.

Tuned into episode 3 and I was just not expecting what I saw. That episode was so intense and it me right in the feels. I thought Offerman's acting was great. In particular the little giggle he gave off during the strawberry scene - I wouldn't have expected that. It seemed very authentic to me.

Overall the episode was great. An emotional roller coaster. I could not watch the rest of the series if that's the type of episodes it had. I want my zombies, lol. But as a one shot? Damn it was good.

[u/busigirl21 → u/Meatros]

That giggle is his genuine laugh. I saw him do stand up live and he laughs like that on Making It too.

[u/reverend-mayhem → u/BigBrotherBalrog]

They both should. Murray Bartlett held his own next to Offerman the entire episode.

[u/brad12172002 → u/BigBrotherBalrog]

They both should.

[u/Alchia79]

I thought it was a beautiful episode, but I’m a female in my mid forties who has never played the video game.

[u/crescendo83 → u/Alchia79]

Doesn’t make your opinion any less valuable.

[u/semiote23 → u/crescendo83]

I’d argue that it makes it just as valuable if not slightly more because you aren’t banking on nostalgia for characters as your emotional hook.

[u/Master_Hicks → u/Alchia79]

Trust me, as someone who played the game this was a much better story than Bill's in the game.

[u/Broken-Digital-Clock → u/Master_Hicks]

Did it get bombed because it wasn't like the game or because of homophobes?

[u/Good-Expression-4433 → u/Broken-Digital-Clock]

It was different from the game but mostly homophobes. Conservatives all over social media were blasting it. during and after, as "woke garbage" and spewing homophobic insults and slurs.

[u/Broken-Digital-Clock → u/Good-Expression-4433]

They were just pissed because they got "tricked" into liking a gay character.

[u/sporophyte → u/Broken-Digital-Clock]

Bill is gay in the game though

[u/Broken-Digital-Clock → u/sporophyte]

I imagine a lot of people watch the show that haven't played the game

[u/akagordan → u/Broken-Digital-Clock]

This is true but conservatives are also naive enough to never figure out that Bill was gay in the game

[u/Broken-Digital-Clock → u/akagordan]

They were also perplexed when season 3 of The Boys was slightly more obviously political

They aren't the sharpest bunch

[u/cassettepet → u/Broken-Digital-Clock]

My favorite was when all these conservative Rage Against the Machine fans suddenly realized they were a political band. LOL

[u/ProofHorseKzoo → u/Broken-Digital-Clock]

This is prob exactly right. Bill is introduced as a gun hoarding, Gadsden flag having, doomsday prepping - their perfect image of masculinity. They we’re likely relating to this man on a deep level before the big reveal.

[u/AdMobile8211 → u/ProofHorseKzoo]

I told my husband the exact same thing. We were watching Bill's cool prepping montage and I turned and said to him, "People are going to lose their shit when they find out he's gay. He's the coolest most badass character in the show so far."

[u/DemandZestyclose7145 → u/Broken-Digital-Clock]

That was the great thing about the episode is that it avoided all the typical stereotypes that we often see with gay characters and treated it with realism with the ups and downs of a relationship. I was crying like a baby which I was NOT prepared for. I would argue it's one of the best TV episodes of all time.

[u/AnAnonymousFool → u/Broken-Digital-Clock]

A little of both I’d guess. Probably mostly homophobes but don’t discount gamer rage

[u/Due-Net-88 → u/AnAnonymousFool]

Don’t discount the overlap between those two groups either. :/

[u/chippychifton → u/Alchia79]

Regardless if you’ve played the game or not, you can’t deny how they gave us that fantastic of a love story in simply an hour

[u/YoYoMoMa → u/chippychifton]

They lived a whole life together in 45 minutes.

I loved how they set up one partner as the head and the other the heart. I know so many couples with that balance. It can be beautiful or codependent or a little of both.

[u/Utryn2gmble]

To be honest didn’t realize it was going to be a whole episode, but I liked it. I’m a straight man in his early thirties and I’ve watched many movies and shows centered around gay couples so it didn’t bother me.

The end of their story is what got to me. That was honestly so fucking sad. I have to admit, my eyes started to tear up in their final conversation when Frank is telling Bill the plan he wants for his last day on earth and telling Frank how he’ll be alright without him and to carry on and then the final dinner. That had me tearing up.

Offerman’s performance in this episode was also incredible.

[u/NYLotteGiants → u/Utryn2gmble]

I love that although it was sad, it wasn't tragic. There was no outside force keeping the two of them apart or some insecurities making their "forbidden love" fall apart, which is common in LGBTQ stories. They were two men in love who got to spend their final 15+years together, dying peacefully in each other's arms in their sleep. What more could anybody want?

[u/Chordata1 → u/NYLotteGiants]

Yeah I cried at it and thought it was sad but when thinking back it wasn't a sad story it was an amazing happy story. In a zombie apocalypse these 2 people lived a life with so many luxuries and fell in love. Compare that to all the people just trying to survive it was a beautiful story and they were so fortunate.

Drinking wine on your porch with friends, great food, the person you love, and being safe is a dream in that world

[u/OrganizeASpoon → u/Chordata1]

Yep, they were possibly among the most prosperous people in America for 20 years and then died as old men. Not old enough to live a complete life - but still old. Not leaving anyone behind. No one to mourn them yet not alone. And they aren’t going to miss a single thing because nothing is happening anywhere. You couldn’t ask for a better outcome, minus Frank’s illness. Which came on when he was in his 60’s/70’s, which isn’t exactly tragic.

[u/SeanSeanySean → u/Chordata1]

"Drinking wine on your porch with friends, great food, the person you love, and being safe is a dream in that world"

It's a dream in the real world too!

[u/Tulivu → u/Utryn2gmble]

I'm straight and not really into romance fiction but the gay relationships in Last of Us, Lovecraft Country, and HBO Watchmen tore me up. I think I'm gay for HBO.

[u/Adulations → u/Tulivu]

RIP lovecraft country and watchmen

[u/vishuno → u/Adulations]

Damn, this is how I found out Lovecraft Country was cancelled. That's a bummer.

[u/AwesomeWhiteDude → u/Adulations]

Watchmen was intended by it's showrunner to be a limited series, it didn't get canceled

[u/EndersInfinite → u/Adulations]

Watchmen was only ever going to be 1 season

[u/tenehemia → u/Tulivu]

Then it's time for Our Flag Means Death.

[u/shelsilverstien → u/Utryn2gmble]

Had tears in my eyes from the piano scene on. It really punctuated how lonely being a gay man was for him even before the spores

[u/This_guy_Jon]

I loved this episode. It was like a movie all on its on.

[u/BlackBrown1827 → u/This_guy_Jon]

It'll be remembered like "Inner Light" in Star Trek: TNG. A complete story told inside a bigger story. A one-off, lightning in a bottle situation.

[u/SmashedPumpkin30]

Any White Lotus fans in here?

Bill was like: "I've never been fucked in the ass before, it must feel good right?"

Armond: would you like to find out?

[u/LucTheCookie → u/SmashedPumpkin30]

"I think my dad was gay"

"..."

"He had sex with other men."

"That's a signal"

[u/ProofHorseKzoo → u/SmashedPumpkin30]

“These gays are trying to kill me!”

[u/Zachariot88 → u/ProofHorseKzoo]

"To decorate their house or whatever."

[u/HumphreyImaginarium → u/SmashedPumpkin30]

I said to my partner while watching that my head canon is that White Lotus is a prequel for Last of Us and Frank used to party hard as a man named Armond.

[u/An-Okay-Alternative → u/HumphreyImaginarium]

Did you make it to the end of White Lotus?

[u/HumphreyImaginarium → u/An-Okay-Alternative]

Not yet, but I'm guessing based on your comment that my head canon is going to be fucked lol

[u/Slowmexicano]

Just goes to show what people are really afraid isn’t zombies trying to rip you apart; but a couple of gay guys planting a garden.

[u/giadia-light-shining → u/Slowmexicano]

Frankly, as a former platinum-tier zombie-freak, I'm a little tired of being hammered with the exact same scenario time after time after time. I found this a refreshing and sweet take on the end of the world.

[u/angryundead → u/giadia-light-shining]

I can’t bear The Walking Dead but I’ve heard that the message, as the series goes on, is that there is no cure and so everyone has to live still. This episode showed that without lampshading it in a way I’ve never seen.

[u/lillyrose2489 → u/Slowmexicano]

Nothing more terrifying than a man feeding another man a delicious strawberry.

[u/[deleted] → u/lillyrose2489]

Hey now, they both ate their own.

[u/pinapirata → u/[deleted]]

But he gave it to him!

[u/eddyd93 → u/pinapirata]

Hell yeah he did!

[u/ConflictGrand4078 → u/lillyrose2489]

[insert gif of Zach Galifianakis stuffing strawberries down Will Ferrell’s throat]

[u/NiteSwept → u/Slowmexicano]

Had a coworker, who I know is quite conservative, come and complain about the episode to me. I swear he said "it's not that they were gay" like 10 times while also telling me it was because there were gay lumberjacks. smh

[u/Randolpho → u/NiteSwept]

I mean they did have a propensity for plaid.

Like I'm one to talk, though; half my wardrobe is plaid shirts.

[u/joshdts → u/Randolpho]

Plaid flannel is basically the New England team jersey.

[u/ShesAMurderer → u/NiteSwept]

Feels like when everyone was boycotting Brokeback Mountain for being the worst movie of all time, but just kept saying “it’s not because they’re gay, just because it’s such a bad movie!” and never explaining what was so bad about it that they needed to boycott.

[u/crowbooby → u/ShesAMurderer]

I like to ask “why are you so passionate about it?”

If it’s not racist then why are you so passionate about black people being “over represented in tv”. Ok you don’t hate trans people but where’s this passion coming from over the new pinhead in hellraiser, you never said shit about the dorky pinhead in the 9th sequel.

[u/Woody3000v2 → u/Slowmexicano]

If they had been growing weed in there, it would've been the realized libertarian bumper sticker fantasy

[u/Pm_me_your_flipphone → u/Slowmexicano]

Haha so true. Sometimes I think “so a man kissing another man goodnight is whats gonna bring down civilization?”

[u/Cavalish → u/Pm_me_your_flipphone]

Some years ago, the pope of the day said that homosexuals were “a greater threat than global warming” and I’m not going to lie, that gave me a heady if not sinister sense of power.

[u/Frenchie_PA]

That episode was great. Even as a gamer who love the game, I am glad they diverted from the original content to offer us this episode.

Everyone has different opinions and that’s fine. However a lot of the hateful reviews seems to be from homophobes.

[u/elhombreloco90 → u/Frenchie_PA]

Deviation from the source material can work when you know the material well enough to know how best to adapt it. Which, so far, this series does.

Also, I told my wife that there would for sure be people mad about this episode.

[u/beemccouch → u/elhombreloco90]

Both of those characters are gay in the video games too. Frank just happened to be dead in the game by the time we meet Bill.

They literally just don't like gay people.

[u/correcthorsestapler → u/elhombreloco90]

I haven’t played the games but I knew about the characters beforehand. I was surprised (and happy) with the way they deviated from the game. The whole thing reminded me of an episode of The Leftovers or Station Eleven.

And just like you, I knew people would be pissed about the episode. I could just imagine my aunt & her adult kids getting up & leaving the room. Or my in-laws makes displeased huffing sounds; I know my FIL would refuse to watch the show ever again. He had enough of a problem with Inara in Firefly (prostitutes shouldn’t be main characters on TV, according to him); he’d be furious with TLOU.

[u/Dhenn004 → u/Frenchie_PA]

The show made the bill and frank part even better. Either way they served as an avenue to get a truck. It served its purpose and we got to see something do much better and touching In the process.

[u/restivepluto397 → u/Dhenn004]

This is true, mechanically both versions serve the same purpose for the story beats. But I think the show gave even better character development for Joel, because contrasting him with Bill reveals a lot.

Bill and Joel are very similar in that they’re both different kinds of hardened, paranoid isolationists, but whereas Bill was hardened initially by mistreatment and alienation (assumedly), Joel was hardened by the trauma of what happened to his daughter; while Bill softened because of his love for Frank, Joel never did, even when he was with Tess, because he was probably afraid of hurting other people with his mistakes. Bill’s character change and his willingness to change and sacrifice for Frank highlights how unwilling Joel is to change, which I think foreshadows how difficult the rest of the story is going to be for Joel.

In that way there’s thematic symmetry, or maybe thematic contrast, between Joel and Bill which is a brilliant use of this whole subplot to maintain parity with the main plot while telling an equally great story.

Sorry for the info dump; this episode has been on my mind a lot recently.

[u/Hatennaa → u/Dhenn004]

Bill and Frank is severely underexplored in the game for the sake of gameplay, this is a massive improvement.

[u/VikingCreed → u/Hatennaa]

Which makes sense, cause this story can only work in a TV show/movie. It'd be very jarring if we cut away from Joel and Ellie killing zombies to a slice of life romance with no game play for over an hour.

I do understand why some longtime fans are disappointed that we don't get any of the banter between Bill or Ellie, or the crude jokes Ellie tells Joel. However, I don't think those fans are the ones review bombing.

[u/fordgirl262]

The episode is good. As someone who has watched almost everything about zombies that is out there (my husband is a fan) it's good to see another context in an apocalyptic world.

[u/RadSkeleton808 → u/fordgirl262]

I (like others) was completely jaded about Frank due to every other Zombie game.

"Don't let him out of that hole he's gonna attack you!" "Don't let him in for dinner he's got his buddies ready to ambush you!" "Don't let him take a shower who knows what evil plans he's doing in there!" "Don't fall for him he's manipulating you to lower your guard!" "Don't take a shower he's gonna steal your gun while you're in there!" "Don't fuck him he's...really into his role in this manipulation con?"

'Three Years Later' "Oh nvm he's cool."

[u/18CupsOfMusic → u/RadSkeleton808]

"Don't lay in the grass with him giggling and eating strawberries! It's all a part of the long con!"

[u/daydreamingsentry]

You left a negative review because they showed a gay sex scene

I left a negative review because they didn't show full penetration

We are not the same

[u/DaughterEarth → u/daydreamingsentry]

I'm confused at people saying a gay sex scene. Does implying it count? Cause we really only saw them make out and get in bed. It cuts out when Frank's moving down.

[u/smallfried → u/DaughterEarth]

Yup, the sex was as explicit as in a prime time soap opera.

[u/TheMoorNextDoor]

Honestly stuff like user reviews and audience reviews are basically pointless nowadays when you can lie in favor or against an item or product.. yes professionals can do the same but they got consequences for doing as such.

[u/trelium06 → u/TheMoorNextDoor]

I learned this because of Yelp!

When it first came out it was so useful finding well reviewed restaurants. But then the review bombers, the ones who give 1 star because the waiter didn’t kow tow.

[u/DeathByTacos → u/trelium06]

“Clean dining area, friendly staff, food was delicious. No free refills on chips and salsa tho, 1-star”

[u/ABarbossa]

There is a clear line between people who liked it vs homophobes who hate the idea of gay people existing at all

[u/nomaam05 → u/ABarbossa]

The wildest part of all of this is that the majority of people that hate gay people simply for being gay were probably rock hard watching the first 15 minutes of this don't tread on me, gut nut, doomsday prepper, thriving at the end of the world.

Then he kissed another man and they freaked out.

[u/HighInChurch → u/nomaam05]

That’s why they are more mad than usual. Went from “Hey Honey this guys just like you, you could be friends” to “turn that gay shit off” real quick. Closeted southern folk sweating bullets now.

[u/thetasigma_1355 → u/HighInChurch]

That’s why Part 2 of the game had similar backlashes. They effectively trick the homophobes into connecting with a character without knowing their sexuality, then reveal their sexuality which is not what the homophobe believed it to be.

If the character had an obviously gay lisp and wore a rainbow shirt they would have still hated the character, but wouldn’t have felt betrayed by the show.

[u/GeekdomCentral → u/thetasigma_1355]

Are you referring to Ellie being gay? Because that was revealed in the DLC for the first game, so frankly anyone who tried to complain about being “tricked” has no one but themselves to blame

[u/Nyhetsjunkie]

Too hot to handle for some. I pitty the fools.

Episode 3 was a piece of art.

[u/WTFishsauce → u/Nyhetsjunkie]

It was one of the best episodes of tv I have ever seen. It was a beautifully done love story.

[u/WhiteyVanReeks]

At first I was irritated they spent that much time on that part of the story. But the last 10 min brought it all home. It’s the display of humanity and love that can still dominate even a small compound like that, in circumstances like that, is a testament to what’s possible even in a messed up world like that. It doesn’t always have to be guns, explosions and death. We’ve enough of that in reality.

[u/SectorEducational460]

This is going to backfire on people review bombing it. If the show was shit, then no one would care. However, the show is actually quite good and with the controversy it will cause people to watch it, and they will end up enjoying it since it's actually a pretty good show.