It's cringey enough that people hate on an episode of television for featuring a homosexual relationship between two men, and now, The Last of Us actor Nick Offerman has given them a piece of his mind too. Imagine being scolded by Ron Swanson. I wouldn't show my face for weeks.
The third episode of The Last of Us, titled 'Long, Long Time' for the Lisa Ronstadt song, focuses on Bill and Frank (played by Offerman and Murray Bartlett). These two didn't get a lot of screen time in the original game however the show dedicates almost 80 minutes to their story. While Bill is no-nonsense and ready for the apocalypse, it's Frank's accidental arrival in his yard that leads him to change his mind about the world outside of their refuge. By the time the credits rolled, fans were bawling their eyes out over their blossoming romance and you'd be forgiven for forgetting that this is actually a post-apocalyptic drama.
Here's a super satisfying side-by-side of the game and the series, showing how accurate they've gotten Ellie and Joel's dynamic:
Unfortunately, there have been a vocal proportion of fans who consider this plotline to be some sort of attack on their political stance. I wish I was so convinced that the world revolved around me; maybe I'd be a better public speaker.
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Taking to Twitter, Offerman said that such unfounded negativity is unacceptable in response to a now-deleted Tweet. "Buddy, your brand of ignorance and hate is exactly why we make stories like this," he posted, adding a love heart and a man dancing emoji.
Speaking in an interview, the actor said that he sadly did expect a reaction like this, no matter how insignificant. "There's a great Bertolt Brecht quote that I'll clumsily paraphrase, but it's like, 'If you're not pissing off 30% of your audience, then it's not art,'" he elaborated. "I hope that the gamers will understand that this is made with love and reverence. I could make a sandwich that nine of you would love, but one of you would not think that mustard should go with pickles, you know?"
Well said. The Last of Us airs on HBO and NOW TV weekly.
Topics: The Last Of Us, TV And Film