The Last of Us star praises 'beautiful' episode amidst backlash

The Last of Us star of the TV show praises the ‘beautiful third episode of its debut season, amidst fan backlash.

Before we proceed, we must give you a heads-up that it’s practically impossible to talk about episode three of The Last of Us TV series from HBO without giving away spoilers. So, consider this to be your spoiler warning.

The original video game in The Last of Us series introduced us to Bill in chapter 4 ‘Bill’s Town’. We never got to know Bill all that well. Our introduction was brief, but despite this, his lovable grumpy and paranoid ways, not to mention his interactions with Ellie, quickly won over fans.

So when we learned that episode three of the TV series would be all about Bill and his partner Frank, we would finally get to know more about this grizzly character. However, what we were not prepared for, was our emotions to be put to a test like no other.

Sure, during the earlier moments of the episode, we saw the Bill that we knew and loved. We saw how Bill’s Town really became his own as an isolated man setting traps for any infected or raiders that may dare wander on his lands.

Check out what's in store for the rest of the episodes below:

Yet when we were introduced to Frank, the bond between the two characters was clear to see portrayed by the wonderful performances of Nick Offerman (Bill) and Murray Bartlett (Frank). We went from a paranoid, insecure Bill, that got to realise his true self the moment he and Frank met. Other than brief moments at the beginning and end, the entirety of this episode was dedicated to the story of Bill and Frank. This episode entitled ‘Long, Long, Time’ was as charming as it was heartbreaking, and it’s being described by Nick Offerman as ‘beautiful’.

There was a major change from Bill and Frank’s story from the game into this TV series. I won’t give too much away here. I always felt that their story in the game wasn't portrayed in the best way.

However, as reported by GamesRadar, Nick Offerman offered his insight on the changes made from the video game to the live-action adaptation.

“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’,” explained Offerman. “So I mean, anybody who makes anything like this, they're going to take the original material and tweak it. In this case, the actual creator is one of the adapters so, you know, you don't get much better credit than that."

He continued: “But you have to understand, they're going to do it with love. You know, the finale of Game of Thrones, that was incredibly divisive. We have to understand that these people did their damnedest to give us a beautiful ending and finale.

“Some people found it satisfying, some people didn't. But I mean, it's all human effort. And so 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?”

Yet, while some have described this episode as filler, I saw it as an opportunity to right the wrongs of the video game and boy, that was achieved, and then some.

In defence of those saying this episode was filler, I can see the perspective from those that may have never played the game. However, trying to understand the perspective of those that review-bombing this episode, well, that’s another story.

I watch this show with my wife, and when she asks, I’ll provide a little back story. So when I told her about Bill and Frank from the game, and what this episode means, she understood. Perhaps that might not have been the case without added context and perhaps why some felt it to be filler.

Sure, the changes in episode three meant that we were denied those epic interactions between Bill and Ellie, but I think the trade-off was worth the cost. I genuinely believe that this was a wonderful episode and it will be talked about for many years to come.

This week, Annie Wersching who played Tess in The Last of Us video game tragically passed away following a battle with cancer. Here at GAMINGbible, we send all our love to Wersching’s family and friends.