HBO’s “The Last of Us” is breaking viewership records every week. However, with high viewership comes more criticism for the episodes. Till now, episodes 1 and 2 have received unanimous acclaim. But episode 3 hasn’t achieved that gold star. A lot of that is due to some viewers not accepting the changes done to the original story in the game. However, we think that the changes made with Bill and Frank fixed their terrible storyline from the game.

Bill And Frank’s Story In The Game

In The Last of Us game Bill and Frank don’t really have a story. For one, Frank is non-existent since we just see his dead body. It’s revealed that he got infected and then hung himself. In fact, it’s specifically revealed that he got bitten trying to escape Bill because he couldn’t stand him. In the note, we as players find, he writes that he was happier dead that having to live another day with Bill.

As for Bill, the game makes fun of the fact that he’s a doomsday prepper. He’s treated as a joke who is just there to ensure that Joel and Ellie get a car and the truck battery. The only confirmation we have that he’s gay is when Ellie steals a gay porn magazine and some comics from him. After this, the game never mentions him again.

Bill And Frank’s Story In The Last Of Us Show

“The Last of Us” show completely changed Bill and Frank’s story. In the game they don’t have a memorable storyline and are played off for laughs. But “The Last of Us” show changed that to something poetic and beautiful. Now, Frank and Bill are shown to be real characters.

We see how efficient and self-sufficient Bill is and that’s shown to be a positive trait of his. The HBO show also doesn’t just hint at Bill and Frank’s relationship or make Frank hate Bill to the point where dying is better than living with Bill. Instead, it gives a new spin on their relationship and celebrates it.

They are now a couple who are in love with each other. Their disagreements are not escalated to the point of hate. Instead, apart from the one scene where we are shown that Frank wants to decorate their home, they two are in sync with each other. They are enjoying their life, however much they can, in a world where nothing lives.

We see their gated house and how they made it look beautiful with flower plants and paint. They eat gourmet meals paired with wines and enjoy freshly grown strawberries and go on runs. So they aren’t just surviving in a world that is dead and stagnant, they are living in a way we haven’t seen any other character do till now, not even Joel and Tess.

Why The Show Change Works

So “The Last of Us” show took a storyline that was played off as a joke and a means to give Joel a car, and made it the emotional center point of the episode. A huge portion of the episode is dedicated towards them. We just see Joel and Ellie at the very beginning and at the very end.

For a majority of the episode we see Bill and Frank’s relationship develop from the beginning to the end. It’s a relationship between two middle aged gay men who don’t have an easy life. As Frank says on the last day of his life, that he has had a lot of bad days but he has also had good days with Bill. And when the two of them die, it’s a peaceful romantic death after a full life in each other’s arms.

As such, it doesn’t matter if the show never mentions them again. This is because as viewers we aren’t left wondering what happened to them in the apocalypse. It’s such a stark contrast to Frank hanging himself and Bill still hanging around in a dilapidated home still fending off the infected.

As Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann said in The Last of Us official podcast for episode 3, “In this world we have created, those two guys won.”

What are your thoughts?