The Last of Us 1×03 “Long Long Time” was one of the finest hours of TV that made this LGBTQ reviewer feel seen in a way I’ve never felt before. It humanized our experiences and our love. And it showed that we still exist. Even at the end of the world. At the same time, this episode gave Joel and Ellie time to shine as individuals before coming together at the end for the next leg of their adventure. With Ellie, she’s balancing being a survivor and a kid. And for Joel, he’s coming to terms with what he’s doing and why.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into The Last of Us “Long Long Time”!
Note: For the purposes of clarity, I’ll be using “gay” when referring to the relationship between Bill and Frank. I do understand that Bill had a previous relationship with a woman and that Frank never disclosed his past relationships.
Bill & Frank Making Me Feel Seen
As soon as I found out that The Last of Us was going to tell Bill and Frank’s love story, I will admit I was a little down. I was excited for the relationship to be featured and given the love it deserved. I was just devastated already at the thought that another LGBTQ couple was going to be given the screen time they deserved before being torn apart. And since Bill was featured in the original game, I figured that we would all fall in love with Frank and then Bill/Frank before Frank leaves or gets killed. (The Bury Your Gays trope is a bad TV trope for a reason. We don’t survive. And if we do, someone takes that choice away from us and defines the kind of life we live and how we leave this world.)
The fact that The Last of Us decided to make changes and allow Bill and Frank to grow old together and choose the way they leave this world…it broke me. I didn’t want to see them die. But that was such a small part of their story and their choice. But before that, we saw them live their lives. We saw them fall in love, build a home, and survive the obstacles that were thrown their way. Including a bullet that had me panicking for a second there because all of a sudden, I was having Lexa from The 100 flashbacks. But Bill survived. Frank survived. And they built a life for themselves that they were proud of.
We got years of Bill and Frank together in The Last of Us. And every time I saw a time jump to 3 years later I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. They were growing old together. They were arguing about their home, about having guests, and about fixing the furniture store and boutique down the treat. And within that sphere were genuine moments of joy. You could see Frank’s paintings around the house, how Bill opened up like a flower when it came to Bill, and we even got to watch Bill actually giggle at having fresh strawberries. Throughout that time, no random heated argument or bullet came around and tore them out of their happiness. And even when those bullets did come, they survived for each other and with each other.
When Frank chose that one day to be his last one, it hurt. I never wanted this great adventure of queer love and living to end. But I could understand Frank’s choice and looked on in awe because he got to make it. He defined his life and how it would end. Watching Bill and Frank stroll through their neighborhood, get married, and have the same meal they had at the beginning was beautiful. There was no cut away to the end. We got to see the moments. And it was all made even more special thanks to Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight.” Ultimately, it was the most romantic episode of TV I’ve ever seen that made me feel seen as a member of the LGBTQ community.
For that, I’m thankful to Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin, Nick Offerman, and Murray Bartlett. You gave me a love story at the end of the world. One where people like me have a choice. One where we thrive, make friends, and have wine with our first and last meals. And one where it doesn’t feel like this was just inclusion for inclusion’s sake. This was a choice to flesh out Bill’s character and show that LGBTQ people are here. We’re always here. We’ve been here from the start and we’ll be here to the very end. And no one can change that or erase us. In fact, with episodes like “Long Long Time,” I say we’re going in the right direction. One where we are seen.
Joel Protecting Ellie from This World
For all the Bill and Frank in The Last of Us “Long Long Time” this was a pivotal episode for Joel and Ellie. With Tess gone, there’s no one to share the weight of taking care of Ellie and making sure she gets to where she’s going. It’s on him. And even though he thinks of her kind of still like cargo and makes jokes about her being the only bad thing in a room, he cares. That’s why he didn’t want her to see the pit of dead bodies where F.E.D.R.A. cut down non-infected people. And it’s why he was scared when they were at the small store and she wasn’t replying or why he made sure that she had her seat belt on in the truck.
You see, Joel has built walls around his heart ever since Sarah died. Tess managed to slip in, just barely over years and years together. But even then, they never truly let themselves know each other. And Tess had her own walls up. But Ellie, she’s different. She still hasn’t experienced all the horrors that Joel has and he wants to protect her from them. Is he still grumpy AF? Yes. Did he have to be knocked down a notch because he was definitely mad at Ellie because of Tess’ death? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, he cares. And Ellie isn’t just slipping through the cracks in the walls he’s built around his heart. They’re crumbling themselves because of the bond he’s building with Ellie.
“Long Long Time” does shift the narrative a little when it comes to Joel’s motivations in taking Ellie with him on the next leg of his journey. But we only have 9 episodes and not 14-29 hours of gameplay here. Things have to change. And it makes sense that Joel would feel something at Bill’s words, even if different from the game. Because they are the ones who protect. And good luck to any and all motherfuckers that get in their way. Is Joel ready to adopt Ellie and they’ll be a happy little family? Not yet. But he’s getting there. At his own pace and gently pushed forward due to Bill and Frank’s beautiful story that only enriches the entire narrative of The Last of Us.
Ellie Standing Her Ground & Being Just a Kid
Bella Ramsey did a beautiful job in “Long Long Time” when it comes to balancing the duality of Ellie. Because yes, Ellie is a survivor who has lived through untold horrors. But she’s also a kid. And Ramsey did a really good job showing all these sides of Ellie. You could see her awe when she saw the remains of a plane. And then you could see her pain and discomfort a couple of minutes later when she came upon the mass grave. The same thing goes for when she jumps for joy at finding menstrual products (we’ll get back to that in a second) before she goes and kills an infected.
As a character, I have to commend Ellie for standing her ground in the face of everything coming her way, even if that means standing up to Joel. Because Ellie could tell that his distance was different and that he was angry about the death of Tess. And I was so proud of her for standing her ground, telling it how it is, and still allowing Joel the space to grieve. Because Ellie has only been with him for a little bit but she still gets it. Tess and Joel knew each other for a long long time and a loss like that has to hurt. And Ellie, who has lost everyone, understands his pain to a degree.
Ultimately, every moment with Ellie on screen is an absolute joy. She’s everything I could’ve wanted from this character to come to life and I can’t wait to see how Ramsey transforms her into the Ellie we know at the end of the game. Because with season 2 confirmed…it’s only a matter of time before we learn whether the events of the second game are among us. Or if we’re going to see more of this Ellie and how she transforms into the woman we know and love. Until then, we’re here for more of Ellie and Joel as they become family.
Special note on the menstrual products:
As a woman, it’s so mind-blowing to see tampons in an apocalypse. I do understand that stress and not having enough food can throw a woman’s cycle off. But women still get pregnant in the apocalypse so they definitely have their periods. So yes, we need to see menstrual products, even in shows like this because that’s part of the reality of our existence. Furthermore, showing tampons makes it so our experiences as women are normalized. Because you sure as shit better believe that there are some men watching this episode having a lightbulb moment that yes we’d still get our period during a shit show like The Last of Us.
Without a doubt, there will be some that see this inclusion as small or arbitrary. But the fact remains that apocalyptic stories are quite often told through the male gaze. That’s why women still are perfectly shaved, have no acne, and have nice and clean hair in your favorite end-of-the-world story. And that’s a big no. If the apocalypse happened we would be hairy, more prone to blemishes, and have messy hair. We would look like we’re surviving and not like we have a curling iron in our survival kit so we can kill the infected while looking hot. So yes, it’s a small thing, the tampons. But it’s big in showing that we menstruate. And that’s ok.
The Last of Us airs new episodes every Sunday on HBO.
