Warning! This article contains major spoilers for both The Last of Us episode 3 and the original game.
The Last of Us episode 3 makes a change from the game's canon, but the storytelling decision perfectly complements its adaptation into a prestige TV show. Only three episodes into its season 1 run, The Last of Us has been a significant success for HBO, working a balance between being accessible enough for new viewers and appeasing fans of the game. However, while remaining largely faithful to the source material, there have been some tweaks to the canon, including the Fireflies killing Robert's gang after an exchange gone wrong instead of Joel and Tess doing so single-handedly in the game.
The most notable change to canon so far occurs in episode 3, "Long, Long Time," specifically around The Last of Us' Frank and Bill. The game heavily implies that Bill and Frank are lovers, as in The Last of Us show. However, in the game, Frank leaves Bill after growing to resent him, subsequently becomes infected, and chooses to die by his hand before the cordyceps can take over. Joel and Ellie then encounter a bitter and grieving Bill, who helps them find a vehicle to escape Lincoln. The show, instead, sees Frank and Bill die by suicide together after sharing a fulfilling, largely happy life before Joel and Ellie can meet up with them.
Frank & Bill's Relationship Reflects A Major The Last Of Us Theme
If the various themes of The Last of Us can be boiled down to one overarching message, it's that beauty, love, and peace can persevere even in the most hopeless and brutal situations. The Last of Us' Joel rediscovers the importance of human connection again through his burgeoning relationship with Ellie. Likewise, Bill realizes a wall of assault rifles and even the finest Merlots are no replacement for intimacy and tenderness when Frank walks (or falls) into his life.
Living alone in his mother's house as a cynical, isolated Doomsday prepper, Bill would have likely never made as meaningful a connection with someone without the apocalypse. Bill and Frank's arc highlights that humanity's comion and need for connection is a form of resilience against Armageddon more powerful than the nihilism that Bill and Joel initially share after the outbreak. As Bill comments during their heartbreaking final day together, despite the end of the world, he'd been "satisfied" with his life because of what he had created with Frank.
Why Changing The Game Lore Makes The Last Of Us' Message More Potent
While Frank and Bill's relationship is also tragic and poignant on its own in The Last of Us game, the beauty and joy of their romance aren't tackled directly, just the devastation. The player only experiences Bill at his lowest point after Frank has left, and there is little to suggest the love and contentment they shared beyond subtext. The nature of the videogame medium means that the perspective has to largely remain fixed on Joel and Ellie's journey and specifically focus on Joel's arc on learning to love again. TV, however, has no such limitations.
The showrunners for The Last of Us, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, want to take advantage of the change in medium to tell different, complementary stories to Joel and Ellie's central plot. The almost self-contained nature of episode 3's romance enables this approach, broadening the show's horizons beyond Joel and Ellie's arc while adding nuance to their dynamic, especially the vulnerability and grief behind Joel's gruff stoicism. Portraying the love, humor, and intimacy of Frank and Bill's relationship, and not just its heartbreaking conclusion, allows The Last of Us to illustrate that Joel's redemption isn't the only source of hope after the apocalypse hits.