The most recent episode of HBO's The Last of Us, "Long, Long Time," shifted focus away from Joel and Ellie's journey (for the most part, at least) to bring us the standalone story of Bill and Frank.
Though these characters do appear in the game (well, Frank as a corpse!), things play out very differently for them in the show, and the episode ultimately evolves into a touching, heartbreaking love story.
"Long, Long Time" was widely praised, and some have even hailed it as one of the best single episodes of television of all time. Of course, not everyone felt the same way.
LGBTQ+ content usually results in some backlash, but this episdode of The Last of Us has been review-bombed on IMDB with almost 30,000 1-star ratings.
It is worth pointing out that the show didn't actually change much when it comes to the characters themselves.
Some viewers seem to be under the impression that the showrunners "made Bill and Frank gay," but there are several not-so-subtle hints that they were in a relationship within the game. Granted, things didn't end on such a romantic and bittersweet note (Frank killed himself after realizing Bill was a misanthropic waste of time)!
The Last of Us is set 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed and centers on the relationship between Joel, a smuggler in this new world, and Ellie, a teenager who may be key to a cure for a deadly pandemic. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle the 14-year-old girl out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey as they traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and the game's creator Neil Druckmann wrote and executive produced the show.
The first season will consist of 9 episodes, with the fourth chapter set to hit HBO this Sunday.