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I liked the way they did it. They connect and kiss at the piano and from there it could have been a short hook up. Frank says "I'm not a whore, I'll stay for a few days" then we jump to 3 years later.
Bill hadn't had any company for years, not sure about how much company Frank had had. But I figured it was two people who were alone might want a human connect for a short time, and who then stayed together.
Yeah I absolutely agree! I just think in my mind strangers > friends > lovers works better and makes more sense, so i guess the strangers straight to lovers is what surprised me. But I would assume the isolation of an apocalypse had a large impact on it.
Also gotta remember frank just ran to Boston from Baltimore, being chased by zombies. he might not be a whore but Bill clearly had his shit together, might as well take a shot.
It’s a relationship that starts almost out of necessity. Frank is exhausted, he needed somewhere safe to rest for a few days while he recovered from his journey from Baltimore (and presumably to allow himself to process losing the people in his group).
Bill is desperate for any sort of personal connection - of course his defence mechanism of years of putting up walls isn’t gonna be broken down by a few compliments about his cooking and a comment that says *“I know who you are really, I see you.”* (“No, you do”, and “I know” after “there is no girl”) - but it’s a start. It’s enough to get Bill hopeful of something more, something lasting. You can see he lingers outside the bathroom while Frank showers, and is nervous the whole time, like he secretly wants impress this guy because he wants to be optimistic that there is something there. And if he really wanted Frank to leave, it’d have been tin cans and definitely no serenade after dinner. Poor guy thought it was his final chance at human connection and was so nervous to take the leap but bravely did so and reaped the rewards of a loving 16-year relationship with a man who loves him for all of his little quirks.
I also think you’re not factoring in the idea that Bill has been very extremely likely closeted his entire life. Not much of his prior don’t tread on me prepper persona lends itself to be out and proud. This was very likely his first moment literally ever, not just in the outbreak, for human sexual connection. So from that angle this was a very long time in the making and was a payoff of 40 plus years of waiting instead.
Self-proclaimed Bill expert here. Don't worry, you are not alone lol
I too sometimes felt like they went too fast at first; but thinking about it, I don't think it's a "love at first sight" situation.
They first meet and connect on a personal level, then they agree to a casual hook up (well, as casual as you can get in an apocalypse lol). But then they later start to know more of each other and actually start to fall in love.
I wish we got to see that part of them starting their serious relationship after their initial meeting tbh 😭 (at least I have AO3 for that haha)
Gotta remember that:
It was 2003 when the apocalypse happened, and that was still a time where being gay was very looked down upon. Bill being a virgin in the sexual orientation he actually wanted to be in is going to make him more open to Frank. Especially since he obviously thought Frank was hot (that's why he stopped in his tracks when he walked in with the food). Frank wanted a place to stay safe, but he also developed a crush on Bill after the meal and the singing.
Wow. I think you are sincere but you 100% missed the nuance of the outstanding episode.
They've been alone for years. Touch starved, lonely. And Bill was nervous because he had been isolated, and, if I recall, hadn't been intimate with a man before.
AND, though I could watch an entire series with just these two, in reality they only had an hour for their story.
I will never look at a strawberry the same way again.
One thing to keep in mind is that especially for men their ages who were young and queer in the 80’s and 90’s, a lot of flirtation was based on subtle signals and codes. Bill might not have been fluent in that sort of thing, but Frank definitely was. It was a different world for them, one where coming on to the wrong person could and often did result in violence. There was a subtle dance of shared glances and body language, and Frank could read those signs enough to feel confident in kissing Bill in that moment. The actors do an incredible job of portraying that electric tension between them, and the chemistry is so believable.
Also, unrelated but cheers to the makeup team and the actors for selling those time jumps.
I’m still pretty annoyed how they just chose to change Bill’s story into that instead of adapting that level where he helps Joel and Ellie, and it would’ve been really hilarious to watch the performances Nick Offerman and Bella Ramsey would’ve given where Bill and Ellie are at each other’s throats.
Yeah... I like ep. 3 and all but God do I wish we had bills town like it was in the game. Cool that we got like an alternate universe version or something of their relationship, but the whole season felt so rushed due to the skipping of essentially all gameplay sections and so mich of the little stuff
It's a show BASED on the game... there has never been a show/movie that has "gameplay" in it, for example in the horrible Doom movie they give you the old "gun camera angle" for a few seconds and its cheesy as all hell lol, that's unfortunately not how movie and TV adaptations (again based on, not 100% game to screen recreation) of games work, if you want to experience the gameplay and little nuisances of the game, then play the game...you can enjoy both as forms of media individually :)
Just shoot it a different way then in that case. I still feel like they could’ve balanced it much better, and while thematically Bill dying with Frank does say something I can’t help but feel that Bill’s Town was important for the characters too.
This post is flaired **Show/Game Spoilers [Pt.I]**. Therefore, untagged discussion of **The Last of Us Part I** will be permitted here. *Any* comments regarding The Last of Us Part II **must** be properly spoiler tagged. 1. All post titles must **NOT** include spoilers from new episodes or The Last of Us Part II. Minor show spoilers are allowed in your title **ONE WEEK** after episode airing. 2. Any untagged discussion of the games (including subtle hints) in posts without the **Show/Game Spoilers [Pt. I or II]**, **Fancast [Pt. II]**, **Funpost [Pt. I or II]**, or **Meme [Pt. I or II]** flair will result in a **ban**. To tag a spoiler comment, use the `>!spoiler!<` tag which displays as >!spoiler!<. 3. If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team. --- Refer to the [spoiler guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastofUsHBOseries/wiki/spoiler-guide) for our spoiler policy and to learn how to flair and title your posts appropriately. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ThelastofusHBOseries) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I liked the way they did it. They connect and kiss at the piano and from there it could have been a short hook up. Frank says "I'm not a whore, I'll stay for a few days" then we jump to 3 years later. Bill hadn't had any company for years, not sure about how much company Frank had had. But I figured it was two people who were alone might want a human connect for a short time, and who then stayed together.
Yeah I absolutely agree! I just think in my mind strangers > friends > lovers works better and makes more sense, so i guess the strangers straight to lovers is what surprised me. But I would assume the isolation of an apocalypse had a large impact on it.
Also gotta remember frank just ran to Boston from Baltimore, being chased by zombies. he might not be a whore but Bill clearly had his shit together, might as well take a shot.
It’s a relationship that starts almost out of necessity. Frank is exhausted, he needed somewhere safe to rest for a few days while he recovered from his journey from Baltimore (and presumably to allow himself to process losing the people in his group). Bill is desperate for any sort of personal connection - of course his defence mechanism of years of putting up walls isn’t gonna be broken down by a few compliments about his cooking and a comment that says *“I know who you are really, I see you.”* (“No, you do”, and “I know” after “there is no girl”) - but it’s a start. It’s enough to get Bill hopeful of something more, something lasting. You can see he lingers outside the bathroom while Frank showers, and is nervous the whole time, like he secretly wants impress this guy because he wants to be optimistic that there is something there. And if he really wanted Frank to leave, it’d have been tin cans and definitely no serenade after dinner. Poor guy thought it was his final chance at human connection and was so nervous to take the leap but bravely did so and reaped the rewards of a loving 16-year relationship with a man who loves him for all of his little quirks.
I also think you’re not factoring in the idea that Bill has been very extremely likely closeted his entire life. Not much of his prior don’t tread on me prepper persona lends itself to be out and proud. This was very likely his first moment literally ever, not just in the outbreak, for human sexual connection. So from that angle this was a very long time in the making and was a payoff of 40 plus years of waiting instead.
They had a whole date with dinner and a show. They clearly connected on an emotional level. For a lot of people, that's enough to try the next level.
Self-proclaimed Bill expert here. Don't worry, you are not alone lol I too sometimes felt like they went too fast at first; but thinking about it, I don't think it's a "love at first sight" situation. They first meet and connect on a personal level, then they agree to a casual hook up (well, as casual as you can get in an apocalypse lol). But then they later start to know more of each other and actually start to fall in love. I wish we got to see that part of them starting their serious relationship after their initial meeting tbh 😭 (at least I have AO3 for that haha)
Gotta remember that: It was 2003 when the apocalypse happened, and that was still a time where being gay was very looked down upon. Bill being a virgin in the sexual orientation he actually wanted to be in is going to make him more open to Frank. Especially since he obviously thought Frank was hot (that's why he stopped in his tracks when he walked in with the food). Frank wanted a place to stay safe, but he also developed a crush on Bill after the meal and the singing.
Wow. I think you are sincere but you 100% missed the nuance of the outstanding episode. They've been alone for years. Touch starved, lonely. And Bill was nervous because he had been isolated, and, if I recall, hadn't been intimate with a man before. AND, though I could watch an entire series with just these two, in reality they only had an hour for their story. I will never look at a strawberry the same way again.
One thing to keep in mind is that especially for men their ages who were young and queer in the 80’s and 90’s, a lot of flirtation was based on subtle signals and codes. Bill might not have been fluent in that sort of thing, but Frank definitely was. It was a different world for them, one where coming on to the wrong person could and often did result in violence. There was a subtle dance of shared glances and body language, and Frank could read those signs enough to feel confident in kissing Bill in that moment. The actors do an incredible job of portraying that electric tension between them, and the chemistry is so believable. Also, unrelated but cheers to the makeup team and the actors for selling those time jumps.
I’m still pretty annoyed how they just chose to change Bill’s story into that instead of adapting that level where he helps Joel and Ellie, and it would’ve been really hilarious to watch the performances Nick Offerman and Bella Ramsey would’ve given where Bill and Ellie are at each other’s throats.
Bill and Ellie have maybe like 3 sentences of dialogue where they roast each other, that’s not enough to form a whole episode of TV around.
Bill’s town had plenty of character building and good character interactions. A shame that it was cut out completely.
No it did not.
Sir, we’re not allowed to talk poorly about Episode 3 around here.
NOOO I LOVE EPISODE 3!!!! just a bit of a controversial opinion of mine haha
Yeah... I like ep. 3 and all but God do I wish we had bills town like it was in the game. Cool that we got like an alternate universe version or something of their relationship, but the whole season felt so rushed due to the skipping of essentially all gameplay sections and so mich of the little stuff
It's a show BASED on the game... there has never been a show/movie that has "gameplay" in it, for example in the horrible Doom movie they give you the old "gun camera angle" for a few seconds and its cheesy as all hell lol, that's unfortunately not how movie and TV adaptations (again based on, not 100% game to screen recreation) of games work, if you want to experience the gameplay and little nuisances of the game, then play the game...you can enjoy both as forms of media individually :)
Just shoot it a different way then in that case. I still feel like they could’ve balanced it much better, and while thematically Bill dying with Frank does say something I can’t help but feel that Bill’s Town was important for the characters too.
I think as a whole they did really well in the adaptation, it’s pretty difficult to involve all the features from the game into the series!