The Last of Us Episode 3: Series Offers a New Story Compared To The Video Game
In the third episode of the TV series The Last of Us, we met Frank and Bill played respectively by Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman. Two characters who until now had only been mentioned by Tess and Joel. These are the two men with whom the couple has started a commercial exchange. A type of business that is done through a particular cipher code that is shown in the first episode of the TV series The Last of Us. In the final part of the second episode of the TV series The Last of Us, Tess sacrifices herself to buy Joel and Ellie time. The woman has been infected and therefore her fate is sealed. While Ellie may still be a hope for a possible cure for the virus. After Tess’s death, the duo of Joel and Ellie continue their journey to where Frank and Bill live.
The third episode of the TV series The Last of Us was mainly devoted to the story of Frank and Bill. A novelty already mentioned by the producers of the television series. In the video game The Last of Us from which the homonymous TV series is based, it was not possible to give the right space to the relationship between Frank and Bill. This is because in games of the genre focused on the main protagonists, the action, and survival, it is not feasible to dwell on personal introspection. In a television series, on the other hand, it is possible to devote oneself to in-depth studies, because there is no pre-established mission as in a video game. And consequently, it is allowed to dither along the way with additions dedicated to the characters or to the story itself. As also seen in the second episode of the TV series The Last of Us where the origin of the virus was shown unlike in the game.
Frank and Bill So Alike and So Different
With the introduction of Bill’s character in The Last of Us TV series, some flashbacks took the story back to the first moments of the epidemic. Bill is a survivalist. So somehow, he’s ready when the government starts taking drastic steps to stop the spread of the virus. Luckily for him when he decides to leave the house and face the potential enemy, everything is already deserted. This allows him to flee elsewhere after having equipped himself with large stocks of every primary good.
Years go by and Bill continues his solitary life in what has become a veritable fortress. Both are proofs of infection but also of normal human beings. One day, however, a man arrives who upsets his routine, but positively. After an initial moment of mistrust, Bill welcomes the newcomer Frank into his home and an attraction immediately springs up between the two.
More years pass during which the first quarrels begin between the two men. Frank is tired of that forced isolation, he wants to meet other people because he’s sure there are still good people like him and Bill around. But the latter remains his idea because he distrusts anyone and does not want change. However, Frank has already begun communications with someone else without his partner’s knowledge and finally manages to win the dispute in progress.
The Deal with Tess and Joel
Frank, during his coexistence in the place where he lives with Bill, began to communicate via radio with Tess. After realizing that the woman can be trusted, he decides to let her know where she is and a first meeting takes place in which Joel and Bill are also present. Despite the latter’s hesitations, in the end, the two couples establish an agreement for a reciprocal exchange of goods.
To avoid being intercepted and discovered, new business associates create a code to communicate with. That is the code encrypted by radio. Where each song based on its release year corresponds to a particular piece of information. In the finale of the first episode of the TV series The Last of Us, a song from the 80s is played on the radio in Tess and Joel’s apartment. But the couple does not notice it because they have already left to take Ellie to the Lights.
The Meaning of the Last Radio Message
In the encrypted code that Joel and Tess use via radio to communicate with Frank and Bill, the number 80 indicates danger. Therefore, if the radio broadcasts a song from the 80s it means that something must be paid attention to. In the third episode of the TV series The Last of Us, it is revealed that Bill had installed a system with a preset timeout. If the man doesn’t reset the programming after a certain period, a song from the 80s will automatically play.
In this case, after Frank and Bill decide to die together, there is no one left who can reset the system. This is why the song started automatically and is the same one that is heard at the end of the first episode of The Last of Us. In the end, it wasn’t a danger to Joel and Tess, but it means something had happened to Frank and Bill. Although in this case, it was their free choice to die.
Frank and Bill: The Differences Between The Last of Us TV Series and Video Game
Even though The Last of Us TV series keeps true to the original story of the video game on which it is based, it still has some differences. Specifically, these are additions to emphasize some moments or deepen others. As it was with the story of Bill and Frank. Precisely about the two men, a rich part of the plot was given which is barely mentioned in the game.
Frank’s Escape
In episode 3 of the TV series The Last of Us the two men argue as Frank no longer shares the lonely life that Bill wants to lead. But in the end, they agreed. In the video game of the same name from which the series is based following the dispute with Bill, Frank instead leaves after stealing supplies from his partner. Later he is bitten by some infected and decides to end it by hanging himself in the house where he went to live. Before dying, Frank leaves a note to Bill in which he still blames the man who couldn’t stand his way of thinking.
It is later Joel who finds Frank’s body and delivers the note to Bill. Who offers help to Joel and Ellie by giving the couple a vehicle and supplies. While Bill remains to live alone in the place where he has always been from the beginning. However, the character of Frank in the video game The Last of Us already appears after he kills himself, while the story part of him with Bill is only told.
The Fates of Bill and Joel?
Another interesting difference with the TV series is related to the letter that Bill writes to Joel. In the video game, it is Frank who leaves a message for Bill before he dies, somewhat criticizing his gruff side of him. In the TV series, however, Bill writes to Joel that he never liked him but he respects him, as well as tells him another very important thing. Bill and Joel have suffered a loss in the past and have become cold and cynical, but also true survivors.
For these reasons, Bill reminds Joel that it’s people like them who have to protect other people. Just as he took in and protected Frank, Joel must do the same for Tess. Bill doesn’t know about Tess’s death, but the meaning of her message doesn’t change. Joel’s new purpose now is to protect Ellie. Which is also the center of the whole story of The Last of Us both in terms of the video game and the TV series. In conclusion, most of the story that can be seen in episode 3 of the TV series The Last of Us is a poignant and detailed pink parenthesis designed to pay homage to the characters of Bill and Frank. Who in the video game The Last of Us is instead known only at the end of their great love story?
