Sodding hell this one really got me. I was doing fine until they went to bed for the last time, but then I coincidentally got something stuck in my eye. It's weird how they can have such a drastic departure from this part of the game, and yet still remain so loyal to the emotional core of the story being told, even if both the execution and the end result are vastly different. Spoiler: what happens instead in this part the game Obviously there's no flashback since the entire game in cinema verite, as in if it doesn't happen in front of the player character in-game, you don't get to see it. Instead what we get is a lot of sneaking though a town full of infected and Bill's traps, gradually finding notes left by Bill & Frank telling pieces of their story. You eventually meet up with Bill, do more sneaky sneaky, during which you gather that he hasn't seen Frank in a while because they had a fight. Then you find Frank and the note he left behind. He'd gotten sick of Bill and being stuck in that town and decided to leave, only in the process of digging the battery out of a wreck he got bit. Didn't want to turn, so he hanged himself. Also of note; Joel had never met Frank prior, and when he and Ellie leave, Bill is still alive, and alone in his town. Honestly I'm not sure which version is more tragic, but I think each is best suited for it's respective medium, which--as if we needed more evidence--proves that they really know what they're doing with this adaptation.
It was character development and centered on telling a human story instead of mindless action and zombie horror.
I haven't cried in years due to a TV show or movie, this episode did it - twice. Honest to god - this is how i wish every homosexual relationship be depicted onscreen. Just two people who have found each other and live life together, they fight, they make up and they have the deepest respect and love for each other ( and it was not the usual comedy flaming homo portrayal). II nearly jumped up when Bill was wounded because that would be a show that would actually kill off such characters only to be delighted somewhat when they fast forwarded and continued their story. However i was completely unprepared how this would end - i figured Joel would meet them, spend a few days, resupply and then move on but what we got was so much more heartbreaking and sad and it lifted this episode to one of the best i've ever seen. If this was even remotely like this in the game i fully understand now why the game is so beloved, but even if not the producers made the right call to show us who Joel really is in the person of Bill and what life Joel could have had if he and Tess met under these circumstances. Brilliant writing and acting.
This is nothing like the game. Spoiler Frank is already dead. Had a fight with Bill, left, got infected, killed himself before he could turn. But all of that is read from a note. In the game, bitter Bill helps Joel and Ellie get a truck and a battery. It's mostly action gameplay against infected.
Well, Spoiler: Episode 3 spoiler someone in a wheelchair committing suicide by pills hit waaayyyyyy too close to home to me, especially at this time of year. Honestly not sure if the comments are the starts were references or making fun of 28 Days Later
I have to say, I wasn't altogether sold on this show, as of yet, but regardless of whatever they've got planned for it, if this episode is any indicator of their quality in storytelling, then it's worth giving further investment, because this was some pretty damn compelling television. It gave me reminiscences of what was imho one of the better episodes of The Walking Dead, He's Not Here, with John Carroll Lynch as Eastman... but actually better. Nick Offerman never ceases to interest me as an actor... and as a person really
One of the things I liked about the latest episode was that Nick Offerman's Bill was like a more gritty, realistic Ron Swanson who also happens to be gay. I got a feeling Ron Swanson might have been the reason they got him for the role. The fun in seeing the comparisons.
Not having played the game I can kinda get the change because just from watching the show and their first meeting it could really come across as Spoiler Frank basically 'whoring' himself out for food/shelter and having no real interest or feelings for Bill, but just seeing Bill as someone more capable of helping him be able to survive in this post-apocalyptic world. That's actually what I thought was happening in the show at the beginning of their relationship TBH. Had the show copied the game I probably would have felt that way at the conclusion of the episode instead of thinking it was just some random person who found another random person and they managed to find happiness/love.
Episode 3 was good but a little bit spoiled by all the "greatest episode of TV in years" stuff. I thought it was good but not mind blowingly good. Loving Bella Ramsey which is a surprise because I thought I wouldn't be able to get over how much I hate her girlboss Mormont character
Now that i know what happens in the game ( mostly) i can see how this wouldn't be possible in it without a major retooling and effort and it would have distracted from the main game. However the way they did it in the show was taking advantage of the medium to tell a beautiful and uplifting emotional segway, that nonetheless circles back to the main cast by giving insight into Joel's character by way of a third party. If this is the level of writing we can expect from the show i don't know how i'll make it through each week to wait for a new episode.
I think the only thing I would have changed is to do this episode more into the later part of the season and introduce Bill early on and have him do a couple of episodes before we see the flashback/love story.
It would be incongruous with what's to come; there simply isn't room. Moreover, it's an important building block in Joel and Ellie's relationship at this point in the narrative. Bill and Frank's story is told. They only have 6 episodes left to work with and there's quite the road ahead of them.
'28 Days Later', 'Outbreak', actual real world HIV. Take your pick. They did introduce Bill AND Frank earlier on. Both by name, and by description; "Are they nice?" "Well, Frank is . . ." They really didn't need any more than that. Adding extra build up just puts more emphasis on how impactful their death is. That would run against the point of their story, which is about how they lived. Yeah, it's why I said each version of the story was best suited for their respective mediums. You can't tell *this* particular story in *that* game effectively. All you'd get if you tried is basically just the Joel and Ellie portion of the episode; they show up. Nobody home. Find the note. Feel a little sad, and move on. Removed from the context of what we saw of Bill and Frank's lives together it would have seemed far more bleak that it really was. Spoiler: in the game . . . In the game you get to spend time with Bill and see what becomes of a person who has chosen survival over living. A lonely, angry hermit who's whole life is skittering around his little town full of traps, corpses, and infected. Going from safe-house, to safe-house, maintaining his defences, desperately trying to keep the outside world at bay. That makes more sense for the game since it can be told in the moment without diverting Joel and Ellie's story. It's basically teaching the same lesson, but in a different way. A fair concern, and while I think an argument can be made that there may have at least been an element of that in the beginning, I just don't subscribe to it. I think there's a reason why the first thing Bill learns about Frank is that he's a terribly liar. He's just not that cynical, and it would be blinding obviously insincere if he tried something like that.
So what made Frank think Bill was open to taking him in for dinner, shower and a night of pleasure? Was his "gaydar" going off? Because when Bill lets him out of the trap he's hardly putting on a front that he's open to hosting visitors and cooking meals for people. You'd think Bill's mind would be too get the hell out of there as soon as it seemed like Bill wasn't going to shoot him.
Frank seemed to peg Bill right away. The exchange at the dinner clinches it. "I know, I don't seem the type." "Yes. Yes you do."