‘The Last of Us’ creator reveals how he crafted the gay love story that has fans tears

Contents:

• HBO’S THE LAST OF US IMPROV ON THE GAME’S IMPLIED GAY ROMANCE
• THE LAST OF US’ GEO GAY LOVE STORY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY
• THAT ‘THE LAST OF US’ GAY LOVE STORY IS GROUNDBREAKG
• ‘THE LAST OF US’ PRENTS AN ACHGLY BETIFUL GAY LOVE STORY
• ‘THE LAST OF US’ CREATOR REVEALS HOW HE CRAFTED THE GAY LOVE STORY THAT HAS FANS TEARS
• THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE
• THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE
• THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE
• 'THE LAST OF US' STAR BELLA RAMSEY THKS 'S 'IMPORTANT' TO PICT LGBTQ LOVE A POST-APOLYPTIC WORLD: 'IT'S NOT LIKE ALL THE GAY PEOPLE GOT BLOWN UP'
• BILL AND FRANK’S GAY LOVE STORY THE LAST OF US GAME IS PLETELY DIFFERENT
• THE LAST OF US TELLS A HNTGLY BETIFUL STORY OF GAY SURVIVAL S THIRD EPISO
• THE LAST OF US LETS GAY LOVE FLOURISH THE APOLYPSE

HBO’S THE LAST OF US IMPROV ON THE GAME’S IMPLIED GAY ROMANCE

Bill is gay the game, but ’s referenced so vaguely that plenty of players missed . The cisn to keep muted, hted at a sgle le of dialogue and a hidn letter, was both praised and cricized — was easy to overlook, but also avoid a lot of gay-character trop, and allowed Bill to be a human and not “a maniftatn of sexualy, ” as Polygon’s Danielle Rien put at the time. The game’s storyle don’t avoid trop altogether, though: It was cricized for “buryg s gays.

THE LAST OF US’ GEO GAY LOVE STORY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY

What we got stead was a psule episo, and a particularly bracg one, given the show’s opprsively bleak mood th far: The hour is dited to the love story of Bill and Frank, a gay uple who—due ially to Bill’s skills as a bunker-stockg, booby-trappg, Don’t Tread on Me survivalist—manage to build a largely happy existence together an abandoned and eventually fortified ral hamlet for almost 20 years. Wh Bill and Frank, we were given a portra of love—specifilly gay love—that feels surprisg and urgent.

THAT ‘THE LAST OF US’ GAY LOVE STORY IS GROUNDBREAKG

In our own 2023, we are not exactly lackg for media imag of whe gay men. For one thg, we see gay sire portrayed all s plexy, but wh a touch as light as a breeze playg through curtas. Bill’s is not a “type” of gay man I n say I’ve ever seen mastream media before, and watchg him slowly reveal and epen that aspect of himself wh Frank’s help—sexually, y (Hollywood: more hairy bear love scen please!

‘THE LAST OF US’ PRENTS AN ACHGLY BETIFUL GAY LOVE STORY

But Bill and Frank create somethg else, a ltle oasis of their own that’s regnizably gay, full of quiet bety and joys the size of new strawberri. Frank wants to fix up the block and some of the “not stupid” shops—the we and furnure stor, the clothg boutique—bee he hop they might one day have unfected guts (which they eventually do, the form of Joel and Ts), but really bee makg thgs nice, pecially when nicens isn’t valued, is one of the great gay llgs.

As an echo of the gay experience wh AIDS, is, as veteran activist Peter Staley put a Facebook post, a ftg tribute to the “tenr love & bravery gay men summoned when facg ath durg the plague years, cludg those who did so on their own terms. How powerful, then, to see not only a gay uple given an entire hour of a marquee show, but a gay uple who are held up as the keepers of civilizatn, as stewards of bety, as emblems of human digny and possibily.

‘THE LAST OF US’ CREATOR REVEALS HOW HE CRAFTED THE GAY LOVE STORY THAT HAS FANS TEARS

Bartlett, an openly gay actor whose most famo rol have been as gay characters The Whe Lot, Wele to Chippendal and Lookg, is a well-chosen scene partner.

There’s a good chance Bartlett will be playg a gay character: the ia that Offerman’s character might be too blossoms as litely as the pair’s relatnship. As the gam have been adapted for the screen, there has not exactly been a wealth of gay characters to choose mak Bill’s barely-mentned relatnship The Last of Us somethg of an outlier.

Gay storyl on TV, while not ubiquo, are not unheard of. A man who his alone a bunker, after all, don’t have to worry about beg rejected, by eher homophob or other gay men who simply aren’t terted. "[Their] story was ls about their homosexualy, and more about the fact that 's a middle-aged romance, " says the wrer.

THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE

As happens, there are gay people, there are Black people, there are whe people, there are disabled people and there are af people.

All of those thgs happen whether you're gay or straight or anythg. After wng turns Lookg, Tal of the Cy and The Whe Lot, he’s fast beg one of the medium’s most proment gay the episo nears s end, and Frank be curably sick, the uple’s last scen together are profoundly movg. The episo is, among other thgs, a subversn of the much-cricised “bury your gays” trope.

THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE

Here, y, are two gay characters who die. The long-anticipated third episo of The Last of Us troduced viewers to the gay love story between Bill (played by Nick Offerman) and Frank (played by Murray Bartlett) an terview whInverse, episo three director Peter Hoar explaed how he liberately “tricked” viewers to watchg a gay love story whout necsarily makg that clear straight away. I would fely argue that Bill don’t e across as a gay man.

”Even though people who had played The Last of Us gam already knew of Bill’s gay love story, the TV adaptatn of the viogame seri is attractg a wir dience that isn’t necsarily aware of all the characters and storyl. If the TV adaptatn ntu to brg such high viewership numbers, there’s a very big chance that HBO will take the Game of Thron route and ntue to make seasons past the pot of havg enough source now, though, viewers are jt exced to keep watchg The Last of Us and see where this first season Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO and HBO Your Se Articl'The Last of Us' Has an Entire Episo Foced on Its Gay Characters ›'The Last of Us' Bill & Frank Episo Is One of This De's Bt ›'The Last of Us' Bill & Frank Episo Is One of This De's Bt ›'The Last of Us' Bill & Frank Episo Is One of This De's Bt ›Gay Episo of 'The Last of Us' Has an Unaired 2-Hour Director's Cut ›Here's Who Convced Nick Offerman to Play Bill 'The Last of Us' ›The LGBTQ+ Celebs Who Got Engaged 2023 (So Far) ›'The Last of Us' Director on Why He Decid Not to Show Bill & Frank's Bodi ›. The episo tled "Long, Long Time" stars Nick Offerman as Bill, a character om the origal game who is implied to be gay.

THE LAST OF US’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE

"It's not like all the gay people got blown up and don't exist anymore, you know what I mean? The Last of Us st open up about the gay love story episo 3. The Last of Us fans are cryg over the gay love story between Bill (Nick Offermann) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) episo 3 but 's very different the sce The Last of Us buted on HBO, viewers have been gripped by the show's emotnally rich storytellg.

'THE LAST OF US' STAR BELLA RAMSEY THKS 'S 'IMPORTANT' TO PICT LGBTQ LOVE A POST-APOLYPTIC WORLD: 'IT'S NOT LIKE ALL THE GAY PEOPLE GOT BLOWN UP'

The Last of Us fans are sobbg over Bill and Frank’s gay love story episo 3. Are Bill and Frank gay The Last of Us game?

One person tweeted: "the last of jt randomly tellg one of the most betiful and vastatg gay love stori i’ve ever seen on televisn…wh nick offerman no ls..

" Another wrote: "image beg smug thkg you know everythg that’s gog to happen on The Last of Us show already bc you played the game and then they show you a gay versn of Up". "Perhaps most heartbreakg of all, a viewer wrote: "gay marriage was never legalized the last of universe so bill and Frank gettg married meant the fuck world and more. The last of jt randomly tellg one of the most betiful and vastatg gay love stori i’ve ever seen on televisn…wh nick offerman no ls..

BILL AND FRANK’S GAY LOVE STORY THE LAST OF US GAME IS PLETELY DIFFERENT

image beg smug thkg you know everythg that’s gog to happen on The Last of Us show already bc you played the game and then they show you a gay versn of Up— ًًً (@dunwaIl) January 30, 2023. Over the urse of 80 mut, the episo tak a gay relatnship mentned only passg the source material and turns to a s-spanng character study embodyg the show’s overarchg them of love and we first meet Bill (Nick Offerman) he’s a doomsday prepper who’s happy to watch the human race fall to piec — until a chance enunter-turned-romance wh fellow survivor Frank (Murray Bartlett) giv both men a life-alterg sense of purpose that has major ramifitns for Joel and Ellie years down the le. But I thk ’s not jt as simple a story as him sayg, “Oh great, here’s a man, here’s a gay man, and we n have a good time together.

”I mean, I’m a gay man, I’m 53.

THE LAST OF US TELLS A HNTGLY BETIFUL STORY OF GAY SURVIVAL S THIRD EPISO

’s not really a queer drama per se, but ’s about a boy who jos the Mar as a gay man, and of urse at a time where was illegal.

As a rult of that, ’s about what is that mak you a gay man, a queer man, or whether you n hi .

I’m very happy if people want to send me their gay terview has been nnsed and Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO the bt of what’s queer. In other words, they’re a perfect gay uple, a “normal” gay uple, a world which the mere thought of takg re of someone else is somethg of a ath sentence.

THE LAST OF US LETS GAY LOVE FLOURISH THE APOLYPSE

Some might fd the pivot tone and narrative to be rehg, and the seri has already been praised by crics for liverg a gay love story, but the tonal shift om bter loss to lovg oasis feels disgenuo. Watchg the episo, feels as though the wrg beme stuck 2003, which is when the fungal panmic hs the show, rultg the kd of gay love story that would have been groundbreakg TV back then, but is now jt wearisome.

To settle for a narrative this bland and dated, one termed to wrg tears while both metaphorilly and lerally buryg s gays — bee, y, strippg them of any narrative purpose is a thematic burial before their actual on-screen aths, is flat-out mortifyg, particularly a world where more and more nuanced and plited queer characters e to life every day. How The Last of Us creat a betiful oblivn for two gay men love. The third episo of The Last of Us, “Long, Long Time, ” featur a gay love story between two characters, Nick Offerman’s doomsday prepper, Bill, and Murray Bartlett’s wanrg artist, Frank.

Stori on TV featurg queer characters are routely mishandled, givg rise to the “Bury Your Gays” trope where queer stori are plagued wh unwarranted pa and ath, so ’s rehg that The Last of Us shows don’t have to be that outbreak ed massive loss of life and stctn across the world, but for Bill, who adms a letter to Joel that at one pot he hated the world and was happy everyone died, the zombie apolypse is a eeg experience. It’s probably a safe bet that, before the apolypse, Bill chose to stay the closet bee he wanted to spare himself the judgment and discrimatn gay people face, not to mentn humane anti-LGBTQ+ laws.