HBO’s The Last of Us expands Bill & Frank’s gay romance om the game - Polygon

gay couple the last of us

Craig Maz says his own love story impacted how he wrote the tale of Bill and Frank, the ter's new favore gay uple.

Contents:

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

Fans were fully vted to the gay love story between Frank (Murray Bartlett) and Bill (Nick Offerman). * gay couple the last of us *

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. 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.

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

'The Last of Us' Episo 3, featurg Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett as gay uple Bill and Frank, is earng an overwhelmgly posive reactn om fans. * gay couple the last of us *

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’S GAY LOVE STORY BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AN ENTIRE GENRE

The most recent episo of HBO’s The Last of Us has left some fans wonrg if Bill and Frank were a gay uple the origal game. * gay couple the last of us *

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. 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.

WAS BILL GAY THE LAST OF US GAME?

Episo 3 of The Last Of Us explored Bill and Frank's heartwrenchg relatnship but fans have been askg if Bill was gay the game. * gay couple the last of us *

The episo is, among other thgs, a subversn of the much-cricised “bury your gays” trope. 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’ CONFIRMED THAT BILL WAS GAY YEARS AGO

The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey breaks her silence on the review-bombg of the seri' third episo, attacked for s pictn of a gay uple. * gay couple the last of us *

The show is already garnerg high praise for s third episo, which lved ep to a si story wh two gay characters at s re. Several more gay characters are sttered among the game’s st, and future episos — and seasons — will see the h characters realized live-actn for the first time.

WAS BILL GAY THE LAST OF US GAME? RELATNSHIP WH FRANK EXPLAED

Ellie Image via Nghty Dog That’s right, the lead character The Last of Us is part of the gay muny.

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

The character’s sexualy is hted at the Last of Us gam, and many players termed that he was gay, but players didn’t get nearly the romance the origal that HBO livered wh “Long Long Time. You may be able to fd the same ntent another format, or you may be able to fd more rmatn, at their web of you reprentativ om the Miserable Onle League is gonna start somethg about Nick Offerman playg someone gay and I want to remd you he is married to Megan Mullally which qualifi as a gay marriage— nolan (@anxluxe) January 30, 2023Philip Ellis is News Edor at Men's Health, verg fns, pop culture, sex and relatnships, and LGBTQ+ issu. The most recent episo of HBO’s The Last of Us has left some fans wonrg if Bill and Frank were a gay uple the origal game.

Wh such drastic chang, pecially when to Bill and Frank’s relatnship, some are left askg if Bill was really gay The Last of Us vio game. The biggt hts towards Bill beg a gay man are his relatnship to Frank and a certa magaze that Ellie steals om his stash the church basement, both of which n be missed by players not engagg optnal ntent or not payg close enough attentn. Episo three was review-bombed after highlighted a gay relatnship.

If you don't want to watch the show bee has gay storyl, bee has a trans character, that's on you, and you're missg out. “Long Long Time” has sparked several plats om the worst si of Twter about how The Last of Us allegedly shoehorned a gay relatnship.

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

But the fact is Bill has always been gay. So yeah, Bill has always been gay. Acrdg to crics who have seen the show, we're gettg a whole lot more of The Last of Us' gay characters than we Last of Us follows Joel and Ellie as they travel across a post-apolyptic Ameri tryg to avoid fung-fected zombi.

LGBTQ+ them are not somethg entirely new to The Last of Us anchise, as the first stallment of the seri also showsed a gay NPC and then a very graceful lbian kiss the Left Behd DLC. Bill is gay and had a relatnship wh a man lled Frank, who is later found ad the game, much to Bill's dismay. Unlike Da, Bill tri to hi his homosexualy and ially only refers to Frank as someone he had red for.

*WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Last Of Us*The story of Bill and Frank is only briefly touched upon The Last Of Us vio game, but episo 3 of HBO’s adaptatn has dramatilly expand on their relatnship what is a notable viatn om the source enthrallg episo is filled wh tensn, joy and heartbreak as tells the pair’s story over almost two s, begng wh their first meetg after Frank fell to one of Bill’s follows is a betiful love story that has left fans wh a number of qutns, wh some askg whether Bill was gay The Last Of Us game self.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY COUPLE THE LAST OF US

HBO’s The Last of Us expands Bill & Frank’s gay romance om the game - Polygon .

TOP