HBO's "The Last of Us" was regarded as one of the adaptations that others should use as an example of how it's done. Still, it's not easy to satisfy all viewers, and some still expressed dissatisfaction over some storylines like Bill and Frank's. The actor behind Bill addressed this matter during an awarding event.
Nick Offerman Defends the Story
When the episode "Long, Long Time" was released, it received a lot of intense reviews from viewers of the show. Some were light-hearted, saying that the narrative was touching, while others shared negative feedback fueled by homophobia.
The episode followed the story of Bill and Frank played by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett, respectively. The former has already received an Emmy for his guest-starring performance, deservingly so, and recently won an Independent Spirit Award for his supporting performance.
During his acceptance speech, Offerman addressed the hate that was pointed toward Bill and Frank's relationship. After thanking fans and HBO for the "storytelling tradition that is truly independent," he expressed the courage the show had to show such stories.
"[W]hen homophobic hate comes my way and says, 'Why did you have to make it a gay story?' We say, 'Because you ask questions like that. It's not a gay story, it's a love story, you a**hole!" as reported by Gizmodo.
Sadly, this does not stop with Offerman and Bartlett's roles. Ever since the actress for Dina, which was Isabela Merced, was announced, there are already those who are doubting her compatibility with Bella Ramsey's Ellie.
Review Bombing of 'Long, Long Time'
There are much fewer negative comments about the mentioned episode now since its release, but back then, a lot of homophobic fans and new viewers alike flooded social media with their disappointment over the change in the story.
Originally, The Last of Us showed Bill as this skeptical and paranoid survivalist who preferred to be alone and helped Joel occasionally in exchange for other resources. The game also brings players to a home where they find Frank's corpse.
It was never explicitly said in the game that the two men were romantically involved, but a couple of details did imply that they used to co-exist but decided to part ways. The showrunners for "The Last of Us" decided to provide Bill and Frank with a better story.
Instead of Frank abandoning Bill, they stayed together for years and stayed safe inside the fences and security measures that Bill put up. By the end, Frank decided to end his suffering from an unnamed sickness and Bill decided to join him.
Some said that the story had no importance to the story whatsoever, while others complained that it only distracted viewers from the leading protagonist, as mentioned in Kotaku. Of course, there were those who flat-out pointed out the gay factor in the episode.
"Again just another instance of the small minority of gay people exerting their influence in Hollywood to push their agenda on the world," said one critic. If anything, the showrunners were just following the game, which subtly implied that the animosity Bill had towards Frank was a love story that ended badly.
