The Last of Us Episode 3 is a MASTERCLASS for Writers
I will never forgive The Last of Us writers for this...
Never in a thousand years will I forgive The Last of Us writers for what they put me (and millions of others) through during episode three. Nor will I ever forgive them for writing the perfect post-apocalyptic queer love story and showing me that my writing could never come close.Â
That was how I felt immediately after watching Long, Long Time. Now I’ve realised, apart from being a beautiful heart-wrenching 80 minutes of TV, it’s a masterclass for any writer. This episode drastically deviated from the original game but was loved by gamers and non-gamers alike (homophobes aside). When you’ve finally stopped crying, read on to learn three lessons writers should take away from this episode.
The Importance of Adapting Your Writing to Different Platforms
We’ve already seen how the writers of The Last Of Us series have expertly recreated scenes from the game shot-for-shot and word-for-word. We’ve also experienced how they’ve adapted others so that they make more sense in a real-world environment. We thought the biggest difference from game to screen was going to be switching the spores that are found floating in abandoned buildings for tendrils. Well, that was until the now iconic episode three, Long, Long Time.
When the writers realised Joel (Pedro Pascal) needed a car, they took the opportunity to write the most heartbreaking and touching 80 minutes that will go down in TV history. Believe it or not, this wasn’t just because they’re sadistic bastards who get their kicks from twisting your emotions so tight you’re not sure if you’ll ever feel anything again. It’s because they knew why people fell in love with the original game in the first place: worldbuilding.
Even though you might still think of episode three as a ‘filler’ episode, it was actually essential for the audience to truly understand the world The Last of Us takes place in. In the game, Bill’s character exists so that the player can be introduced to new environments and enemies. Games are already such an immersive experience that you don’t need to dive too deep to make the player feel like they are really a part of this world. A TV audience, on the other hand, needs a little more convincing. The writers of the show knew this and realised that dedicating an episode to two characters who spend nearly two decades in this world together was crucial for creating this same immersive experience.
Stop Relying On Stereotypes or Clichés
Gamers who paid attention to certain dialogue choices in the original game will already have known that Bill is gay. However, those who had never played the game (or just missed the cues) have confessed they were a little surprised at the queer turn the episode took. This is because, even in 2023, many shows still rely on queer stereotypes to bring their audience into the proverbial closet.Â
Bill (Nick Offerman) is a gun-toting, survivalist loner. Not exactly the first person you think of when you’re asked to picture a queer character. Of course, there is no ‘ideal’ image of a queer individual but film and TV have caused many of us to subconsciously create one regardless. The same goes for Frank (Murray Bartlett). The fact that Bill and Frank were a same-sex couple was not the point of the episode. The writers allowed these characters to exist and be shaped by the environment they lived in and it made their relationship more sincere for it.
There is nothing wrong with writing characters that may embody (harmless) clichés when it makes sense. The Last of Us episode three is a perfect example of how your characters should grow with the experiences and situations you write for them. Don’t use stereotypes to explain your characters. Reveal who they are through their reactions and relationships with others.
Take Your Audience On A Journey
Admit it. We all could have watched an entire season of just Bill and Frank’s story. Would it have had the same impact? Probably not but the point is even after such a final ending, people wanted more. In a single hour, we became more invested in these characters than we probably will be after a whole season of Ellie and Joel (sorry guys).Â
The writers could have stuck to the story in the original game. We would have had a few laughs when Ellie (Bella Ramsey) met Bill. Maybe some people would have felt sorry for him when we found Frank already dead. How ever people might have felt about it, there’s no denying we all would have forgotten about it before the next episode even came out. The writers even could have given us just the end of the rewritten story; Ellie and Joel arrive at the house and find the couple already dead but without giving the audience the love story to end all love stories.
But the writers didn’t go down either of those roads. They knew that to leave an impact that would echo through time, they needed to write a story we never wanted to end. From the moment Bill found Frank in that hole until Frank uttered the words ‘take me to bed’, the audience felt like they had experienced every single high and low of their relationship.Â
I hope this blog post has made you fall in love with episode three of The Last Of Us even more. As a romantic, I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful love story. As a writer, I will forever be in awe of how the show took such a small part of the game and created one of the greatest episodes in the history of television.
Originally published on WordPress on February 3rd 2023