Episode three of HBO’s latest hit, The Last of Us aired on Jan. 29, and while the overall story of the series focuses on Joel and Ellie, the episode took a break to examine two new characters, Bill and Frank. Already viewers seem divided, those who played the game voicing frustration about the changes made and those who enjoyed the fleshed out characters complimenting HBO’s expansion of the story.
Do Bill and Frank appear in Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us?
Within The Last of Us game, Bill and Frank are barely footnotes. Bill is a partner in Joel and Tess’s smuggling enterprise, a gruff, paranoid survivor who takes Joel and Ellie briefly captive after they set off the many traps and defenses around his hideout and bring in a wave of clickers. After a minor scuffle and some choice words from Ellie, Bill relaxes and agrees to help the pair retrieve a battery located in a nearby school.
After successfully collecting the part , the trio make their way to another safe house Bill knows of. Within its walls they find Frank dangling from a ceiling after taking his own life due to infection. Bill is relatively mute about the whole experience, saying only that Frank was his “partner” and that he was “the only idiot who would dress like that ” in reference to Frank’s red Hawaiian shirt. Beyond that, there are few context clues to lead players to the conclusion that the men were more than business partners.
HBO’s decision to expand upon the relationship between these two characters is a masterclass in storytelling. Within the game, Bill is a means to an end, while on the screen he and Frank feel like real people. Here, Bill is a reflection of Joel, both embittered, isolated men who would rather depend soley on themselves. The difference being, Bill relaxes his defenses and allows himself to find something to live for in Frank, something Joel has been unable to do since the death of his daughter more than 20 years ago.
The note Bill leaves for Tess and Joel helps to lay the groundwork for Joel’s arc over this season of The Last of Us. “That’s why men like me and you are here. We have a job to do.”
There is someone out there worth saving, and that is why a man like Joel exists in this world.