Every episode of The Last of Us, ranked worst to best

1. The best episode of The Last of Us is Episode 3, “Long, Long Time”

The Last of Us gave us its best stuff fairly early on. In Episode 3, after Tess has died and Joel and Ellie have escaped the post-apocalyptic streets of Boston, they make for Bill and Frank’s house. Bill and Frank are a pair of survivors who live together in the small town of Lincoln, Massachusetts. But instead of sticking with Joel and Ellie, the episode takes us back in time to right after the outbreak, when the survivalist Bill had the entire town to himself.

What we have here is essentially a short film about two characters we hadn’t seen before and won’t see again. The episode takes us through a years-long romance between Frank and Bill, who meet unexpectedly when Frank falls into one of Bill’s zombie traps. Although they only have one episode to establish themselves, both Bill and Frank emerge as complex individuals with rich inner lives. Bill in particular stands out: he’s a conspiracy nut who’d grown bitter at the world and welcomed the apocalypse, only to finally get in touch with his humanity when Frank comes into his life.

Although there are difficulties along the path, Bill and Frank manage to carve out some happiness for themselves in the bleakest of circumstances. The episode is full of achingly romantic moments, from Bill’s solo at the piano to Frank growing strawberries to the final moments of the episode where Bill decides to join his lover in death rather than face old age without him. The episode stands apart from the rest of the show, but in and of itself that’s a great strength, because we get to follow one story from beginning to heartbreaking end in the space of a sitting.

And even though Bill and Frank don’t reappear, their story hangs over Joel and Ellie for the rest of the season. Remember: the show is about love, the good and bad. Joel and Ellie’s story could end in tragedy like Henry and Sam’s did. Or they could find happiness like Bill and Frank. Even that is fleeting, but it’s possible, and it’s worth fighting for.

Praise has to go to Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett for inhabiting Bill and Frank. Even the parts of the episode not about these two are great, such as the scene where Ellie cuts up a zombie, hinting at darker impulses beneath.

“Long, Long Time” is a wonderful episode of TV, and I’d be surprised if it’s not counted among the best episodes of the years when we look back.

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