The Last of Us

[Dave Gray]

My favorite show right now is The Last of Us on HBO.

You've probably heard people talking about it.

I think it's specifically worth mentioning the 3rd episode of the series, which I think is one of the single best episodes of TV I've ever seen.

[CF DolFan]

It's been interesting so far. We haven't seen episode 3 yet but should tonight. I almost didn't open this thread for fear of spoilers.

[Dave Gray]

It's been interesting so far. We haven't seen episode 3 yet but should tonight. I almost didn't open this thread for fear of spoilers.

I would never do this.

I do think that Episode 3 does a good departure from the formula and really opens up what the show can be.

[DenverFinFan]

Worth watching if you have never played the games? I have no idea what this is about but always heard positive things

[Dave Gray]

Worth watching if you have never played the games? I have no idea what this is about but always heard positive things

Yes.

I played the beginning of the game, but I am not coming to this as already a fan of the material that knows the story.  It's really superb.

[Sunstroke]

I watched episodes 2 & 3 tonight. Yeah, ok...episode 3 was nothing short of brilliant.

[CF DolFan]

I was meh on episode 3. I guess if I was excited to see "that" on tv it might have excited me but it really reminded me of the Walking Dead episodes where they focus on one's personal story that has no real revelance to what's really going on. I was kind of bored through much of it.

[Sunstroke]

^^^ I'm curious whether "that" in parentheses means "the poignant human interest story" or the "gay romance aspect that gave you the heebie-jeebies." If the former, then I'd have to wonder what you were actually watching. If the latter, I would suggest you just ignore all the stuff that made you uncomfortable and just focus on the "really cool wall of guns."

[CF DolFan]

^^^ LOL to your predictable response. FYI I had originally wrote “if you were excited to see a gay couple on tv” but chose not to expose any spoilers. But nice job for anyone who hasn’t seen it as the “reveal” was part of the charm of the show I presume.

[Sunstroke]

^^^ LOL to your predictable response. FYI I had originally wrote “if you were excited to see a gay couple on tv” but chose not to expose any spoilers. But nice job for anyone who hasn’t seen it as the “reveal” was part of the charm of the show I presume.

It is pretty rare these days that you post anything I find worthy of a response,  so I have to assume that your use of predictable means "what I'd expect from anyone who isn't a far right clone like myself."

But yeah, I imagine that episode could bring out the homophobe in quite a few people...


(cue the "Well I have a lot of gay friends," "I have several gay coworkers," "I grew up with a bunch of...etc...) (<<<--- that's a REAL example of predictability)

[Dave Gray]

I'm not gonna dump on anyone who isn't comfortable seeing two bearded dudes kiss.  I squirm with it myself.

I give this episode a lot of credit for delivering the intimacy and passion, without the gratuitous "LOOK AT IT" about it.  The same is true with multiple cases of death and morbidity.  They gave you several situations where you got the emotion and the reading of the scene but spared you the private stuff.

[CF DolFan]

Hate to break it to you Stroke but yes, I have gay friends too. Some are conservative but most are quite liberal. Went on a cruise with a married gay classmate from Chicago and had a blast.  Being gay isn’t really a big deal today except for Hollywood. 

If the traveler who wandered into the trap and fell in love with the prepper was a woman I’d have felt the same. I don’t like those boring stand alone stories that have nothing to do with the actually story I’m watching. Don’t like it on the Walking Dead and don’t like it here. I get bored.

[Dave Gray]

I don't think the story would work if the person in the hole was a woman.  I think that this idea of Bill not coming to terms with who he was until after society had fallen was a core component to his arc.

So much of the symbolism in the show, like painting a house, tending a garden because you believe in a future, making art....essentially beauty for the sake of beauty.  These were concepts that were not possible until Frank.  And Bill wasn't capable of accepting a life with Frank until everything else was wiped away.

....a really good story.

[CF DolFan]

I don't think the story would work if the person in the hole was a woman.  I think that this idea of Bill not coming to terms with who he was until after society had fallen was a core component to his arc.

So much of the symbolism in the show, like painting a house, tending a garden because you believe in a future, making art....essentially beauty for the sake of beauty.  These were concepts that were not possible until Frank.  And Bill wasn't capable of accepting a life with Frank until everything else was wiped away.

....a really good story.

If that is true then I missed him coming to the realization he was gay. I thought his piano song was speaking about a previous love and he said it wasn't about a woman?

[Dave Gray]

There were several hints to start.  I think the very first thing was the conflict in Bill when he finds him in the hole.  At first, he wants to be Mr. Tough Guy but you can see he's struggling with isolationism.  That's not a gay thing, but more of a companionship thing.

The next was how he served the food.  He rotated the plate, in a proper way, so that the meat was facing his guest.  ....not specifically gay, either, but showed that he was more refined that we might have thought.

Then he poured the wine like a sommelier, twisting the bottle.  He knew to pair the wine with Rabbit.

"I know I don't look like the type."   "Oh, no...you do."

I think that Frank knows that Bill is gay at that point.

Then, Frank selects a song that Bill would like and it's Linda Ronstadt.  And only then, does he lay it on with the line about the woman after Bill sings it tenderly.

There's a lot of hinting at it amidst the tension in the room.