The Last Of Us Director Says Queer Love Story Worked Because Its Heart Is 'Universal'

In the third ever episode of HBO's acclaimed video game adaptation "The Last of Us," the focus shifts from protagonists Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and pivots to Bill (Frank Offerman), a survivalist who ends up thriving in a world destroyed by the cordyceps outbreak that leaves behind monstrous Infected beings ready to kill you at any moment. What follows is one of the most emotional hours of television in recent memory; after Frank (Murray Bartlett) stumbles onto Bill's property, the two strike up a romantic relationship, create a beautiful home for themselves in the apocalypse, and die together in a manner of their own choosing. 

Contained in one episode, "Long Long Time" — named for the Linda Ronstadt song that bonds the pair — tells the entire story of Bill and Frank's love, and episode director Peter Hoar discussed what it was like to direct the installment... which was, as interviewer Mikey O'Connell pointed out during a director roundtable for The Hollywood Reporter, was written by Craig Mazin, a straight man.

"Craig may be straight, but he's got the warmest heart," episode director Peter Hoar, who is openly gay, said. "I think that's partly why it is so universal, because his attention was on the love rather than the gender. I've had many conversations about the character of Bill. Everyone goes, 'Well, Bill's a gay man.' I was like, 'Well, is he? He could be. But he hasn't really defined himself in those words.'"

"Craig wrote from what he knew, as he'd been in a marriage for some number of years," Hoar continued. "He knew the things that categorized the success or failure of a relationship, and that's what went in. They're universal. I didn't want it to feel that it was only one group of people's story. I think if it had been, it wouldn't have been as successful. It would've felt niche."

Hoar is correct that Bill's romantic history is only touched upon; when he and Frank meet, he performs Ronstadt's song on the piano. Frank asks about the woman in Bill's past who inspired the performance, and Bill says there wasn't a woman. The two share a kiss, and in that moment, Hoar's point is made clear: while "Long Long Time" is an unapologetically queer story performed by two outstanding actors, it's also a story about love, hope, survival, and togetherness in the face of true horror. Bill and Frank are two men, but they're also two people who find their true love in the most dire of all circumstances, and Mazin and Hoar's work makes that the most universal story of all.

One of the other directors on the roundtable discussion, Peter Barclay — who worked on the Netflix original series "Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" — agreed with Hoar, praising his contemporary and Mazin alike for their work on the episode and speaking from the heart. 

"As a gay man who's been with the same person for 25 years, imagine watching this episode and just feeling completely emotionally devastated," Barclay said. "I thought it was one of the most moving things I'd seen in my entire life. You and Craig managed to make it connect to all sorts of people. I could do a whole hour and a half just asking you questions, because it really is a moment in history for television, for representation and broadening the tent."

"Long Long Time" received acclaim across the board after it aired in early 2023 — despite some particularly awful people trying to "review-bomb" the episode — and critics and fans largely agreed Mazin and Hoar pulled off one of the most touching episodes of television to air within the past couple of years. You can stream the episode, along with the rest of the first season of "The Last of Us," on Max now if you haven't seen it already... and if that's the case, be sure to prepare yourself with some tissues.