For some, Episode 3 of The Last of Us was the best and most emotional thing they’ve seen in a series in a long time. Others fretted over how far the grumpy survival expert’s story and Fallenbauer’s Bill and his partner Frank removed from the video game template – and that the protagonists Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) hardly played a role in the episode.
Neil Druckmann is the series co-creator and mastermind behind The Last of Us games. And according to Druckmann, there’s an important reason the story is for the series to tell in a completely different way. He revealed this during a press conference.
Spoilers for Episode 3 follow the first season of The Last of Us.
Love and zombie apocalypse: In no other episode are the differences between The Last of Us game and series greater
HBO
Bill (left) and Frank share a beautifully sad love story in The Last of Us
In the first game In The Last of Us series, we meet Bill when we as Joel search for a working car with Ellie. Bill has barricaded himself behind elaborate traps in the small town of Lincoln, lives alone and seems bitter. We first see him as the end of the game rescuing Joel and Ellie from infected.
Little by little we find out through various clues: The loner appeared to have been in a relationship with a man, Frank. But he committed suicide and left a suicide note in which he cursed the isolated life with Bill.
In Episode 3 of the HBO series we see Bill (played by Nick Offerman) free Frank (played by Murray Bartlett) from one of his traps and reluctantly take him in. The two unlikely men grow closer and eventually become a couple.
Over decades, we see them quarreling, reconciling, fighting back against looters and infected, and find the beauty in life amidst all the horror. When Frank becomes terminally ill, they drink poison and fall asleep together one last time. Joel and Ellie are left with only a suicide note.
But why these massive changes to the template?
Neil Druckmann on why The Last of Us changes – and “bugs” of other video game adaptations
The Last of Us – S01 E03 Trailer (English) HD
As part of a press day, which Moviepilot also attended, The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann brought the biggest problem to the point that arises when transferring interactive video games to passively consumed series or films:
I believe that some video game adaptations […] make the mistake of getting too attached to the Action and clinging to the superficial things, which one does as a player:in. They work great in one game, but not in another medium.
By actively being in situations and interacting with other characters, players connect with them more quickly and differently. In a series, the audience “only” watches – and has to be emotionalized differently.
That’s why the History of Bill in the series so much different narrated as in The Last of Us game, Neil Druckmann says:
A worse adaptation would have taken on the situation where Joel steps on a noose trap, hanging upside down from the ceiling and need to get out of this situation. Bill rushes in and saves you. That’s how you bond with him because you’re playing Joel and you’re being rescued by him. […] Instead, Craig said, What if we tell the story about Bill and Frank’s relationship that’s only hinted at in the game?
A series adaptation offers fans of the template the opportunity to show things from the known world that they haven’t seen – or which the game couldn’t show. Because, as Neil Druckmann puts it: “In the game we see everything from Joel and Ellie’s perspective.” The HBO series can finally shed light on what happens in this dystopian version of the USA when the two are not in the room.
More in the podcast: Why The Last of Us is not only worthwhile for gamers
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The long-awaited series adaptation of The Last of Us is here, with new episodes weekly as smuggler Joel and teenage girl Ellie battle their way through a dystopian version of America and its society a zombie-like fungal infection was brought to its knees. Max and Lisa have already seen all 9 episodes of the first season and clarify for you without spoilers who should not miss this series highlight under any circumstances.
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