‘The Last Of Us’ Episode 3 Preview: A Television Masterpiece

I’ve been loving The Last Of Us on HBO so far, but the episode that really sealed the deal for me is airing this Sunday. Episode 3 deals with a couple characters we’ve only heard about in passing so far: Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) who get a massively expanded role in the show vs the video game it was adapted from.

Honestly, this episode is so damn good I’ve watched it twice (screeners) and plan on watching it a third time when it airs. I found it moving and beautiful and sad and haunting and just brilliantly acted and written from start to finish. You’ll learn more about the apocalypse, but mostly you’ll learn about the people who survive and even thrive in a world gone mad.

I don’t want to say too much here for fear or spoilers, but I will note also that this will be a controversial episode. I’m really curious to see what kind of reaction it gets and to discuss it with my readers and viewers here and on YouTube. You can also find me on on Twitter or Facebook to discuss this stuff.

As you can see in the trailer for the episode above (which you should avoid if you’re a spoiler purist) we’ll get more of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) but also some more of Joel’s backstory with Tess (Anna Torv) which is nice given the events of last week’s tragic episode.

I love both Offerman (who will always be Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec to me) and Murray Bartlett, whose performance in Season 1 of The White Lotus remains one of the best in the last few years. They’re both terrific here.

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