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Reviews
The Last of Us: Long, Long Time (2023)
Not What We Needed
I've been looking forward to seeing Bill and learning about Frank. But this episode was highly disappointing.
First, Bill's character in the game is defined by his interactions with Ellie. Their quips and sassiness to each other are why it is adorable to watch them. This episode deviates so much from the game and so much of why we like Bill.
Second, The Last of Us is about Joel and Ellie. This episode is basically only about Frank and Bill. I thought the Frank and Bill story would have been 10 minutes or so and then we would get to spend the rest of the episode having a blast watching Joel and Bill and Ellie interact with each other.
Third, the Bill and Frank relationship didn't work for me. If it were about Bill and Frank, we should have a few episodes to get to know them. This episode tries to tell a whole mini story in 50 minutes and I don't think it works within the pacing of The Last of Us.
Overall, this episode might work as a standalone short film, but it does not fit in the middle of The Last of Us and it deprives us of seeing the personalities and interactions between Joel, Bill, and Ellie.
The Last of Us: Please Hold to My Hand (2023)
The Heart and Soul of The Last of Us
This episode is exactly why I have been excited about this series. We see the humanity and the relationship between Joel and Ellie throughout this episode which is exactly what The Last of Us is about. Sure, it is about clickers and killing infected and getting ambushed by enemies, but at its core it is the story of Joel and Ellie's relationship.
This episode is the first one so far in this series that really feels like the story has gotten going and we are learning everything we already knew about Joel and Ellie (but in the way Pedro and Bella portray them) but we're getting something deeper.
This episode is true to the characters, true to the story, but it goes deeper in a way that was impossible in the game.