August 23, 2023
Behind That 'The Last of Us' Gay Love Story
Emell Adolphus READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Nearly everyone agrees that TV reached a peak with the premiere of "The Last of Us's" third episode, "Long, Long Time."
Starring Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank, the episode tells a nuanced love story between to polar opposite men who have happened to fall in love and are living out the last of world's days together. The episode was lauded because of its tender show of gay love, and now the director of the episode is sharing how he pieced it all together.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, director Peter Hoar said that it was actually directing the Max limited series "It's a Sin" that prepared him for the episode. A moment he said he's been working toward his whole career.
"A show about the impending death of four bright young things in an era of devastation for the queer community–lots of people were thinking, 'Oh, I dunno if I can do this? Can I watch this show?'" said Hoar, who identifies as queer. "But what people weren't expecting is the joy and the color and the laughter."
About the characters in the episode, Hoar said that his intention was to show the connection.
"That was always part of the understanding of those two characters. Visually, when you see that happening in front of you, you go, 'It's never over, there's always a chance I might find that person,'" Hoar said. "There are quite a few young, pretty queer stories around and I'm glad about that, don't get me wrong. I love that. But I think there's also less of the, you know, normal people falling in love–people with bellies and people going gray."
Bravo, Hoar.
