Last night’s The Last of Us episode took us down an emotional roller coaster with the introduction of Bill, a survivalist who barricades an entire part of his town to live in peace. As the episode progresses, he meets Frank, and they both eventually fall in love. We witnessed their stories and it was absolutely beautiful. A master piece of an episode one might say, especially when it comes to introducing characters you might not see again. But was Bill gay in Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us? Let’s find out.
It is implied that Bill is gay
The manner in which Bill discusses his previous partner, Frank, lends credence to the hypothesis that he is homosexual. He claims that even though he used to care for Frank, he eventually came to the conclusion that it was safer for him to go alone since he feared for his life. Which is funny because in episode 3, titled “Long, Long Time,” bill mentions that once, he used to hate the world and he couldn’t care less if everyone died, but that with Frank, he realized it was worth saving one person. This goes along the lines of not being scared of dying, but that with Frank, he was petrified to.
Another hint that Bill is homosexual in the game is the fact that Ellie stole a gay pornographic magazine from Bill’s safe house and then asked Joel, “Why are the pages all glued together?” in jest, further increasing the chance that Bill was gay.
Bill’s Story is Different in The Game
[THIS SECTION INCLUDES THE LAST OF US EPISODE 3 SPOILERS]
Bill is a very paranoid man who also has a quirky personality, which is not very much different than in episode 3. The things that differ, however, aside from the fact that he is incredibly rude and does not get along at all with Ellie, is that Bill does not die alongside Frank in the video game. Instead, Bill discovers that Frank has committed suicide after being bit.
While in trouble and looking for a car battery, both Joel and Bill are able to find their way to a residence, where they may seek safety. Joel inquires as to what the plan is, but Bill rudely informs him that all of their ideas have been scrapped. While they argue, Bill suddenly stops in his tracks. Joel becomes aware that there is a dead body in the room that is hanging from the ceiling. He asks Bill whether he is familiar with the individual. He does; the corpse in question belonged to Bill’s old partner, Frank. After he became infected, he decided to end his life by hanging himself since he did not want to transform into a monster. Bill feels upset over his friend’s passing, despite his best efforts to hide his emotions. In the letter that Joel discovers next to Frank’s corpse, Frank writes that he killed himself because he despises Bill’s guts. Bill is taken aback by this, but he is trying very hard not to let his surprise show on his face. After reading what it said, he promptly got rid of the letter.
Just like in episode 3, Bill is a talented mechanic who is able to fix automobiles and create things from scraps and spare parts using just the materials at his disposal. His backpack is where he takes the most of his gear around with him. The nail bomb that he invented is perhaps the most remarkable example of his tinkering and manufacturing abilities. He makes use of them to construct a number of traps all over his settlement in order to kill diseased people and fend off potential invaders.
In the game, he also says “”Once upon a time I had someone I cared about. It was a partner. Somebody I had to look after. And in this world that sort of shit’s good for one thing: gettin’ ya killed. So, you know what I did? I wisened the fuck up. And I realized it’s gotta be just me.” which is, as we know, entirely different than in episode 3, where he ended his and Frank’s life after Frank asked him to end his since he had an incurable disease and had a very low quality of life.
Check out the entire scene of Bill discovering Frank in The Last of Us’s game.
At least in the show he seemed to be much happier. But what an amazing portrayal of Bill, played by Nick Offerman.
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