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- Can I first say, "Holy (beep)?"

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The third episode of "The Last of Us"

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was a stunner.

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Unexpected, poignant, beautiful.

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A real announcement that this show

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is truly something special.

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After a few minutes with Joel and Ellie,

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during which we learned
how the virus started,

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a bit more about the world,

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and her love for "Mortal Kombat 2."

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Things flash back to the
start of the outbreak in 2003.

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Here we meet Bill, played
by "Parks and Recreation"

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star Nick Offerman.

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Bill's a survivalist with
plenty of food, guns,

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and booby traps, and he
seems to revel and thrive

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in having the entire town to himself.

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That changes a few years
later when he meets Frank,

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played by "White Lotus"
star Murray Bartlett,

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who falls into one of Bill's traps.

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Now, on shows or movies like this,

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even on this specific show,

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when you meet a mysterious stranger,

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it's almost always a bad thing.

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Genre convention deep in our DNA

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tell us not to trust Frank.

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No good can come of this.

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He's definitely going to harm Bill.

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And yet, the polar opposite happens.

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Bill and Frank fall in love,

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and as the episode goes on,

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spend almost two decades together.

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They live a full, rewarding life,

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proving that you can
find love and happiness

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in the most dire of circumstances.

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It's a beautiful reversal

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of genre conventions that makes
their entire relationship,

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and it's thematic implications,

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that much are more rewarding.

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And yet, though the
episode makes you forget

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for a few minutes with
its whimsy and romance,

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this is, after all, "The Last of Us,"

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and so the end of Bill
and Frank's relationship

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is both romantic, but also brutally sad.

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It then weaves back to Joel and Ellie

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in an equally heartbreaking,
yet impactful way.

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Joel realizes that in Ellie,

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he's found his purpose, a
chance at legacy and love.

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Revelations that all come
to him when he finds out

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about Bill and Frank's relationship.

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Through them, we, and Joel, see that even

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in this evil, messed-up world,
great things are possible.

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Truly, the third episode
of "The Last of Us,"

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was one of the best episodes
of TV in recent memory.

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The way it explored the
show's complex themes

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of relationships and love,

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while also expanding the game's mythology,

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and giving the audience a full scope of

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how the world changed over two decades,

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was incredibly impressive.

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We're not even halfway
through the first season

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of "The Last of Us," and
we have no idea how or if

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there's any way possible
it could top this episode.

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But either way, the season and the series

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is definitely better off for it.

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This is an episode of genre TV

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we'll be talking about for years to come.

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Thanks for watching i09.

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What'd you think about this episode?

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Leave us a comment below.