"Long, Long Time" is the third episode of the first season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series The Last of Us. Written by series co-creator Craig Mazin and directed by Peter Hoar, it aired on HBO on January 29, 2023. In the episode, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) travel to Lincoln, Massachusetts, to find Bill (Nick Offerman). Flashbacks follow Bill over twenty years as he survives in his town and meets his partner Frank (Murray Bartlett). The episode's title is taken from the 1970 song by Linda Ronstadt, which plays an important role in Bill and Frank's relationship.

Mazin wanted to expand on Bill's story from the video game; he felt it allowed a deeper look at love, happiness, and the passage of time. Filming for the episode took place in the former Beachwood area of High River, Alberta, in September 2021; production designer John Paino and his team constructed the town of Lincoln in around six to twelve weeks. Critics overwhelmingly considered the episode the season's best, with Offerman and Bartlett's performances, Mazin's writing, and Hoar's direction receiving particular praise. It was watched by 6.4 million viewers on its first day. The episode received several awards, including Hoar for Outstanding Directing at the Directors Guild of America Awards and Offerman for Outstanding Guest Actor at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, for which Bartlett was also nominated.

Plot Traveling on foot to Lincoln, Massachusetts, Joel searches for his stashed provisions while Ellie enters the basement and stabs a trapped infected to death. Encountering a mass grave, Joel explains the military culled some survivors to conserve food and living space.

Twenty years earlier, in Lincoln, Bill monitors the evacuation from an underground bunker after the outbreak. He ransacks abandoned businesses for supplies and materials to build a generator, electric fence, and traps. Four years later, he encounters Frank who bargains for a hot meal, shower, and fresh clothes. They play "Long Long Time" on the piano. Frank deduces Bill has never had a romantic partner. He kisses Bill and they sleep together. Three years later, Frank invites Tess and Joel to establish a smuggling operation. Joel convinces Bill to accept Frank's plan by pointing out deficiencies in the town's defenses they can help fix. Later, raiders attempt to infiltrate the town, injuring Bill before being repelled by his defenses.

Ten years later, Bill and Frank are elderly. Frank has a degenerative disease which leaves him with limited mobility. He asks Bill to help him die. Bill takes Frank to dress in new suits and they marry in their living room. After dinner, Bill places a lethal dose of sleeping tablets in Frank's wine and reveals he spiked his own drink as well, admitting he has no desire to live without Frank. They retire to their room.

Several weeks later, Joel and Ellie reach Lincoln. Ellie finds a letter from Bill addressed to Joel, leaving him his truck, weapons, and any supplies he needs. In the letter, Bill describes how protecting and caring for Frank gave him a purpose, and that both he and Joel have a mission to save and protect the worthy. When Joel realizes Bill was referring to Tess, he becomes emotional. He and Ellie agree to travel to Wyoming in Bill's truck to find Tommy who may be able to help transport Ellie to the Fireflies. Joel sets new rules for Ellie: neither of them is to bring up Tess or their histories, Ellie is to keep her condition a secret, and she has to follow Joel's orders. They stockpile from Bill's stash. Unbeknownst to Joel, Ellie finds a gun and hides it in her backpack. The two drive away with "Long Long Time" playing on cassette.

Production Conception and writing

"Long, Long Time" was written by The Last of Us series co-creator Craig Mazin and directed by Peter Hoar. The Directors Guild of Canada revealed Hoar was assigned to direct an episode in July 2021. Hoar had played The Last of Us (2013), the video game on which the series is based, but not its sequel The Last of Us Part II (2020). He "dreamed about being part of" the series after it was announced, and was contacted by executive producer Rose Lam about directing an episode. Rotten Tomatoes revealed the episode's title in December 2022. Mazin wanted the episode to be "a break from fear" of the previous episodes, exploring hopefulness without the constant threat of danger. Mazin mapped out Bill's area and researched how long natural gas would last in his setup. His original script was "quite a bit longer" than the final episode. Hoar's original version was around 77 minutes long; he cut it down to 72 but Mazin insisted they reinsert some elements, resulting in the final 75-minute runtime. Hoar felt a 59-minute episode would have failed. Deadline published Mazin's script in May 2023, considering it among the year's ten best drama episodes.

Mazin approached series co-creator Neil Druckmann, who wrote and co-directed the video game, with the idea of expanding Bill and Frank's story from the games; he felt Bill's inclusion in the game was built around gameplay whereas the television series would allow a deeper look at the character. Druckmann approved as he felt it improved the overall series narrative; he considered a positive relationship a smart inclusion as the series already featured several examples of dark outcomes. He found the game's version of events—wherein Bill saves Joel's life in the present and Frank is already dead—would have been too boring as a television episode without player agency, and likewise the show's story lacked the action sequences required for gameplay. Mazin enjoyed the ability to demonstrate the passage of time and the events within the first 20 years of the outbreak, which was not featured in the games. He considered the episode an opportunity to show that happiness and peace was still achievable; he wanted the episode to explore the dichotomy of loving someone—a recurring theme in the series—and how love manifests in the post-apocalypse.

The episode intentionally avoids specifying Frank's degenerative illness; Mazin said it was either multiple sclerosis or early ALS. One of Bill's lines—"This isn't the tragic suicide at the end of the play"—was inspired by Mart Crowley's play The Boys in the Band (1968); Mazin wanted to avoid the trope of equating homosexuality with tragedy. The final shot of the open window was a reference to the game's title screen. Mazin and Druckmann had envisioned each episode's HBO Max page opening on a unique window shot before the episode started, akin to a title screen, and the final shot was framed to match this; while the idea was later scrapped, the shot remained in the episode. Mazin felt it implied promise and loss, while signifying Bill and Frank were at peace with each other. Hoar felt the shot allowed one final moment with Bill and Frank. Murray Bartlett (who portrays Frank) considered it romantic and Nick Offerman (Bill) found it emotional; Mazin considered it a happy ending. Druckmann considered Bill's suicide note a reminder of Joel's failure at protecting his daughter Sarah and partner Tess in the two preceding episodes.

Casting and characters Bartlett and Con O'Neill's casting as Frank and Bill was announced on July 15, 2021. Bartlett was unfamiliar with the source material but was drawn to the show after he read the script. He researched the game after receiving the role and found it cinematic, citing the characters, narrative, and themes. According to Mazin, the producers cried during Bartlett's audition. Druckmann expected some fans to be upset by Frank's inclusion in the show due to the divergence from the game's narrative. On December 5, Bartlett claimed Nick Offerman would appear on the show in a role close to his; two days later, Offerman was announced to be playing Bill, replacing O'Neill who was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with Our Flag Means Death. Mazin wanted gay men to play Frank and Bill, but after O'Neill's departure, he was drawn to casting Offerman at the suggestion of executive producer Carolyn Strauss.

Mazin felt inspired to cast a comedic actor like Offerman because "funny people have soul", a mantra he learned from Vince Gilligan, citing performances like Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad and Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul. A scheduling conflict originally prohibited Offerman from accepting the role but he decided to take it after his wife Megan Mullally read the script; he felt attached to the material and found a kinship with Bill due to his experience in crafting. Hoar, executive producer Evan Wells, and co-executive producer Jacqueline Lesko met Offerman and Bartlett and had dinner before production to better understand the characters. Offerman was cleanshaven with short hair when he began working on the show; the production team decided to add long hair and a beard to demonstrate Bill's inability to express himself. Bill's first line in the episode—"Not today you New World Order jack-booted fucks"—was originally written as a description but Offerman insisted on saying it aloud. Offerman selected some of the books and videos to place in Bill's entertainment area.

A singing coach helped Offerman and Bartlett prepare for the piano performances; Bartlett was specifically coached to sing worse. Offerman rehearsed the song with Mullally, a singer. Cinematographer Eben Bolter recalled seeing Offerman's hands shaking between takes of the performance. Mazin and Offerman—both heterosexual—sought advice and approval from gay men involved in the production, including Bartlett, Hoar, editor Timothy A. Good, and unit production manager Cecil O'Connor. Mazin ultimately considered their age more important than their sexuality as he wanted to explore a long, committed relationship; having been married for 27 years, he understood "there's a different kind of love" in long-term partnerships. Mazin felt Offerman's inexperience in playing gay men added to the role, as Bill is similarly inexperienced in exploring his sexuality. Offerman considered the role important as he hoped the representation helped to "break down [the] walls" of gender stereotypes. In the sex scene, Offerman found Bill's discomfort "easy to channel" due to the crew members watching on set.

Music

Mazin wanted Bill and Frank to initially connect through a song about lonely heartache and "making your peace with the fact that you will always be alone". Struggling to find a song, he spoke to his friend Seth Rudetsky in February 2021, requesting a show tune like "I Miss the Music" from the musical Curtains (2006). Rudetsky suggested "Her Face" from Carnival! (1961), which Mazin felt was "perfect". After discovering the scenario involved a closeted man singing to an openly gay man, Rudetsky suggested Linda Ronstadt's "Long Long Time", written by Gary White; he felt the lyrics represented the lack of acknowledgement from one's love. Rudetsky received a consultancy credit for the episode. The song exhibits themes of unfulfilled love and how time heals wounds. The moment with Frank at the piano marks the beginning of profound change for Bill, who finds himself in an unexpected long-term, loving relationship that eventually sees him care for another individual. Bill and Frank's relationship is echoed in the lyrics: