Episode 3 of The Last of Us was one of the most memorable episodes of any survival series in recent memory due to how wholesome this episode was. That’s because the focus of this episode shifted from Joel and Ellie to two characters that didn’t get a lot of attention in the video games but were given enough screen time in HBO’s adaptation. One of those characters was Bill. So, who is Bill in The Last of Us?
Bill is a survivalist that lives in a small and isolated town called Lincoln. He prepped the town well enough that Bill became the sole living resident of it for years before he met Frank. Bill stocked up enough ammunition, food, and supplies and was able to install a superb security system around the town.
The thing about Bill’s story in HBO’s version of The Last of Us is that it is a lot more wholesome than the one that fans are familiar with in the games. That’s because the story of him and Frank in the live-action series is far different from the one in the video game, as HBO’s version seems to be better. So, with that said, let’s look at who Bill is and what his story is in The Last of Us.
Who Is Bill In The Last Of Us?
Both in the games and the live-action HBO version of The Last of Us, Joel and Ellie came across and met a lot of different people in their journey. One such character that was present in the games and the series is Bill, whose story in the live-action version is a wholesome one that was able to tug the heartstrings of a lot of fans out there. So, who is Bill in The Last of Us?
Introduced in episode 3, Bill was already a doomsday prepper or a survivalist before the events of the Cordyceps Brain Infection (CBI) outbreak as he prepared his home and the surrounding areas well enough to prepare for a possible doomsday scenario. He never trusted the government well enough, and that was the reason why he prepped himself for the coming of an apocalypse. And he did well enough to prepare for the CBI outbreak because he actually lived a better life compared to other people during the pandemic.
When the CBI apocalypse happened, Bill was able to live a somewhat prosperous life in a town called Lincoln. This small town only had one living resident, and that was Bill. That’s because he prepped his home and extended the security system around the small town so that no one would be able to enter it without getting caught in one of his traps. As such, years after the pandemic’s start, he lived with enough supplies and ammunition in Lincoln.
However, a few years into the CBI outbreak, a mysterious man named Frank stumbled upon Lincoln and fell into one of Bill’s traps. The man said that he was on his way to Boston because the Quarantine Zone (QZ) he came from had already fallen. As such, Bill allowed him to go free but was convinced to allow Frank to shower and eat before he made his way to Boston.
After the two shared a nice meal together, they bonded over the piano that was left behind by Bill’s mother before the outbreak. That was when they became instantly attracted to one another, as they shared a passionate kiss and made love. Frank told Bill that he wanted to stay a few more days in Lincoln with him, but he ended up staying indefinitely as they both lived there as romantic life partners.
What Happened To Bill In The Last Of Us?
A few years into living together in Lincoln with Frank, Bill was convinced by his partner that they needed to make a few changes. That was because Frank wanted to have some friends over, as this statement confused Bill. He found out that Frank had been communicating with a woman over the radio as he invited her over to their town for a meal.
That was when we found out that this woman was Tess, as she was with Joel when they visited Lincoln. Take note that this happened more than a decade before the main storyline of The Last of Us. During that fine meal shared between the two duos, Frank took Tess inside their home to tour her. That was when Bill threatened Joel, as it was clear that he didn’t trust him.
But Joel assured Bill that he could trust him and Tess because they weren’t bad people. Joel also proposed a partnership wherein they could both benefit, as Joel noticed that the security system that Bill installed was going to wear out sooner or later and was going to get exploited by rogue people. As such, Bill reluctantly agreed to form a partnership with the smuggling duo, as they enjoyed this business deal for years.
During that time, Bill and Frank lived well enough in Lincoln while trading goods with Joel and Tess. In fact, they traded a few guns for some seeds so that they could grow fruits in Lincoln. However, a few rogue people managed to get into the town, as Bill and Frank chased them off. Bill got injured and told Frank to invite Joel and Tess over because he didn’t want Frank to be alone.
Despite the injury, Bill survived all the way to 2023, as it was now Frank, who was actually dying due to a terminal illness he was suffering from. Frank told Bill that he wanted to have one last day with him and that he wanted that day to go the way he wanted it to. And Bill, while reluctant to do so, agreed to what his partner wanted to happen.
They both enjoyed a nice day out in Lincoln and ended with a well-made dinner. The plan was for Frank to commit suicide by drinking a glass of wine with suicide pills. He also told Bill that the best years he had were the ones he spent with him.
In that regard, Bill also revealed that he had planned to commit suicide with Frank because he thought that his only life purpose was to be with him. So, if Frank were to die, Bill no longer had a purpose in life. As such, the duo went to their bedroom and ended up committing suicide.
What Is Bill’s Role In The Last Of Us?
After the duo committed suicide, Joel and Ellie arrived in Lincoln in the wake of Tess’s heroic sacrifice in the Boston Capitol Building. Joel disabled the security system and went to Bill’s home to search for Bill and Frank.
That was when Ellie found a note where Bill explained that he and Frank had committed suicide. Although Bill said in the note that he never liked Joel, he trusted him enough because they both had people they wanted to protect. And that was why Bill left all of his weapons and supplies to Joel, who took what he needed so that he and Ellie could make their way to Wyoming.
While Bill was helpful to Joel and Ellie in HBO’s The Last of Us by indirectly assisting them in their journey, that wasn’t the same role he had in the games. Bill is still alive in the games and serves as a reluctant ally to Joel and Ellie.
However, the biggest change that HBO introduced to the live-action series was the dynamic between Bill and Frank. In the games, they separated on bad terms because Frank didn’t like the way Bill was running Lincoln. As such, Frank left him and ended up getting infected. And before he died, Frank left a note to Bill, saying how much he hated his guts.
The fact that Bill and Frank loved each other until the very end is the biggest and most wholesome change introduced by HBO’s version of The Last of Us. That’s because fans were allowed to see that love could still prevail in a world where people had already lost all sense of morality and were only interested in their own survival and self-preservation.
And while Bill did indeed die in the live-action version of The Last of Us, he served his purpose when he left Lincoln to Joel and died in peace together with the love of his life.
