Warning: the next article incorporates spoilers for The Last of Us episode 3 ‘Long Long Time.’
Recommended VideosIt’s quite protected to say that for those who had been still at the fence about HBO’s The Last of Us, the stellar third access in the hit television drama has successfully sunk its claws into the holdouts.
The long third episode, titled ‘Long Long Time,’ steers the narrative center of attention clear of Joel and Ellie and their quest to search out the Fireflies, and instead specializes in the tear-jerking love tale between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett.)
Bill and Frank’s arc of discovering love after the world had ended used to be an absolutely beautiful tale, which ended in a sad double suicide as Frank’s well being persisted to go to pot and impact his motor function. By the time the end credits rolled on ‘Long Long Time’, our hearts were collectively broken. Even despite the fact that we spent nearly an entire hour with those characters, it still didn’t really feel like sufficient.
The query lingering on everybody’s mind presently is what exactly is the ailment that brought Frank down? We’re going to damage down everything we know about it as very best we will.
‘Long Long Time’ doesn’t outright inform the audience what illness Frank suffers from, but it surely does offer a number of clues around the nature of the ailment that in the long run ended in Frank opting for to end his life. So, it’s time to play physician and diagnose him in response to what we know.
After the 10-year time skip following the evening that Bill and Frank’s house used to be unsuccessfully raided, we see a noticeably aged Frank the usage of a wheelchair, indicating that he has extremely limited mobility. We also see the motor function in his higher body has deteriorated substantially, along side his ability to paint as noticed obviously in his portrait of Bill. The 3rd clue can be Frank citing that the ailment is incurable.
On HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast, showrunner Craig Mazin confirmed that Frank suffered from a neurodegenerative condition, which was once both more than one sclerosis (MS) or early Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), alternatively he notes that he didn't wish to specify which actual disease it was. While Frank’s speech used to be now not yet impaired, each conditions in the end have an effect on facial nerves and muscle groups, which is possibly why Frank selected to finish his life.
A identical narrative thread was once noticed in Scrubs season seven episode six, titled ‘My Number One Doctor,’ in which an ALS patient named Shannon attempts to self-euthanize whilst they are still able to use their upper extremities.
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