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https://nerdist.com/article/the-last-of-us-bill-frank-story-nick-offerman-murray-bartlett/
The Last of Us’s third episode was a triumph unto itself. You could know nothing about the show or its world and Bill and Frank’s romance still works as a moving, self-contained tale about the power of love even in the face of annihilation. But while their time together came to an end just as Joel and Ellie’s is beginning, the couple’s relationship will frame the entire series going forward. Their partnership will serve as the inspiration for Joel to risk everything for a girl he doesn’t even know. And the desire to protect one single person might be what it takes to protect everyone.
Anyway, I never liked you. But still, it’s like we’re friends. Almost. And I respect you, so I’m gonna tell you something because you’re probably the only person who will understand: I used to hate the world and I was happy when everyone died.
With all apologies to Ellie, Bill was not a genius. Bill was a scared man, scared of being who he really was and of everyone around him. He didn’t prep for the apocalypse because he thought it might arrive one day. He prepped for the apocalypse because he hoped it would. And when it did he was content to spend his remaining time in solitude. But then Frank fell into one of his traps.
You could spend thousands and thousands of words talking about what happened during this episode and not come close to discussing everything that made it special. Bill and Frank’s 16 years together, told a lifetime of stories, both about each man and their relationship. With incredible writing, filmmaking, and performances it also explored universal ideas of self-acceptance, personal growth, and opening up our hearts to others. But the most important idea for The Last of Us—the one that will carry forward on a show set in a wasteland so miserable that giving up is not only defensible but possible correct—is one of purpose.
After he downed his own glass of fatal wine, Bill told Frank why he was joining his love on a journey to their next life. “This isn’t the tragic suicide at the end of the play,” Bill said. “I’m old. I’m satisfied. And you were my purpose.”
It was a beautiful ending to a beautiful partnership that served as a powerful reminder that no matter how bad things gets the best of us can still endure. But the duo’s love did not die with them. In fact, it might one day save the world. Without knowing it, Bill’s goodbye letter pushed Joel to do something far bigger and more important than himself.
But I was wrong, because there was one person worth saving. That’s what I did. I saved him. Then I protected him. That’s why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do, and God help any mother fuckers who stand in our way. I leave all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep…
Bill thought he was telling Joel to keep Tess safe. She had been Joel’s purpose, his reason for going on and fighting through the darkness (both his own and the world’s). Now she’s gone, along with his only friends. All that remains for a grieving dad is a brother who left him behind. That is assuming Tommy isn’t dead already.
Joel wants to go looking for Tommy anyway. Tommy is family. But bringing along a little girl who know nothing of the dangers outside Boston’s Quarantine Zone seems exactly like the type of thing Joel would never do. As Tess said about them both, Joel is not a good person. He’s done horrible things he won’t speak of. And it was just a couple days ago when he argued for putting a bullet in Ellie’s head or turning her over to FEDRA who certainly kill her. Yet now he’s going to protect her against unimaginable threats across a country filled with monsters both human and literal. Why? Why is a bad person going to risk that for her?
Because Bill showed him why it’s a job worth doing. It’s really the only purpose any of us have and one we can all do in our own ways. Bill did that the best way he could, just as Frank did the same for Bill in his own way. One kept them fed and safe from danger. The other kept their hearts open when everything around them demanded they close them.
Now Ellie needs protection. If Joel won’t do it who will? Who he even can? He knows the answer. He knows Bill was right about why men like them are here. It’s the same reason people like Frank and Tess exist, because others need them.
But it’s not just Ellie who needs Joel, it’s everyone. She might be humanity’s only chance to save itself. Without the hope she represents for a cure Cordyceps will ultimately win. When that happens no one—not even a prepper who locked himself away from the outside world long before the world ended—will be safe.
The Last of Us’s story of two men who fell in love and saved one another was gorgeous entirely on its own. If they had never met Joel they would still have served a purpose on the show, a reminder that even during the worst of times the best of us can survive. But they did meet Joel, and everything they shared together will carry forward with him and his purpose. Just as they each saved one person, Joel can save Ellie. And if he does, it will mean Bill and Frank’s love saved the entire world even after they left it.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
The post The Story of Bill and Frank in THE LAST OF US Is So Much Bigger Than Them appeared first on Nerdist.
The Last of Us’s third episode was a triumph unto itself. You could know nothing about the show or its world and Bill and Frank’s romance still works as a moving, self-contained tale about the power of love even in the face of annihilation. But while their time together came to an end just as Joel and Ellie’s is beginning, the couple’s relationship will frame the entire series going forward. Their partnership will serve as the inspiration for Joel to risk everything for a girl he doesn’t even know. And the desire to protect one single person might be what it takes to protect everyone.
Anyway, I never liked you. But still, it’s like we’re friends. Almost. And I respect you, so I’m gonna tell you something because you’re probably the only person who will understand: I used to hate the world and I was happy when everyone died.
With all apologies to Ellie, Bill was not a genius. Bill was a scared man, scared of being who he really was and of everyone around him. He didn’t prep for the apocalypse because he thought it might arrive one day. He prepped for the apocalypse because he hoped it would. And when it did he was content to spend his remaining time in solitude. But then Frank fell into one of his traps.
You could spend thousands and thousands of words talking about what happened during this episode and not come close to discussing everything that made it special. Bill and Frank’s 16 years together, told a lifetime of stories, both about each man and their relationship. With incredible writing, filmmaking, and performances it also explored universal ideas of self-acceptance, personal growth, and opening up our hearts to others. But the most important idea for The Last of Us—the one that will carry forward on a show set in a wasteland so miserable that giving up is not only defensible but possible correct—is one of purpose.
After he downed his own glass of fatal wine, Bill told Frank why he was joining his love on a journey to their next life. “This isn’t the tragic suicide at the end of the play,” Bill said. “I’m old. I’m satisfied. And you were my purpose.”
It was a beautiful ending to a beautiful partnership that served as a powerful reminder that no matter how bad things gets the best of us can still endure. But the duo’s love did not die with them. In fact, it might one day save the world. Without knowing it, Bill’s goodbye letter pushed Joel to do something far bigger and more important than himself.
But I was wrong, because there was one person worth saving. That’s what I did. I saved him. Then I protected him. That’s why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do, and God help any mother fuckers who stand in our way. I leave all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep…
Bill thought he was telling Joel to keep Tess safe. She had been Joel’s purpose, his reason for going on and fighting through the darkness (both his own and the world’s). Now she’s gone, along with his only friends. All that remains for a grieving dad is a brother who left him behind. That is assuming Tommy isn’t dead already.
Joel wants to go looking for Tommy anyway. Tommy is family. But bringing along a little girl who know nothing of the dangers outside Boston’s Quarantine Zone seems exactly like the type of thing Joel would never do. As Tess said about them both, Joel is not a good person. He’s done horrible things he won’t speak of. And it was just a couple days ago when he argued for putting a bullet in Ellie’s head or turning her over to FEDRA who certainly kill her. Yet now he’s going to protect her against unimaginable threats across a country filled with monsters both human and literal. Why? Why is a bad person going to risk that for her?
Because Bill showed him why it’s a job worth doing. It’s really the only purpose any of us have and one we can all do in our own ways. Bill did that the best way he could, just as Frank did the same for Bill in his own way. One kept them fed and safe from danger. The other kept their hearts open when everything around them demanded they close them.
Now Ellie needs protection. If Joel won’t do it who will? Who he even can? He knows the answer. He knows Bill was right about why men like them are here. It’s the same reason people like Frank and Tess exist, because others need them.
But it’s not just Ellie who needs Joel, it’s everyone. She might be humanity’s only chance to save itself. Without the hope she represents for a cure Cordyceps will ultimately win. When that happens no one—not even a prepper who locked himself away from the outside world long before the world ended—will be safe.
The Last of Us’s story of two men who fell in love and saved one another was gorgeous entirely on its own. If they had never met Joel they would still have served a purpose on the show, a reminder that even during the worst of times the best of us can survive. But they did meet Joel, and everything they shared together will carry forward with him and his purpose. Just as they each saved one person, Joel can save Ellie. And if he does, it will mean Bill and Frank’s love saved the entire world even after they left it.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
The post The Story of Bill and Frank in THE LAST OF US Is So Much Bigger Than Them appeared first on Nerdist.
Nearly 15 years ago, we got the first iteration of the revolutionary Dead Space. And now, in 2023, fans of the franchise finally got a proper remake of the game. The Dead Space remake promised all the gory fun of the original but with updated graphics, a more involved narrative, and an increase in strategy. In addition to all of that, the Dead Space remake features a secret ending. But this alternate ending is exciting for more reasons than just the joy of additional footage. It helps brings Dead Space and Dead Space 2 together… And possibly hints there is more remaking on the horizon.
Let’s take a look at the Dead Space secret ending itself.
The components of this ending are similar to the original Dead Space ending. There’s Isaac, his lost love, and a ship. In the original ending, Isaac Clarke contends with the idea that the woman he had come searching for, Dr. Nicole Brennan, could never have been saved by him. Nicole was, in fact, dead the whole time Isaac was on the USG Ishimura. Instead, The Markers, alien obelisks that seek to infect living things and turn them into Necromorphs, zombie-like corpse beings, were responsible for the hallucinations of Nicole that Isaac experiences throughout the game.
Isaac seems to come to terms with Nicole’s death, understanding it be reality, but one final hallucination takes him, and a Necromorph version of Nicole attacks him. The ending is undoubtedly thrilling, but it doesn’t do very much to set up the future of the Dead Space world.
That’s where the alternate ending comes in. In it, we see Isaac sink to an even greater hallucinatory state. In a place of seeming delirious joy, he enters his ship, which is covered in Marker symbols. Even worse, these symbols seem like they were painted in blood. He tells a mutated version of Nicole that he has to “build a little something.” The two of them embrace to culminate their twisted exchange that hints at no good to come, and the secret ending of Dead Space concludes.
And, in fact, no good is to come. Those who play Dead Space 2 will know that Isaac himself brings a new Necromorph infestation to the Sprawl. And the “little something” he builds is actually a new Marker. The secret ending of the Dead Space remake reveals that the Markers had infected Isaac deeply throughout the game, eventually turning him into its infection-spreading puppet. It’s a clever bridge between the two parts of the franchise. Not to mention, to unlock the secret ending, those playing the Dead Space remake must collect 12 Marker fragments from various locations. Fragments that Isaac will perhaps use to put together a new Marker in the future?
Of course, a secret ending signposting to Dead Space 2 could have an even deeper meaning. It certainly feels like it hints that more remake-fun is on the way in the Dead Space world. We guess we’ll have to stay tuned to find out.
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The post The DEAD SPACE Remake Secret Ending Fills in Some Franchise Blanks appeared first on Nerdist.
The Journey to Bread and Butter
When Netflix advertised Pressure Cooker to me, I thought they were just goading my reality cooking competition interests out. “Sure, I’ll give in to a little hot sauce on my Friday afternoon,” I ignorantly thought to myself. I assumed this will be a culinary competition like usual. I occasionally disagree with the judges, I hear a bit of drama from competitors, I get some inspiration for my own dishes, and call it a day. Pressure Cooker showed me the world behind the reality cooking competition I thought always existed but was edited out for family friendly viewers.
I’ve been telling every Black person I know to watch Pressure Cooker whether they are into reality competition cooking shows or not. The kitchen, where taste buds and technique reign supreme, falls into anti-Blackness and complicity as if by magic. Pressure Cooker is a brilliant format for a reality cooking show because it showcases the industry’s problem by taking out the middle man. It lets the environment create itself. It shapes the barricades and within minutes marginalization peaks its head. What could be resolved in more diverse casting, becomes a clear lesson of what we experience regularly.
Pressure Rising
I started Pressure Cooker with my partner one Saturday evening over dinner, expecting the regular. We root for everybody Black, and I judge people’s culinary decisions under pressure. The first competition required the contestants to make a dish for everyone within 90 minutes. Since every competitor is also a judge, everything from what type of dish you make, to the comments you make on other people’s dishes is part of the game. The balance between a social and craft is essential. Competitors rate the dish from most to least liked. The producers tally the results to choose the bottom scorers. From there your peers vote on who gets to stay.
I immediately froze. Everything I know about moving through corporate and the entertainment industry came flooding to me. You mean to tell me y’all just made a game about navigating whiteness but made it a cooking competition too? We already have navigating whiteness while stranded on an island: it’s called Survivor. Four people of color in a predominantly white peer group where your peers decide whether you are worthy of getting $100,000? I stared at the screen and told my partner “there will be a split in the house.”
No matter how much I wanted it to be, this will not be based in skill alone. I wanted to believe that every person of color would be safe as long as they performed their best. I knew I would be wrong, I prayed anyway.
The Heating Element
I immediately took a liking to Chef Renee Blackman. Blackman is an Afro-Caribbean chef who became a top contender in Pressure Cooker the moment she won the first competition of the season. Renee Blackman, Lana Lagomarsini, and Ed Porter were the top three and safe from elimination. I can live with that, I thought.
But the first red flag started waving during the first team challenge. The house was split in two. The goal was to create a cohesive menu highlighting different flavor profiles (sweet, salty, umami, sour, and bitter). Since Renee and Lana were the top two in the last challenge, they became the team leaders. While the teams were cooking, I noticed Sergei disrespecting Renee’s leadership. He was straddling the fine line between peer critique and advising. From trying to tell Renee about when she adds her ingredients to advising Christan’s plating a team effort transformed into taking charge. When there is a designated team leader, trying to chalk up “taking the lead” because of their personality doesn’t help the goal.
This often happens to people of color, particularly Black women in various industries. Black women, are not often placed in positions of power, and when they are, it’s subliminally stripped away from white people who’ve been privileged enough to see themselves as leaders. They would become bossy or give “passive aggressive” suggestions that go against the leader’s goal.
Roughly 16% of all head chefs are Black. The subtlety of mistrust, the belief that you know better, and acting upon that upholds marginalization in the same way institutions have for generations.
The Sauce is Simmering
Renee (Captain of the Yellow Team) nominated Christan and Brian for elimination. Christan, made a bitter green salad, where the critique from the judge was that it didn’t have enough bitter notes. Brian made a panna cotta. Though his flavors were applauded by Liv, it faulted in technicality because it did not set. Throughout the challenge Brian reassured that everything was handled. This was not the first time Brian’s dish faulted on technicality. Brian is a big risk taker, but those risks on both occasions fell through.
The second red flag hit immediately. Who do you allow to stay? The argument for bigger risk harder fall, or low risk, faulty follow through. I want to believe that consistency is rewarded. What broke my heart is that I knew Christan was leaving before the plotting began. Who becomes easier to discard? I tried to chalk it up to a game move. You take out the potentially bigger target in hopes of bettering your odds. But as the game went on, it became interesting to see who was always in danger.
Who was targeted in the confessional? By the time Jeana made her rounds with Christan, I already knew who would be next. Christan, Ed, Lana. People of color are given less chances for redemption when they fail but are not highly regarded when they succeed. Everyone was telling Christan she was okay, but Jeana was rallying in secret to get her eliminated. Why was this able to happen more than once?
When Lana was on a team with Jeana, Caroline, and Sergei who did they think was worth saving?
Release the Pressure
Lack of consistency should have had Jeana on the block multiple times. Bottom three in the first challenge, negative remarks on the second. Lana placed on the top consistently but when the moment came where she can be discarded, it happened. People of color experience this often in the industry where a moment of vulnerability gets them eliminated. Sometimes the most interesting thing about complicity is that it’s easier to mask. Sometimes complicity looks like watching something happen and the justifications are magically lined up. Manipulation in a way that almost looks reasonable. It looks like betrayal with perfect excuse.
I wanted to believe that every person of color in Pressure Cooker would be safe as long as they were consistent. But how can you show off consistency when your colleagues already set it out that they need to get rid of you. It’s a similar feeling across industries, where you’re remarkable but feel expendable. Understanding who is able to succeed in spite of. In Pressure Cooker, your peers decide who gets an upper hand. Your peers decide who fail. When you lack representation among your peers, it’s easier to be seen as forgotten, or a tool for someone else’s rise.
The Power of Community
When it was time for Ed and Brian’s face-off for elimination, I believe the anonymity of the dishes played a part in Ed’s survival. Both dishes, looked remarkable. Ed was going through some issues in his preparation and forgot something for his dish entirely. Confessional proved to be skewed to keep Brian for manipulative reasons. Jeana assumed that the more rustic dish was Ed’s and turned still when Brian was the one eliminated.
Everything can be led up to devious planning. At the same time, these are the same movements people have utilized in corporate settings and everyday occurrences. A gaslight, wondering if you’re the crazy one. Thinking you’re safe by teaming up with them, sharing a common goal. But a common goal is not the requirement. A common goal becomes the excuse when people of color cannot live up to a standard. It is why we’re not often offered the ability to be in power. It eliminates the need.
The house split had layers of deceit. Obvious game play, but another thing that reigned clear throughout the series. Pressure Cooker, though a brilliant format for a reality cooking show only revealed what people of color have to deal with on a daily basis. Fighting to be respected in an industry whose peers appreciate the flavors of the offering, but not the chefs themselves. If there is anything that reality competition shows reveal, is that some things are not overt. It’s hidden, yet persevering in all forms. It divides and creates discomfort in a way that might make you feel gas-lit for pointing it out, but it makes itself known in all corners.
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The post ‘Pressure Cooker:’ A Look at Marginalization in the Industry appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.