"It needed to be": The Last Of Us showrunners tease 'gorgeous' Bill & Frank moments from Season 2

The Last Of Us Season 2 is just a few weeks away, and promotion for the series is in full swing. The first episode of Season 2, titled "Future Days", is scheduled to air on HBO on April 13, 2025. Meanwhile, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann (the latter has also co-created the game) recently presided over a press conference in Los Angeles, where they created excitement by revealing that one episode of Season 2 is inspired by Long, Long Time.

For the uninitiated, Long, Long Time is the title of the third episode of the first season of The Last Of Us. The episode focuses on Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), as they spend their lives together in a quaint town. It was a bottled episode that had little to do with the main plot. Despite that, it is regarded as one of Season 1's best episodes.

Mazin mentioning the episode has fans excited for the upcoming season. His exact words were:

"One thing that Neil and I talked about was just making sure that we didn't just say, "Oh, that Bill and Frank episode. People really like that. Let's do a very special episode of The Last of Us Season 2." It just has to happen as it happens. But I will say that there is a gorgeous episode this season directed by Neil that is different than [anything else]. It's not Bill and Frank, but it is, in its own way, its own thing. Because it needed to be. And just you wait. Just you wait."

Neil Druckmann said:

"There's a lot of those moments throughout the season. Like every episode has those moments interwoven."

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What do Mazin's comments mean for The Last of Us Season 2?

The Last of Us Season 1 episode titled Long, Long Time does make some changes from the games as Bill in the game is still alive and all alone, and the show's Bill chooses to die with the love of his life, Frank. Despite this change, it is considered one of the series's best episodes. Furthermore, some people who played the game also forgot Bill's storyline in the game, and mixed it with the show's storyline.

Thus, Craig Mazin's comments seem to promise fans that the new season, while being faithful to the popular games, won't shy away from making some necessary changes to suit the sensibilities of a completely different medium. Plus, Season 2 will adapt 2020's The Last of Us Part II, a darker game.

So, Mazin's comments have fans looking forward to the Neil Druckmann-directed episode that might serve as a respite to a darker season.

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The first episode of The Last Of Us Season 2, "Future Days", will air on HBO on April 13, 2025.