The Last of Us was one of the best shows of the past year, and the episode “Long, Long Time” was among its best episodes. Now, out director Peter Hoar is opening up about what went into directing it.
In “Long, Long Time,” Emmy nominees Nick Offerman (Bill) and Murray Bartlett (Frank) guest starred as two survivors of the zombie apocalypse who meet each other and slowly fall in love. It was praised as one of the best TV episodes in years and a groundbreaking gay romance.
Hoar, who has now been nominated for an Emmy for his direction on the episode, talked to Deadline about the love story between the two main characters, and the decision to not show their dead bodies.
“I didn’t certainly set out to tell a story that would make the world cry uncontrollably,” he told Deadline about the episode. “But I did.”
He even said that at times, he tried to give notes to the actors to cry less, but the story demanded otherwise.
“I said, maybe this is the scene where we don’t cry,” he said of a note he gave Bartlett in one scene between his character and Bill. “It was impossible because Bill was so passionate and in the moment saying to his love Frank, that he was his purpose. And Murray was like, ‘I can’t do it. Look at him, I can’t do it. He’s just so beautiful and human. I just can’t hold it in.’”
He also told Deadline about the decision to end the episode showing Bill and Frank’s house, and not their dead bodies.
“Well, that was always on the page, never to show the dead bodies,” he said. “It’s also something we discussed as a group at the very beginning. It’s not gratuitous. I think what EP Neil Druckmann would probably say is that the world of The Last of Us is a very brutal one. And in a brutal world, people are gonna get hurt and people are gonna experience horrendous trauma to their bodies and their minds. I think Craig thought we just didn’t need it. It wasn’t necessary.”
The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards will air on January 15, 2024, having been delayed because of the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes. The Last of Us is available to stream on Max.