In reference to the recent, highly acclaimed episode of the hit show “The Last of Us,” which includes a same-sex relationship and a double-completed suicide, my post seeks to show how even here there are powerful, beautiful themes present that the Christian must acknowledge and celebrate, but that this is the long way by which our culture will be re-evangelized.
[Note: You can tune-in to a conversation on our Voyage Podcast about this controversial episode below]
In a recent episode of the hit HBO Max series “The Last of Us,” based on the video game of the same name, we deviate from the two main characters of the show to provide a side story that expands upon a small character from the game. This episode, titled “Long, Long Time,” has garnered huge positive reactions from fans and critics and is already considered the best episode of the season and one of the best television episodes ever. On the surface, this will give Chrsitians pause for two reasons: the same sex relationship between the two main characters of the episode and (***spoiler alert***) the double suicide they complete at the end. If these red flags have already caused you to decide not to watch the episode, or series, or HBO, or television at all, then this post is actually more for you than anyone else. This is not an appeal for you to watch the episode or series (I know my audience) or to convince and/or explain why the ovation for something that includes morally problematic material is dangerous (again, I know my audience). This post is to explain how there still is beauty to be communicated in in this work, albeit in the distorted way that it was, and in order to see real conversion, one must be willing to highlight that beauty despite its imperfect earthen vessel.
If you are thinking that the overwhelmingly positive response to this episode is simply, or even primarily, because of the scandalous content, you have neither seen the episode nor paid attention to just how very un-scandalous this content is now considered. Showrunners don’t need to lazily introduce a gay character to generate controversy. Not that this doesn’t still happen, but the fact that it has even become a joke online amongst later generations when this is cringely done shows that it does not have the shock value it once did. More importantly there are powerful themes that are present in this episode including personal transformation from callous skepticism to merciful trust, joyful beauty in simplicity, and, most importantly, that sacrifice must be personal in every possible sense. These are themes that every serious Christian must not only laud but also seriously contend with if he or she is going to have a faith that can either move mountains or withstand a zombie apocalypse.
“Long, Long Time” begins with our two main characters, Joel and Ellie, making their way West until they come upon the remains of unfortunate civilians the military was initially transporting. We are left with some question of why exactly these poor souls were executed, but with the complicated view this show has with government and authority, it makes for its own interesting exercise in speculation. This leads to a flashback of 20 years and into the main story of the episode. These same civilians are being escorted from their quaint New England town onto military trucks, except for one man sitting in his fortified basement bunker. Bill is your classic conspiracy theorist survivalist (I’ll refrain from any more controversial adjectives). He’s physically the safest person in the world, but is there a deeper spiritual danger he’s succumbed to, and which the recent post-apocalyptic events have all but confirmed, his myopic isolation. After the military convoy leaves, there is a short montage of him stocking up on every supply in town and fortifying himself in every clever and necessary way, including setting up electric fences and traps for any potential intruder (perfectly, “White Room,” an upbeat classic rock song that is ironically about depression and hopelessness, is playing). It is one of these intruders that Bill encounters and, for some reason never obviously revealed, takes mercy on and welcomes, a welcome that was only meant to be temporary. In the dinner together, there is a moment at the piano where Frank sees Bill in a way Bill perhaps never has been (“this is you!”). It is here where Bill and Frank fall for each other.
The rest of the episode follows their relationship through time jumps that shows their progression as individuals, but also controversially, as a couple. Besides the obvious elements a Christian will recognize as sinful, Bill and Frank share an on-screen kiss, implied sexual activity and a same-sex “wedding” that precedes the aforementioned double suicide, there is more to the episode that one must find. To argue that this episode is nothing more than writers sneaking a “gay love story snuck into a post-apocalyptic zombie drama,” or even a “gay love story snuck into a redemption story” is both overly simplistic and fails to consider the means by which grace can work. One could just as easily argue that Providence was sneaking “an example of sacrifice in a gay love story,” or more profoundly, “an albeit imperfect yet unexpectedly redemptive arc in a gay love story.” Bill makes his life about protecting and serving Frank that requires, especially later in Frank’s illness, incredibly personal, attentive and thoughtful self-sacrifice that any Christian could learn from. I would ask, after watching the episode, was Bill more likely to accept the grace of a relationship with God at the beginning of the episode or at the end? Even while recognizing all of the disorder in homosexual actions and inclinations, the Church highlights the role of “friendship” in one’s approach to “Christian perfection” (CCC 2359). Aside from the problematic elements, there were moments of real, sacrificial friendship that truly oriented Bill’s heart outside of himself. Could (and should) this have happened chastely? Of course. If the more important movement is one from a hardened, cold heart to one open to the possibility of any real grace and charity, the means by which all of us are saved, it seems at least possible that an imperfect relationship could be used to do that.
There were certainly sins committed in the context of the story. There is one thing I find indefensible, which is when Frank in his illness says to Bill, “do you love me?…then love me the way I want you to” in order to convince Bill to euthanize him. Even one in favor of the “death with dignity” movement can hopefully see the danger in the emotional manipulation involved here. But even this does not negate the real possibility, not guarantee, of a redemptive arc that no one expects. This is where representation truly matters, not because I am arguing for a gay person being “saved,” but that God can crack the armor, ever so slightly, of a person who is completely isolated from all semblance of relationship (Bill’s letter stated “I hated the world…”), even if only to one, and an imperfect one at that. Lest you think this is all a sophisticated hand waving to excuse everything this episode celebrates, then the point is still being lost. In fact, the themes I mentioned above, mercy, trust, simplicity and sacrifice, are all present independent of the problematic material, which shows that one who seeks to connect with the culture about its relevant works need not call evil good and good evil. When Frank said, “Paying attention to things, it’s how we show love,” one cannot help but hear the words of the Louis Lavelle, Catholic existentialist philosopher and precursor to the personalism of Pope St. John Paul II, when he said “charity…is pure attention to the existence of another person.” This is not the canonization of Bill, Frank or The Last of Us, but this episode is just one of many examples of how, what the world meant for evil God can, and ultimately will, bring about for good.
I titled this post “Be Willing to Take ‘A Long Long Time’” because that is the approach a re-evangelization of the culture is going to require. Not only time, but patience and creativity. If someone asks if you’ve watched the episode or if you liked it, be specific about the good things that can be found without it becoming a sermon of what is wrong with it. This is not and will not be interpreted as an endorsement for same-sex marriage or euthanasia. In fact, if you are able to recognize and acknowledge these specific transcendent goods, it will show you think and care deeply about the art that is affecting people now and your opinion will likely be sought in the future about other works of culture. This will allow you to have a further impact, opening the door for organic opportunities to recommend works with a higher degree of artistic merit that is more faithful to the moral and metaphysical Good more closely reflected in the Church.
Mike Schramm teaches theology and philosophy at the high school and college level in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He earned his MA in theology from St. Joseph's College in Maine and an MA in philosophy from Holy Apostles College. He co-hosts the Voyage Podcast with Jacob Klatte.