I cannot ignore a truly epic love story! There have been many over the years and I can clearly remember the highlights in my head, Dirty Dancing, Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, Titanic, the list goes on. When Dirty Dancing came out in 1987, I was 12 and I wanted to see it so bad, however the parental units were not enthusiastic. My mom eventually gave in and let me watch it with her and my god, I have seen that movie over a 100 times! I know every line, every scene, every song by heart. At the time I thought it was the most romantic thing I had ever seen, and I still cry whenever I watch it. Then in 1989 Say Anything was released and I was head over heels for John Cusack. I had dreams that a boy would come to my house and stand under my window with his jambox playing In Your Eyes every night. I have also seen Say Anything over a 100 times and I still cry when he leaves with her at the end.
Jerry Maguire came out in 1996 with Tom Cruise in his prime (before Scientology ruined him forever). I wanted to see that film so badly I went by myself and literally cried my eyes out, the “You complete me.” line is killer. Then in 1997 the ultimate romantic film, Titanic, came out. I went to it in the theatre with Brett (3 hours!) and was completely overwhelmed by the story. So romantic, young true love, love to die for, it was almost too much. I remember that the girl that was sitting in front of us at the theatre had a complete and total breakdown and when the movie was over, her very uncomfortable boyfriend did not know what to do. As we got up to leave, he was awkwardly patting her shoulder while she bawled. I managed to control myself until we reached the car but Brett may say different.
This may shock you but I have never seen The Notebook which I have heard is super romantic but I did see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Moulin Rouge which I loved! Two totally different but equally romantic movies. As I have gotten older my cynicism has led to less and less romance movies to be enjoyed. Imagine my surprise at finding the most compelling, romantic and devastating love story ever told in the apocalyptic television series The Last of Us.
If you have not heard of The Last of Us, you must have spent the last few years asleep. The Last of Us is a video game that came out in 2013 that my husband particularly loved and played constantly. The game follows Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States. The television series was picked up by HBO and is set twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection that causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society. The television series came out in January 2023 with 9 hour long episodes. Everything you could want from television was here, high-stakes drama, emotional depth, wit romance and tons of heart.
Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie are the main characters and they are perfect for their roles. In Episode 3 the television series veered away from the typical apocalypse story and became what, in my opinion, is the most romantic and touching hour of television I have ever seen!
Most of the episode is about a man named Bill, played by Nick Offerman (from Parks & Recreation, an excellent television show). In the video game he is a minor character that is not fully explored but the television series spends most of the episode on it. The episode flashes back 20 years to 2003 at the start of the pandemic. Bill was a sort of doomsday prepper and survivalist living in a small town with video cameras surrounding his home, gas masks, and a basement full of food and weapons. They show him scavenging for supplies, making zombie traps, making his own electric grid, etc. It is a lonely life as he has become a community of one, a man finally justified in his dim view of humanity. These lonely years last for four years until a man named Frank (played by Murray Bartlett) stumbles into one of Bills traps and the story unfolds.
I am not going to go into the details of their love story, you just have to watch this standalone episode yourself but the controversy about this love story simply stems from the fact that the two characters are gay men. As a heterosexual woman I found this episode to be one of the most moving, achingly beautiful and relatable stories I have ever seen. It didn’t feel like someone else’s story, I felt this was a story anyone could empathize with, I felt like it could be my love story. The other central message to this episode is to never give up your sense of hope even in the worst of times. The episode covers their relationship over a 20-year span and it reinforces why surviving is less important than living.
In the end these amazing people must end their lives together and it is truly heartbreaking. I don’t know how exactly to make a reader understand how touching, universal and just beautiful this story is. Yes, it is two men that are in love, but love is love people. I don’t think the gender of the people in the relationship really matters. I was so touched by this episode I found myself thinking about it for days, I cried and cried and the fact that Nick Offerman has won multiple awards for this character feels right. One of my favorite quotes from Nick Offerman? “People say, why did you have to make it a gay story? We say, ‘Because you ask questions like that.’ It’s not a gay story, it’s a love story, you asshole.”
It really is.
The night is calling... 