Good Riddance, My Love: A Frank Farewell from The Last of Us (Bill's Town)

SPOILER WARNING: The following contains minor plot points as Joel and Ellie escape the outskirts of Boston to reach Bill's Town in Chapter 4.

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Game: The Last of Us Part I

Objective: Turn in Frank's letter (optional)

Location: Bill's Town, Lincoln, Massachusetts

Summary: As Joel and Ellie escape the Boston QZ and approach Lincoln, Massachusetts, they find themselves navigating a quagmire of booby-traps and infected in a deserted settlement. This is Bill's Town, and Joel is banking on some old debts to send them on their way.

But Bill has other ideas. After their ad hoc errand-run turns haywire, they finally stumble on the sought-after prize: A solid set of wheels that'll get them to Wyoming. But it's not all sweet goodbyes. Moments before departure, they discover the body of Bill's partner Frank in an apparent suicide; Joel picks up his final correspondence from the neighbouring room. The natural thing would be to hand it to the unfortunate addressee - except this letter ain't nice. In fact, it's downright nasty. And it's up to Joel to decide what happens next: Turn the note in and grant Bill closure, or spare him further heartache? 

More information: Bill's Town | The Last of Us Wiki | Fandom

Note: While The Last of Us is not a traditional choices and consequences game, this dilemma gives the player a rare opportunity to use their agency and question the worth of honesty in an unforgiving world. Content Warning: Brief descriptions of suicide.

Brave new world. Photo credit: FetchQuester

Lonesome Bill

Every now and then, a man's dream will come true and civilization will fall. That man is Bill, a gruff survivalist hashing it out with the apocalypse in the suburbs. What little time we spend on his turf is barely enough to crack the shell and reveal his truth; paranoid and caustic, Bill's emotional portrait is as fortified as the house of faith he bunks in - and it seems Frank wasn't much of a wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve type either.

"I want you to know I hated your guts," he spills in a rip-off-the-bandaid confessional. "Trying to leave this town will kill me. Still better than spending another day with you." OUCH.

Why so bitter, Frank? Why wait until now to tell us how you really feel?

And that's when the questions start coming: How long they were together, whether it was a pairing of necessity or genuine love, or how/when it grew sour. But we do know Frank was bitten - Bill notes at least two infection sites - yet this is noticeably omitted from the letter, suggesting the attack took place after his outburst while plotting the escape.*

Yet there also lies another possibility: What if he intended to ghost his ex-lover until, by getting to grips with his own mortality, only then decided to come clean? Either way, Frank's parting words to the man with whom he spent an intimate amount of time are pointed: Bill is his sole motivation to leave for good. 

Bill was disenfranchised with the world even before it went to hell.

 Photo credit: FetchQuester

Bearer of Bad News (Give Bill the Letter)

"Once upon a time, I had somebody that I cared about," Bill relates as they catch their breath after a disastrous run-in with infected. "And in this world that sort of shit is good for one thing: Getting you killed. So... I realized it's gotta be just me."

Bill and Joel are peas in a pod when it comes to championing a jaded outlook on life, which explains their mutual dislike for one another: Hardened to the horrors of post-collapse America, they are survivors, sure - but they don't live, and they certainly don't let anybody in. Bill makes it markedly clear their relationship is business only as he agrees to aid the smuggler (after roughing him up and throwing Ellie in handcuffs - preventative measures, of course).

Home sweet home: Bill and Frank's pad. Photo credit: FetchQuester

But his composure breaks when they near the end of their supply-run and find Frank's hanged corpse. The desperate nature of his suicide - whether enacted out of selflessness or his own sanity - was clearly meant to be seen. "He was my partner," Bill chokes back tears as he witnesses what is left of the man he loves (before critiquing Frank's questionable couture, which is horrific even by end-of-the-world standards). "Only an idiot that would wear a shirt like that." Bill doesn't want to show it, but he's a bag of mixed emotions - and devastated is one of them.

Turning in the letter might seem a crass gesture given the circumstances, but so is denying him the truth - and it's not Joel's right to intervene and withhold the sole piece of closure to which Bill is privy, even if reaffirming his less favourable convictions about Frank. Or - as a long shot - a wake-up call to give him pause and reflect on the toxicity of his ways. It's never too late to change, even for a man whose disillusionment with life has devoid him of joy.

Catching a breather. Photo credit: FetchQuester

Spare the Details (Keep the Letter)

But does Bill really need to know the truth? While upholding the principle of honesty is worthwhile in rebuilding communities and cultivating trust, what is the value of exposing a vitriolic rant which leaves nothing but guilt-ridden grief in its wake? Other than signalling an end to a painful relationship, there is no benefit to causing Bill more heartache; his companion is gone for good.

(And the remote chance Frank wrote with the intent of severing ties to spare the anguish of mourning his absence? Doubtful - he's more viable for scoring an AITA of the Year Award.)

Instead, Joel would be wise to take the path of mercy and leave his stakes out of the situation. After all, which is more forgivable: Being the man who couldn't understand his partner "wanted more out of life" or the man who lost his partner to a deadly virus which, sooner or later, comes for everyone?

Ruins of a forgotten era. Photo credit: FetchQuester

The time has passed for Bill to make amends: Bill who, armed with cynicism, failed to own his shortcomings and embrace that integral part of humanity for which we endure and survive: Kindness, hope, and that flawed yet unconditional love which accepts the rawness of being mortal.

And here is where Joel and Bill begin to part in similarities: Joel will evolve and learn to care for others again, and by virtue of caring, work towards a future upheld by understanding our primal ethos: All we have is each other. 

As for Bill? Hopefully, in time, the kinder memories of Frank will remain.

Our last hope: Joel and Ellie. Photo credit: FetchQuester

Spoilers affecting choice:

Bill is visibly affected when reading Frank's letter. "That's how you feel... Well fuck you too." 

No interaction is triggered if Joel bypasses the dialogue prompt in the garage. In both cases, he expresses his sympathies to which Bill nods his appreciation and confirms they are "square" before telling him to "Get the fuck outta my town." Despite his caution to "take that kid back to where you found her", there is a sense Bill genuinely wants them to prevail.

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*A smuggler's note is found in the metro during the previous chapter which details Frank's scheme to sneak into the Boston QZ.

- Lucy A.

"In times of darkness..." Photo credit: FetchQuester

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Sources: 

The Last of Us Part I (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment); fandom.com

*A special thanks to Alexis, Melissa, and Tray for their guidance.