The Last of Us dropped a third episode on Sunday that many in the online community are already comparing to Black Mirror’s San Junipero, not only because of the same sex relationship involved in the plot, but in being a genre show offering a brief respite of hopefulness from the gloom and doom of its grim apocalyptic landscape.

IGN ran an interview where showrunners Neil Druckman and Craig Mazin spoke about why they decided to change Bill and Frank’s story from the mini-adventure it was in the game to the love story it became in HBO’s adaptation.

Related: The Last of Us: Episode 3 Easter Eggs

The interview with the showrunners, Druckman and Mazin, in which they highlight why they changed Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank’s (Murray Bartlett) relationship from one of dark antagonism to one of suicidal romance, was in order to posit a different way of thinking about the world to Joel (and Ellie). Instead of one where the only option was to dwell on what had been taken, the newer choice led Joel down a path of thinking of the world that might be should someone choose a different way. It also stands as a reminder of not only what happened to Tess (partly due to taking her for granted) but that Joel could stand to finally start living for others, like his new charge, Ellie.

The Last of Us Episode 3 Bill and Frank connection

Events in the video game version of The Last of Us play out far differently than they do in the show with Bill’s sexuality only hinted at, and in one of the bitterest, and meanest ways possible. In the course of needing to get a car battery from a former partner in smuggling that Joel and Tess used to know, Bill reveals that he had a partner named Frank who’s gone. In the search for a battery in Bill’s town, itself overran with Clickers, the player can come across Frank’s body and a note stating that the man had been with Bill for years, grew ever more resentful, and finally decided to kill himself instead of stay around. It’s a bitter ending for a dark episode of gameplay and something the showrunners wanted to reverse.

It’s a choice that puts the TV adaptation not only at odds with its video game counterpart, but other post-apocalyptic series as well, giving its characters an episode that shows why it would be worth struggling to survive in such a monstrous, decimated world. This iteration of Bill and Frank actually live out relatively peaceful lives—with the occasional infected or raiding party showing up—and it’s very reminiscent of Black Mirror’s "San Junipero" in showing an episode where the otherwise dystopian landscape just might be a heaven for those who’ve been marginalized their whole lives. The third episode of The Last of Us will last a long time in the minds of critics and fans alike.

The Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO Max.

More: The Last of Us: What is the Song in Episode 3?

Source: IGN