Long, Long Time (Episode Recommendation)

One of my clients discussed a beautiful episode of television they saw last week, taking place during the zombie apocalypse as part of the popular video game franchise: The Last of Us. They told me that it touched them deeply and was one of the best performances they could remember, including actors Nick Offerman as a survivalist prepper and Murray Bartlett playing an unlikely gay couple.

I hadn't planned on seeing it and I thought this might be another manifestation of my client's inflated moralism. Boy, was I wrong. I gave it a shot and found myself in tears, which is an uncommon experience for me with television. It was beautiful and heart wrenching. I made my girlfriend watch it: "there aren't really any zombies in this episode". She cried too.

I thought I would run this by one of my gay clients to check my impressions. I hadn't even finished telling them about it when they said: "season 1 episode 3". He said it was big talk in the gay community right now and that "it was the first time I felt seen on television". My client said that they felt gay actors often caught "parts" of gay experience but always ended up making a "clown" out of the character. Or that straight actors got gay parts and then got awarded for them but that Nick Offerman - a straight, married comedian in real life - had earned praise for his heartfelt depiction of a lone survivalist finding love despite his hatred for humanity.

Even if you don't like zombies and video games, I highly recommend watching this hour long episode! Catch it on HBO Max.