
Warning: spoilers ahead for The Last of Us episode 3.
Episode 3 of The Last of Us was an outstanding piece of television that had viewers in tears as they observed the blossoming romance between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett).
Thanks to its prominent placement in the narrative, the popularity of a song by Linda Ronstadt called “Long, Long Time” has recently skyrocketed on the music streaming service Spotify.
Bill reluctantly accepts Frank into his house when they finally meet four years after the epidemic has begun.
After giving Bill a delicious supper, an energised Frank plays the song on the piano while singing along, much to Bill’s chagrin.
Bill, who doesn’t like it when others mess with his stuff, asks Frank to stop singing and then takes the mic himself, singing a softer, more moving version of the song.
This results in their first kiss, followed by their first night in bed together, and ultimately, their decision to spend the rest of their lives together.
The song is played again at the end of the episode, when Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) drive away in Bill’s truck, after the teenager played the old cassette tape.
In 1970, Linda had a number one hit with Gary White’s composition “Long, Long Time,” which is also the name of the episode.
It includes heartfelt lyrics such as: ‘’Cause I’ve done everything I know to try and make you mine. And I think I’m gonna love you for a long long time.’
Spotify said that between 11 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time on Sunday, January 29 (the night the episode premiered), “there was a more than 4,900% surge in US streaming of Long, Long Time by Linda Ronstadt.”
The weekly post-apocalyptic programme premieres a new episode every Sunday at 2am GMT (that’s 6pm PT/9pm ET in the US).
Craig Mazin, co-creator of the series, recently discussed the episode’s song selection with IndieWire, saying of the episode’s piano scene, “I had the thought that this would happen, that there would be a song that would be played, and we would be surprised by who was good at it and who was bad at it.”
‘I remember saying to Neil [Druckmann], “I’m not sure what the song is, I just know that it has to be this incredibly sad song about yearning for love, and never getting love, and just making your peace with the fact that you will always be alone. But it can’t be on the nose. And it can’t be a song that we all know.”’
For assistance, Craig asked his buddy Seth Rudetsky, a host on Sirius XM On Broadway, who promptly suggested Long, Long Time.
The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky and NOW, with new episodes released on Mondays.