Episode 3 ReCap: Our favorite Guncles love story

I'm not crying; you're crying. Who knew the guy who played Ron Swanson could play a gay doomsday prepper so well? There is no cold open to start this one-off story, just a heartwarming about vulnerability in the toughest people. There's no one tougher than Nick Offerman's Bill, and the show allows us to see his softer side for the love of his life, Frank, played by Murray Bartlett.

Pedro Pascal's Joel has become the world's daddy by episode 3, and now we are about to meet our favorite guncles. If you've got a problem with your beloved Parks and Recs badass playing a gay character, either unlock the door on your own closet or don't be an idiot and enjoy some good acting and storytelling. The issue with the episode that does hold some weight is that it's more of a side story or a filler that doesn't advance the main storyline. I don't see it this way, but it's out there.

Before we enter Bill's booby-trapped bureau, there's an excellent double video game Easter egg in the scene where they are in a gas station. Ellie finds a Mortal Kombat arcade game and talks about Molina and how she kills people. When Joel and Ellie make their way through Bill's town, you can find "The Turning" arcade game. She talks about "Angel Knives," who punches a hole through her opponent's stomach before kicking their head off. Sounds similar to Mileena in Mortal Kombat to me.

In the show, Ellie hears the EHEHEERER of a clicker and goes exploring to find a mushroom boy in a wall. She cuts its face and sees no blood, which is interesting.

Now it's time for the flashback heartbreak. Lovers of the game know that Bill is alive and Frank is dead. This episode creates a great back story for the characters, and the trend of getting viewers to care for characters quickly before tragedy continues.

Bill makes quite the entrance and seems happy and content, killing clickers and fortifying his town on his own. He was born to survive the apocalypse. All that changes when a nice man falls into his hole… in the ground; get your mind out of the gutter.

Frank and Bill connect over an eloquent dinner of rabbit, vegetables, and wine, complete with a cute turning of the plate before eating. Take notes, fellas. He just cooked this delicious meal in the apocalypse — step your game up. Frank is flirting heavily to start, and Bill is very apprehensive.

Fred showers up and, with a fresh outlook, makes his move to cuff up Bill. "There is no girl," Bill says, and Frank responds, "I know," before kissing him and sending him off for a shower. Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett do a fantastic job navigating a coming-out sex scene that feels genuine. Bill lets Frank know it's his first time and that he is not a whore.

Fast forward three years to a nice fight and the line of the episode. Frank is playing on Bill's paranoia and says you think the government is all Nazis, and Bill says THEY ARE ALL NAZIS. Touché- FEDRA sucks.

The lovely dinner with Tess and Joel never happens in the game. We know this because Joel tells Ellie he's never been inside the fence in the game. Tess and Frank have fun, and Joel and Bill are the curmudgeon boyfriends with no sports to bond over. They can barter, and these boys love to barter over some rare spool to tighten up the fences.

There's a cute scene where Bill tells Frank that he traded Joel and Tess for strawberry seeds and tells him he was never afraid before he showed up. Now it's time to stab the gut and turn the knife. Chaos breaks loose, and Bill gets shot. At this point, I'm thinking are they going to keep Frank alive and kill Bill? Even with a potentially fatal wound, Bill can only think about his love and tells him to call Joel.

Long,Long time

Plot twist we jump forward again: Bill is fine, and Frank is in a wheelchair and very sick. Frank will ask Bill to make the hardest decision of his life again. On the day they met, he asked him to let him in. Now all these years later, he's asking him to let him go. Before he crushes up the pills and puts Frank out of his misery, they have a fun-filled last day where they get married, enjoy one last delicious dish and drink the final bottle of wine.

But Bill can't let Frank leave without him.

"I'm old satisfied, and you were my purpose ."They drink the deadly wine together, and Linda Ronstadt's "Long, Long Time" plays again.

The Bill we meet in the game is what would have happened to him if he didn't drink that wine. His soul is sour, and he has grown completely cold to the world. The first thing he does is hold a gun to Joel and Ellie and tell Joel he's making a mistake by caring about her. I liked the showrunner's choices for this episode and how they deviated from the game.

Bill and Frank's relationship doesn't seem as apocapicture-esque. It turns out Frank got bit and left Bill. Frank wrote Bill a very mean note saying he hated his guts and grew tired of the town and Bill's attitude. He ends it by writing, "Trying to leave this town will probably kill me, but still better than spending another day with you."

Our time will Bill ends with Joel saying sorry about Frank and Bill shrugging him off. Not quite the strawberry garden, piano love from the show.