Love Survives Anything, as Characters Played by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett Prove in an Unforgettable Episode of THE LAST OF US

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Given his rugged reputation both on-screen and off-screen, Nick Offerman was asked to clear something up regarding his participation in a new episode of HBO’s THE LAST OF US. So Nick, is it possible that the survivalist fortress where your character resides was simply filmed at your own house? “No, that was not at my house, but they took a lot of meticulous measurements to replicate my house,” Offerman said. “If anybody ever wants to shoot at your house, don’t let them. Pro tip.” Kidding aside, the third episode of THE LAST OF US – which debuted on the weekend and is available for streaming on Crave now – features Offerman (PARKS AND RECREATION) and Murray Bartlett (Season 1 of HBO’s THE WHITE LOTUS, also on Crave) in an unexpectedly heartwarming and heartbreaking love story. Both Offerman and Bartlett recently spoke about the specifics of the episode in a virtual panel interview, so this is a SPOILER ALERT for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. Following a fungal outbreak that has destroyed civilization, Bill (Offerman) is getting along quite nicely in the survivalist enclave he has constructed for himself, notwithstanding the extreme loneliness that even he doesn’t really detect. One day Frank (Bartlett) literally falls into a hole that Bill has dug, as one of many obstacles to keep intruders (and zombies) out. From that awkward encounter springs a sweet romance that grows and flourishes over decades. One of the most memorable lines in the episode comes when Bill says to Frank, “I was never afraid before you showed up.” “Yeah, that line – you know, I’m a terrible romantic, I’ve been with my wife (actress Megan Mullally) for 23 years,” Offerman said. “We have wonderful, exciting, adventurous lives, and we get to travel all over, because of our work. And so that lifestyle requires a constant metabolism of big choices. Should we do this? Should we do that? And ultimately, we continue to learn that the answer to those questions is based, most healthily, in the romance of our love for one another. Like, if you take away all of it, all the material goods and all the experiences, if you don’t have someone to come home to and love, then what’s the point of the rest of it? And so that line really taps into that. The mushroom people are here, but it doesn’t matter as long as we’re together.” Bartlett agreed, and added, “it’s just a great script, and it makes it easy as an actor when lines like that are delivered to you. Craig (Mazin, co-creator and co-writer) has a way of writing where there’s just profound sweetness in it, but it’s not saccharin. And that kind of romanticism just hits me in the gut. That line particularly, in the context of that scene, is like sending little knives into your tear ducts. It was a joy to be on the receiving end of that line.” Offerman recalled that when the script for THE LAST OF US first came to him, he didn’t really have time for the project. But after he and Mullally read it, they knew he had to find time. “The sensibility of Bill – a silent guy who is very competent, who takes care of business, especially when he has someone to protect – just really clicked in for me,” Offerman said. “But it also was terrifying, because there are all these moments of vulnerability that I haven’t gotten to do a lot of as an actor.” Plus, as it happened, Offerman and Mullally had just watched the first season of THE WHITE LOTUS, and they had been fittingly impressed by Bartlett’s acclaimed performance as Armond. “Interestingly, before THE WHITE LOTUS, I’d always played characters that were closer to myself, and a little less WHITE LOTUS-y, I guess,” Bartlett said. “So while I don’t feel I’ve played a character like Frank before, it didn’t feel unfamiliar to me. But what you always hope for with vulnerable scenes is you’re paired with an actor who is willing to go there, because if they’re not, it’s tricky. So it was wonderful to be with another actor who was really willing to surrender to those moments, and really go there together. That’s where that sort of extra stuff kicks in, when both actors are really on board.” Who knew that THE LAST OF US could be a love story? Well, for one episode at least, it is. “They’ve been living lives of deprivation because of the 20 years of this mushroom pandemic – I’m not sure what the official term is,” Offerman said. “But these two human beings find each other, and it was part of the terror, and source of passion, to find out, ‘are you okay? Are you safe? Could this be? Holy (bleep). Let me play you a song on the piano.’ ” Another new episode of THE LAST OF US drops Sunday, Feb. 5, only on Crave. billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv