Episode 3 Was Originally 2 Hours Long

After the first two episodes, everyone knew The last of us was good, but episode three really took things to a whole new level. Titled “Long, Long Time”, the extended flashback beautifully tells the love story of Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), two men falling in love and prove that good things are possible in a world where evil lurks around every corner.

It’s been getting praise across the internet for the past two days, but apparently there’s more to come. In conversation with meeting, last of us Showrunner Craig Mazin revealed the episode’s first cut was closer to two hours and it was so sad that he hurt himself while crying.

“It wasn’t until I saw the Director’s Cut that I knew [we had something special]’ Mazin said. “Peter Hoar did his director’s cut with our editor, Tim Good, which was quite long. When they sent it to me I think it was almost two hours or something. So I thought, oh, that’s probably not good. And I sat down, but I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to watch the two-hour version of this episode.’ And I cried so much that at one point I even said out loud, “Ow.” I mean it pains. I cried so much; it hurts. And I was like, ‘Well, if these guys can do this to me and I wrote this damn thing, I think it could work pretty well for other people.'”

Have you ever considered airing the full two-hour version? Mazin said HBO wouldn’t let her do an episode twice the traditional length, but thankfully the network is allowing some wiggle room.

“HBO was kind enough to let us go a little longer,” Mazin said. “And look, I never want to overstep my welcome. I always want people to want more. But this is a longer episode and what’s really interesting is, even though I think it’s about 73 minutes long, so many people who watched it said that hour flew by. And I’m like; It wasn’t just an hour. It was an hour and 12 minutes. And I think that’s a real achievement. But when I saw Peter and Tim’s cut, I really thought, ‘Wow, that got me right here. [Mazin places his hand on his chest].”

Now that the series has been renewed for a second season and the episode has garnered near-universal praise, is there any chance we might see the Sadder Cut? Let the campaign begin.

For just the normal level of sadness The last of us Episode called “Long, Long Time” now streaming on HBO Max.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Wonder, war of starsand star trek What’s next for the releases DC Universe in Film and TVand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.