Irish_Whiskey t1_j6oqb9j wrote on January 31, 2023 at 8:47 PM

Reply to comment by Audrin in The Empty Sentiment of The Last of Us by BuckedMallard

> Why is very smart and ultra prepared Bill's plan to stand on the open street and shoot. Like seriously?

Because he's shit with guns.

I noticed the whole time he had terrible trigger discipline, had impractical weapons and gear for responding to the government agents, kept running into the open and swinging his guns around wildly, and kept fumbling and dropping the gun at dinner when he was trying to look intimidating.

He's a prepper. He stockpiled stuff and developed skills to be the king of his own hill and drive off "moochers". The fact that he'd have a million guns and be a decent shot but have terrible tactics and discipline is exactly what I'd expect from a prepper. Unlike Tommy he's not a vet with combat experience, nor is he used to actually using guns against people like Joel.

> No, he's just an idiot for one scene.

If you go back, he's an idiot with his guns in most scenes. This was just the one time people fired back.

Audrin t1_j6p8zjt wrote on January 31, 2023 at 10:45 PM

I've never held a gun in my entire life and I still understand the concept of 'cover.' That guy is waaaaaaaay more capable than I am and knows waaaaaaay more about guns than I do and I could still do better than that. It was inconsistent.

Irish_Whiskey t1_j6pbq03 wrote on January 31, 2023 at 11:03 PM

> That guy is waaaaaaaay more capable than I am

He believed 9/11 was an inside job and burst out his door with a bandolier and gas mask after cursing out the NWO scum.

Like a lot of preppers and gravy seals, you can be very capable at hunting and knowledgeable about guns, but still living a fantasy of what combat actually looks like.

He wasn't mentally healthy. Dying in a shootout against NWO thugs and looters was the fantasy he lived for. Frank served an important role by grounding him and giving him something to live for.

I'll note that I could be wrong and maybe it's not intended. But I thought from the very beginning when he bursts out of his home as the pandemic starts that he was terrible at using his guns. Seeing him standing in the open Cowboy style wasn't a surprise at all when it happened, as it's reasonable characterization that he's not practical about firearms and gunfights. Unlike Joel and Tess, we have no reason to think he's experienced in actual firefights.

Audrin t1_j6pcz83 wrote on January 31, 2023 at 11:11 PM

Again, I've never touched a gun but I'd shoot out of a window, or from behind a building, or even in a bush.

It took me out of it.

I really think my "he abandons cover to get frank out of the line of fire and that's how he gets shot" would have been much, much better than what happened.