If you're like us, you absolutely loved Episode 3 of The Last of Us. The latest edition of "The Last of Us," a virtually flawless TV drama that condenses a story no one expected into 75 minutes, has already claimed to be the "best episode of the year." And we've seen its shortcuts.

In an interview with Deadline (opens in new tab), co-creator and co-executive producer Craig Mazin explained that while the team expected "The Last of Us" Episode 3 to be great, "we didn't know until we saw the director's cut " he explained. Peter Hoar worked on the director's cut with our editor, Tim Good, and it was pretty long. When they sent it to me, I think it was almost two hours long. So I thought, oh, this is not going to be good." [The Last of Us] will air on HBO's linear schedule, so of course it's not good," he said. But Mazin noted that the longer cuts seemed to have even more of an impact, continuing. "But I thought, 'Okay, let's watch the two-hour version of this episode.' And I cried a lot, and at one point I actually said out loud, 'It hurts. I mean, it hurt. I mean, it hurt. I thought, if these people can do this to me, and if I wrote this damn thing, it must work pretty well for other people."

As for HBO and its ability to allow longer versions, Mazin said, "I don't think we could have afforded that. [laughter]. But HBO was kind enough to make it a little longer". That's because the 75-minute length of this episode is longer than the normal (non-premiere) 60 minutes. I always want to make sure that people want to see more."

The "Theatre of the Dead" is a "very interesting and interesting episode.

It is not a big leap to assume that this longer cut of "The Last of Us" episode 3 will be released at some point, perhaps at the end of the season; HBO Max shows are available on optical media, and Amazon has a 4K version of "The House of the Dragon" season 1 (new tab open in new tab) is available for sale. Of course, if they don't feel the need to promote sales, it could be dropped at the end of Season 1 as a reward.

Now let's dive into what a longer cut could have had. Of course, there are spoilers, as the following Will contains details about "The Last of Us" Episode 3.

Mazin does not explain what was cut from "The Last of Us" Episode 3, but there are a few scenes that would make sense to add more. In the episode focusing on the relationship between survivalists Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), they jump several years, or multiple times, at a time.

At one point, we see that Frank has taken to painting, but too late to admit it. This scene is rather intended to show how his motor skills have declined with his health. Another scene about his artistry could easily have been added.

The action scene that ends with Frank tending to Bill's wounds is definitely omitted, while he speaks as if he is about to die. However, except for Frank's witnessing Bill's wounds, I don't see how the chaos outside could have added to the emotional weight of the scene. The brief moment indoors, in which Bill thinks Frank needs Joel's help, is appropriately over, but definitely could have been more happening.

And then Frank's last day. A montage showed a trip to the boutique Frank had been tending and a wedding. Adding more details about the day, such as what they said to each other, would have made it more emotional.

Read next: i cancelled Netflix