This idea that an episode of television needs to substantially advance the plot and can't take an hour to tell a self contained story to world build, tell backstory, and develop themes is so annoying. A good story isn't defined by what happened at major plot point/event A, b, c, d, E, f, g, h, etc. up to the finale. It's about the journey.
This had minor plot advancement in that a very important plot point, Joel getting transportation in a world where working vehicles are scarce, was resolved in that Joel now has the means to travel quicker to save his brother and deliver Ellie to her destination. This is prefaced with a self contained story that has thematic impact on Joel and Ellie's personal journey while building out the world of the apocalypse by showing how two survivors managed to live a somewhat normal if isolated life together and died in their old age.
I don't agree that everyone had to like the episode. If a person doesn't like an episode because it doesn't substantially advance the plot forward, that's a result of the medium feeling a necessity to have gripping advancing plots to keep audiences interested and audiences expecting nothing less from the art they consume. If a person doesn't like an episode of adapated media because they changed a character too much, well, that's personal tolerance for creative liberties that ironically clashes with those who complain about adaptations being "shot for shot". And if a person doesn't like it because they can't handle watching a same sex relationship, that's a personal matter.
But to say the episode is *bad* for any of these reasons, particularly to argue that there was no point or plot advancement demonstrates poor media literacy. If the show had shown 50 minutes of Frank working a disappointing desk job before the apocalypse, then I'd argue that yes it's a story not worth telling. Bill and Frank's story has thematic resonance for the whole story of the show, direct background with the scope of the apocalypse itself as well as serving more on the main character and his underground smuggling network, and it does keep the plot moving along by opening up new possibilities for the leads as survivors trying to trek across the dangerous country. The fact that the episode told a moving love story is a nice bonus but it's secondary to the themes and subject matter it lays foundation for going forward. If the argument is that Bill is supposed to present a cynical cautionary tale, that may work just fine for the game, but the audience knows well enough how cynical and paranoid Joel is. You don't need Bill to reinforce it and just postpone the inevitable developing father-daughter feelings for Ellie.
