^ IMO Ep. 3 was integral to the series ......... the Bill's town portion of the game was always Joel's target to obtain transportation to get to Wyoming.
Same here, loved the way that they expanded Bill and Frank's story, turned out to be a highlight of this season.
But I can see the scenario wherein there was no Bill & Frank gay love story - just proceed with the game script which would have made for a tense ending, Ellie first time maneuvering/driving a car, while Joel and Bill jumpstart it as infected attack ......... more than a few had some small complaints about the loss of the comedic encounters between Ellie and Bill.
The game itself was near perfect (some Ellie mechanics to complain about since 2013), but the script/story was flawless.