Who Died in Left 4 Dead 2’s The Passing?

We know from Valve that One of the original Left 4 Dead survivors didn’t live to see action in the recently released DLC The Passing. It’s only right that we offer our proper respects, and so I’m creating this post for Left 4 Dead 2 players to say their final goodbyes. This is your last warning, if you would prefer not to know who has died, you should stop reading right now.



So who died in Left 4 Dead 2? None other than William Overbeck, that wily old, pill-popping veteran that was difficult to love, but impossible to hate. Yes, Bill won’t be fighting zombies with Zoey, Louis and Francis anymore. Instead he’s solemnly sitting in a pool of his own blood, his gun still in his cold hands. How did Bill die? It’s never explained in The Passing. In fact, Bill’s name isn’t even mentioned by any of the characters throughout the DLC. Oddly enough, Bill’s old companions seem completely cheerful, even jovial without their fourth musketeer.

Now that I’ve taken a few days to mourn the loss of one of the best characters to ever bless a game with his presence, it’s time to discuss the tragedy (or should I say conspiracy?) of Left 4 Dead 2’s The Passing. If you didn’t already know, I’m here to tell you that Bill does not make it. If this is news to you and I’m spoiling it for you, then I apologize. However, I’m only discussing this openly because I’m assuming that all the people that really cared to know have fired up the game by now and discovered this as I did, and I think many of us are just plain mad at Valve. If you aren’t, you should be.

Why Bill?
In trying to make sense of this, I keep asking myself “Why Bill damnit?”. It just makes no sense to pick Bill as the guy who bites it. Sure, he was famous for quotes like “I’m gettin too old for this s#%t”, but Bill really had no quit in him. He was a grizzled old vet, and he was just the kind of guy you want with you when the zombie apocalypse starts.

Think about it. The world implodes in a zombie apocalypse. You are struggling to stay alive and get to somewhere safe. Who do you want with you the most? You want the guy who is already wearing his military issue gear for Christ’s sake. Bill is ALREADY prepared for war, and experienced from fighting in the jungles of Vietnam. He might be crazy, but in a zombie apocalypse you need a little crazy with you to make it. I don’t want the whiny office worker in a shirt and tie. I don’t want the questionably gay biker looking guy with me. I might want Zoey if we have to propagate our species again, but damnit there’s still no one better to have with me than Bill. We can’t win this without Bill people. We have been robbed of hope, the zombies will surely take us now.

The Conspiracy
I’m calling Valve out now. A large company is surely pressured to make “politically correct” choices nowadays, and this is one of them. Here’s why it had to be Bill. If you kill Louis, the African American community gets offended. Sure, kill off the black guy like every other white movie ever made. Too cliche, so Louis lives to continue politely whining to zombies. If you kill Zoey, the feminists and gamer chicks come out of the woodworks in protest. Cries of sexism will rain on Valve HQ. Zoey lives, and we keep our female audience in tact. If you kill Francis, either the biker gangs light your building on fire. Neither is an appealing option, and Francis lives to parade through zombieville. That leaves Bill.

Perhaps it’s our fault. Who cries now that Bill is gone? Who cares if a half-crazy old guy dies? Just another disturbed Vietnam vet buried in Arlington right? Wrong. Some of us care. Some of us are just as pissed off as I am that Valve chose Bill to die

Time to Take a Stand
It’s time the old guys stand up and made some noise too. It’s time we picket Valve HQ to defend those that defend us, the Bills of the world. Sure we may need to take some pills and a med pack to be able to picket for hours, but someone needs to do it. This travesty cannot be tolerated. Bill has to have died for something, and we need to be heard.

R.I.P. Bill, you’ll be missed.

It’s safe to assume we’ll find out the truth in the upcoming DLC for the original Left 4 Dead, the second portion of The Passing.We’ll hopefully see more information on that soon, but expect it to be released sometime in the coming months.


My personal comment:
I'm surprised as well when I see Francis, Zoey and Louis looking at me during the final chapter of the passing. The moment I see the three of them, "I was like oh poor Bill..." he is lost but will never be forgotten. And sorry for this cheesy cut and paste review as I've a lot of things to do and downloading this DLC for Left 4 Dead 2 is just to darn slow due to streamyx's recent breakdown. I will try to review other games myself after this :)

Here's a video tribute for him: