This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 2, "Through the Valley".
The Last of Us Season 2 didn't pull any punches, depicting (in graphic detail) the game's most divisive moment. Pedro Pascal said filming Joel's death was so memorable that it's almost on par with a similar scene in Game of Thrones.
Pedro Pascal recounted his onscreen deaths while reflecting on his past TV and film roles. "I get killed a lot," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I like to die." A handful of these deaths were deserved (and anticipated); as the main antagonist in The Equalizer 2 and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, it was satisfying to see Pascal's characters suffer violent deaths. The same can't be said about Joel's scene in The Last of Us' latest episode, however; the shocker sparked outrage among audiences, especially those unaware of Joel's arc in the video games.
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Pascal (apparently) breezed through the stages of grief and accepted Joel's fate; he even poked fun at the scene by comparing Joel's death to Oberyn Martell's in Game of Thrones. "I think this is the best one," he mused. "No, it's in competition, I think, with Game of Thrones. It has to be. I love the golf club. I'm going to start golf." The latter referenced the weapon Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever) used to murder Joel; Dever took the potshot and responded in jest. "You going to bridge the gap in this relationship and make it right?" she quipped. The Last of Us Season 2 dropped the show's most traumatizing episode to date, but the cast agreed it can't be helped.
'The Series Is Based On Very Specific Source Material'
Pascal accepted Joel's death was "part of the deal" and his casting in Season 1. "[Series creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann were like], 'Don't worry, you're going to die' And I was like, 'Okay, I'll take it!'" he recalled. "I just think that the series is based on very specific source material, and so that was always a part of the presentation of the idea that we would go all-in on Season 1, shoot for 11-12 months in Alberta, and then it would take a totally different shape in the second season. And this is why it was like that."
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Pascal's acting career spans almost three decades. Debuting in the 1996 short film Burning Bridges, he has since appeared in big-budget and independent productions. Game of Thrones broke him into the mainstream, however; he was both seductive and despicable as Oberyn Martell (a.k.a. the Red Viper of Dorne). That show paved the way for starring roles in Narcos, The Mandalorian, and The Fantastic Four. Fans might also remember Pascal for his appearance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer; his character was introduced and killed off in one episode. Pascal teased that he's still reprising Joel in flashback scenes in The Last of Us, which offers fans some consolation.
New episodes of The Last of Us Season 2 premiere Sundays on HBO and Max.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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- Release Date
- January 15, 2023
- Network
- HBO
- Showrunner
- Craig Mazin
Cast
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Pedro Pascal
Joel Miller
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Bella Ramsey
Ellie Williams
WHERE TO WATCH
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- Directors
- Craig Mazin, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb, Ali Abbasi, Mark Mylod, Stephen Williams, Jasmila Žbanić, Liza Johnson, Nina Lopez-Corrado
- Writers
- Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin
- Franchise(s)
- The Last of Us
- Creator(s)
- Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann
