Warning: potential spoilers for “The Last of Us” season two ahead.
Pedro Pascal says his work on “The Last of Us” season two resulted in an “unhealthy mindset” because of how he related to Joel and Ellie, the character played by Bella Ramsey.
The first season followed the pair as they traveled across postapocalyptic America after the Cordyceps fungus turned billions of people into zombie-like creatures. Ellie is the only person immune to the infection.
Like the game, the first season ended with Joel choosing to save Ellie from a fatal medical procedure (that could’ve produced a cure to the Cordyceps infection) by murdering several surgeons and shooting his way out of a militia hospital.
This choice will come back to haunt Joel and Ellie in the second season.
Pedro Pascal felt the characters’ pain while filming ‘The Last of Us’ season 2
Business Insider attended “The Last of Us” season two press conference on Monday, and Pascal said he deeply relates to Joel’s relationship with Ellie.
“I’m protective of the people that I love, and I think that that’s probably the main component that I relate to,” he said.
The actor also said he understood what the characters go through on a deeper level.
“My mindset was grateful to be back and yet, at the same time, this experience, more than any other I’ve had, is hard for me to separate what the characters are going through and how it makes me feel, in a way that isn’t very healthy.
“And so I kind of feel their pain. I suppose I was in an unhealthy mindset,” he said.
There’s going to be a lot of pain in “The Last of Us” season two since it’s expected to closely follow the second game. The story introduces Abby, a survivor whose father was killed by Joel in the hospital, and she hunts the pair down so she can get her revenge.
In a heartbreaking scene, Ellie is forced to watch Abby bludgeon Joel to death with a golf club. Abby is played by “Apple Cider Vinegar” star Kaitlyn Dever in “The Last of Us” season two, and Pascal’s character is expected to meet the same fate.
Pascal’s comments about his mindset led many to predict that the second season will be an emotional experience, especially regarding his death.
HBO has kept the specifics of the season two storyline under wraps. However, the actor previously teased Joel’s death in April 2023.
“It wouldn’t make sense to follow the first game so faithfully only to stray severely from the path,” he told Esquire.
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