Warning: The Following Contains Spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 2, “Through the Valley”
The moment that fans of Naughty Dog’sThe Last of Usvideo games were dreading finally came to HBO last night, asPedro Pascal’s character of Joel met his brutal end at the hands of Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby. For the fans that had no idea it was coming, it was an even greater shock, and one that the actor himself says he’s in “active denial” about.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly about his brutal death, Pascal – who has died many times before on both the big and small screens – told the outlet it’s a moment that will stay with him forever. While he definitely knew it was eventually going to happen right from the start, he didn’t expect his end to come this soon into the new season. “It’s not like they said, ‘Hey, we kill you at the beginning of season 2,'” he said, adding:
“It was always an understanding that it would stay true to the source material in a specific way and that the, let’s say, practical and exclusive obligation would be for season 1. It was just a matter of how and when.”
‘The Last of Us’ Fans Are Not Okay After Watching Season 2, Episode 2, “Through the Valley”
How’s everyone who never played the video games doing?
Withlast night’s shocking reveal, Pascal’s role inThe Last of Ushas been greatly reduced going forward, though we expect him to still appear in flashbacks and memories, so he won’t be entirely gone. As for how he’s handling his departure? “I’m in active denial,” he told EW, continuing:
“I realize this more and more as I get older, I find myself slipping into denial that anything is over. I know that I’m forever bonded to so many members of the experience and just have to see them under different circumstances, but never will under the circumstances of playing Joel on The Last of Us. And, no, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it because it makes me sad.”
Pedro Pascal’s Death in ‘The Last of Us’ Affected Everyone Around Him
For those that saw Pascal’s death last night, you know that the creators went to great lengths to make it as heartbreaking as possible while staying trueto the way it took place in the video game. From Ellie being held down and crying, to Joel laying in a pool of his own blood with his face battered to a gruesome pulp, nothing was off limits. For Pascal, he says that stepping on set that day in his death make-up to film his demise was unlike anything he’s been through in his career.
“I’ve never experienced anything like I did that day where I stepped onto set in full makeup and then killed the vibe completely as soon as anyone set their eyes on me. This kind of shock and heartbreak… it was weird to be on the receiving end of that. It’s like the extreme version of, ‘Is there something on my face?’ I really could see this sort of grief take over everyone’s look in their eyes.”
If only he could have seen the look in our eyes as we watched it, right? It was even worse than his death as Oberyn Martell inGame of Thrones. Now that it’s out of the way, though, we still have five more episodes to get through this season, so it will be interesting to see the fallout, and how it affects Ellie as things progress. Be sure to catch new episodes ofThe Last of Usevery Sunday on HBO and MAX.
Source:Entertainment Weekly
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