Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part II.
Pedro Pascal’s most heartbreaking Joel scene from The last of us Season 1 will make the character’s season 2 storyline even sadder than it already is in the game. Pascal faithfully adapted all the dimensions that made Troy Baker’s Joel from the player such a familiar character: he is a grieving father who has closed himself off emotionally to avoid getting hurt again; He is a hardened survivor who has to become a cold-blooded killer to keep himself and his younger brother Tommy alive in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. But Pascal also made a few key changes to the TV version of Joel.
In a video game, the main character can slaughter hundreds of people without losing the sympathy of the audience, because the audience is the one doing all the killing. But in a TV show, viewers are much less desensitized to violence on screen. Not only does Pascal’s TV version of Joel commit fewer murders than his video game counterpart; He also carries a lot more regret For the deaths he is responsible for. The sensitivity of TV Joel is demonstrated in a deeply moving fashion in Pascal’s best scene from The last of us Season 1, and it will make Season 2 even more heartbreaking.
Joel talking about his failures was The Last of Us Season 1’s best scene
It established Pedro Pascal’s Joel as much more vulnerable than his video game counterpart
in The last of us Season 1, Episode 6, “Kin,” much like in the game, Joel reunites with his brother Tommy in Wyoming and asks him to take Ellie off his hands And bring her to the fireplace for him. In the game, Joel gives it as a sales pitchOffer Tommy the chance to earn the payday of delivering Eli to the fireflies and the honor of providing humanity with a much-needed cure. At first, Tommy is hesitant, because he has to think about his wife Maria, and he thinks Joel is just in over his head.
Related
Tommy thinks Joel is trying to shirk his responsibilities; It wasn’t until raiders attacked and Joel swooped in to save Ellie that he realized the real reason Joel wanted his brother to take her. Joel really cares about the child, and he is worried that under his care, she will suffer the same fate as his late daughter, Sarah. In the TV show, Joel is much more upfront with Tommy; He tells him right out of the gate that he’s not as wet as he used to be and he’s afraid he won’t be able to keep Ali safe.
Pascal’s raw emotional honesty is absolutely devastating, and brings extra depth to Joel that wasn’t possible in an action-packed video game.
The TV version of Joel begins to suffer regular panic attacks, and when he and Eli are in danger, instead of springing into action as he would in the game, he freezes in fear. This is the episode that earned Pascal an Emmy nomination For Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and it’s easy to see why. This scene exemplifies how much more vulnerable this version of Joel is compared to his video game counterpart. Pascal’s raw emotional honesty is absolutely devastatingand brings extra depth to Joel that wasn’t possible in an action-packed video game.
Joel’s choices will be a much heavier burden for him in The Last of Us season 2
Joel will be in more trouble than ever in Season 2
Joel was already tormented by his failures and shortcomings The last of us season 1, but it’s going to be an even heavier burden in season 2. Now, he’s not only dealing with killing people to protect his adopted daughter; He lives with the guilt of single-handedly disbanding the Fireflies, costing humanity a cure it desperately needs, and worst of all, lying to Ali. Eli knows that Joel is not telling the truth about what happened at the hospital, and it creates a rift between them that will be even more heartbreaking when it happens to this more vulnerable version of Joel.
Pedro Pascal is about to deliver an amazing performance in The Last of Us season 2
Joel’s scenes in The Last of Us Part II are full of great acting opportunities
Based on his touching turn in season 1, Pascal is bound to deliver a fantastic performance in The last of us Season 2. The Last of Us Part II Doesn’t have nearly as much Joel material as Part IBut the scenes that Joel is in present Pascal with many interesting acting challenges. Pascal and Bella Ramsey did a great job of showing Joel and Ellie gradually warming up to each other in season 1; In season 2, they will have to do the opposite, as Joel’s lies gradually destroy the father-daughter relationship they built. In season 1.
If it’s even possible for Joel’s death scene to even be sad, this might be the case The last of us Season 2. In the play, Joel accepts his grim fate with stoic dignity, robbing Abby of the satisfaction she wants to feel. But in the TV show, when Abby targets Pascal’s more sensitive and vulnerable Joel, he may not be so ready to face death – and that’s just the beginning. From the museum trip to the porch chat, Pascal is sure to beat all of Joel’s Part II Scenes from the park.