Warning: this article contains spoilers The Last of Us Part II.
The most painful moments of The last of us season 2 will be in good hands thanks to a brilliant director who joined the show from a different Emmy-winning HBO drama series. The last of us The first season was the brainchild of Neil Druckmann, the creator of the video game franchise, and Craig Mazin, the brains behind Chernobyl (the miniseries, not the disaster). Druckmann and Mazin co-wrote the entire season without help from the writers’ room as a more or less direct adaptation of the first game, with a few minor tweaks along the way.
But as they begin to tackle the gigantic non-linear narrative of The Last of Us Part II in season two and beyond, they brought in additional help. They opened a writers’ room with Halley Gross, co-writer and narrative lead of Part II (who understands these characters better than anyone other than Druckmann) and Bo Shim. They also brought some interesting new directors to The last of us 2nd season, how Lokiis Kate Herron and WatchersIt’s Stephen Williams. There’s one new director in particular whose involvement means the season’s most hard-hitting scenes are in good hands.
Mark Mylod’s work on Succession’s best episode proves he’s perfect for The Last Of Us season two
‘Connor’s Wedding’ is one of the greatest TV episodes ever produced
All over SuccessionIn the acclaimed four-season series, Mark Mylod directed 16 episodes. But The crowning achievement of his tenure on the show is Season 4 Episode 3, “Connor’s Wedding.” This episode earned Mylod the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, and not only is it widely regarded Successionthe best episode; it was praised as one of the greatest episodes of television ever produced. This episode portrays the moment that the series had been building to since the beginning: the death of Logan Roy.
Instead of showing Logan’s death on screen, Mylod focuses on how his four children react to his passing. All of Logan’s children have a raw, emotional, and unique reaction to his death that is perfectly in line with their character: Connor says his father never liked him, Kendall picks up the phone and tries to make amends, Shiv returns to his childhood self, and Roman tries unsuccessfully to hide his feelings behind a thick wall of denial. Mylod directs the episode with an almost documentary sense of realism This makes “Connor’s Wedding” perhaps the most accurate portrayal of sudden loss on screen.
There’s a specific moment from TLOU Part II that Mylod would be perfect for after Succession
Mylod Already Handled HBO’s Shocking Patriarch Death Scene
At this point, it is unclear which episode of The last of us season 2 will be directed by Mylod, but “Connor’s Wedding” proves that he would be the perfect director to deal with the sensitive issue of Joel’s death. As Mylod has already faced the shock and grief following the death of another HBO patriarch, he would be a great choice to handle The last of us the most tragic scene of season 2. Much like “Connor’s Wedding,” The Last of Us Part IIThe great character’s death happens mainly off-screen. Seeing the character’s daughter’s heartbroken reaction is much more moving than seeing them die.
The most heartbreaking part of Joel’s death in the game is Ashley Johnson’s harrowing portrayal of Ellie’s trauma. The emotional devastation that will gradually consume her soul throughout the game is on full display as Ellie is pressured and forced to watch her adoptive father be beaten to death. Mylod got moving and powerful performances from Sarah Snook, Jeremy Strong, Alan Ruck and especially Kieran Culkin like yours Succession characters dealt with the news of Logan’s death. He could certainly get an equally moving performance from Bella Ramsey in The last of us‘brutal death scene.
There are plenty of other moments from The Last of Us Part II that Mylod could pull off
Mylod has proven he can handle action, horror, and character drama
There’s still a chance Mylod wasn’t directing Joel’s death scene and he was hired to direct a different episode of The last of us 2nd season. Mazin may want to handle the premiere episode like she did the first seasonor Druckmann might want to direct the scene like he did in the game. If this is the case, there are many other moments of The Last of Us Part II that Mylod could accomplish. His varied body of work demonstrates a lot of directorial range.
Mylod’s last feature film, The Menu, proved he has a good feel for horror, so he could direct one of The Last of Us’ many encounters with the infected.
Mylod’s work in Succession proved he can handle character dramalike Joel and Ellie’s argument on the porch or Dina’s ultimatum on the farm. Your work in Game of Thrones Proved he can handle the actionlike Ellie’s many shootouts with the Wolves and the Seraphites or the showdown in the theater. Mylod’s latest feature film, The menuproved that he has a good sensitivity for horrorso he could command one of the The last of us‘ many encounters with the infected.