Resentment, Revenge, Resistance, and Rejuvenation Fuel Season 2 of THE LAST OF US

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede At the conclusion of a recent panel interview, the main cast and creators of HBO’s THE LAST OF US were each asked to describe Season 2 in one word. Here were their responses: Young Mazino, who plays Jesse: “Explosive.” Isabela Merced, who plays Dina: “Grief.” Gabriel Luna, who plays Tommy: “Vengeance.” Kaitlyn Dever, who plays Abby: “Gripping.” Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel: “Snowy.” Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie: “Rainy.” Neil Druckmann, co-creator: “Love.” Craig Mazin, co-creator: “Beautiful.” Can eight things be true at once? Fans will start finding out with the Season 2 premiere, Sunday, April 13 on Crave. Frankly, few seasons in the history of television have been as highly anticipated as the second season of THE LAST OF US, the smash-hit post-apocalyptic TV series based on a popular videogame of the same name. While it has been more than two years since Season 1 (available on Crave) wrapped up, the story jumps ahead five years for Season 2. “Obviously a lot has changed over those five years,” Ramsey said. “Ellie was 14, and now is 19. And I think in any teenager’s life, that’s always the formative years. So that definitely informed it. But there are obviously deeper reasons for their little rift.” When Ramsey refers to “their little rift,” she means the touchy state of the relationship between Ellie and Joel as Season 2 begins. Joel continues to reflexively see himself as Ellie’s protector, but she is resentful of some of the protection he has supplied in the past, and bristles at the notion that she still needs to be saved or coddled by anyone. At one point in the first episode of Season 2, Ellie literally screams at Joel, “I don’t need your f—— help!” That pretty much sums up Ellie’s mindset, although to be fair to Joel, Ellie is at the stage where she’s openly rebelling against all authority figures in the gated community of Jackson, Wyoming, in a way that sometimes makes her reckless. “I’m protective of the people that I love,” observed Pascal, when asked if he draws inspiration from anyone in his life to play Joel. “And I think that’s probably the main component that I relate to. I’m pretty fiercely protective, I think.” Of course, when it comes to THE LAST OF US, protection in all its forms is always the main concern, or at least should be. The series is set in the aftermath of a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which transforms its hosts into zombie-like creatures, and has caused the collapse of society. The addition of the Abby character, played by Dever (DOPESICK, UNBELIEVABLE, LAST MAN STANDING, JUSTIFIED), is particularly impactful on the plot in Season 2, and Dever has an even deeper history with the franchise. More than a decade ago, Dever, now 28, was pegged to play Ellie in a film version of THE LAST OF US, but the movie got lost in development purgatory and never happened. “It was sort of surreal (coming back into THE LAST OF US world), because I had since become such a huge fan of the show,” Dever said. At that point, Pascal cracked up the room, Dever included, by interjecting, “I thought you were going to say, ‘I’d become such a huge star’ … which you had.” “No, YOU have,” Dever replied to Pascal. Either way, THE LAST OF US continues to make, and attract, stars. “We just haven’t f—– up in casting,” an amazed Mazin said. “We just haven’t f—– up. Sooner or later, you think we would. But every single one of these guys, I can’t wait for you to see what they do, and how they interact with each other. It’s amazing.”   billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv