After scoring an impressive 16 Emmy nominations for season two of The Last of Us, the cast and creative team gathered on Sunday at HBO Max’s Nominee Celebration to reflect on the season’s emotional journey.
The event featured stars Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Kaitlyn Dever, Joe Pantoliano, and editor Timothy Good, alongside series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. Much of the discussion centered around the shocking second episode, where Dever’s character Abby kills Pascal’s Joel, a pivotal and heartbreaking moment for fans.
Speaking about the scene, Pascal admitted that the weight of its impact didn’t fully hit him during filming. “You’re so inside of it that you really kind of lose sight of what it will mean when a TV audience experiences episode two,” he explained. Since Joel’s death also occurs in the original video game, Pascal assumed fans were already prepared: “I’m like, ‘Well, everyone knows this is gonna happen,’ because I’ve just been living with it for such a long time. I guess the context of that is that none of us were really thinking about that as we were shooting it. We were just really in the story.”
The shocking twist caught many fans off guard and marked a turning point in the series. After Joel’s brief appearance in season two’s premiere, the second episode officially introduces Abby, portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever. Her character — driven by a quest for revenge after Joel killed her father — is set to become the central lead heading into season three.
Reflecting on filming the pivotal scene, Pedro Pascal praised Dever’s performance. “Kaitlyn just came in — I had no doubt she was going to knock it out of the park, because she’s done that in everything I’ve seen her in,” he shared. Pascal described working alongside her as a rewarding experience: “There was this dance we got to enjoy, being scene partners in something so intense. Right away, we were just in it together. It was really fun.”
Pascal also reflected on his bond with Bella Ramsey, noting how their off-screen dynamic mirrored the strained relationship between their characters in season two. The two had spent a year together filming the first season but were apart for much of the break before season two.
“We’d been together for a year, and then we saw each other here and there — always keeping in touch — but we were physically apart for a long time,” Pascal explained. “When we reunited, our characters weren’t together, and that felt strangely painful in a way I hadn’t experienced on other projects. It was magical, but also painful, and that really helped me play the role.”
Co-creator Craig Mazin praised Kaitlyn Dever’s emotional performance during the brutal scene, marveling at her ability to balance intensity and vulnerability. “I don’t know how Kaitlyn looked at Pedro, glanced at the golf clubs, then back again with a tear falling. I don’t know how she did it,” Mazin said.
Dever, in turn, applauded Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey for their heartbreaking portrayal in the aftermath, when Ellie breaks down over Joel’s lifeless body. “When Joel is lying there dead, I don’t know how you guys pulled off that moment,” she admitted. “I had to leave the room. I couldn’t watch it. I don’t know how you did it.”
Speaking about her approach to playing Abby, Dever shared that she grounded the character in grief. “The most important thing for me was focusing on her pain. I wanted the audience to see it, to feel it — to understand how deeply it runs. She’s spent years thinking about this moment, obsessing over it, calculating every word and action for when she finally came face-to-face with Joel.”
“There was a moment at the very end when she kills Joel, and I think that there’s a moment where she doesn’t feel better and now she has to live with that,” she continued. “So I really wanted to just be able to see the human parts of her and that she’s not just this evil person that did this horrible thing.”