"Kind of feel their pain": The Last Of Us stars open up about the Ellie-Joel rift; teases Season 2 

HBO's The Last of Us Season 2 will showcase a shift in the relationship between Pedro Pascal's Joel and Bella Ramsey's Ellie. The show's stars recently opened up about the changes in their dynamic in the upcoming chapter.

Following the Season 1 finale, it was inevitable that things would change between the central characters. In an interview with ScreenRant, Pascal discussed how he understood Joel's pain after his falling out with Ellie:

''My mindset was grateful to be back. And yet at the same time, it's this experience, more than any other I've had, that is hard for me to separate what the characters are going through and how it makes me feel. In a way that isn't very healthy. And so, I kind of feel their pain and I suppose I was in an unhealthy mindset.''

The Last of Us, the post-apocalyptic drama series based on a popular video game, debuted in 2023 and quickly became a hit. Season 2, set to be released on April 13, 2025, will feature a five-year time jump in Joel and Ellie's story.

More on The Last of Us Season 2 in our story.

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Joel and Ellie's relationship dynamics will change in The Last of Us Season 2

While Joel and Ellie's strong relationship was at the heart of Season 1, the finale events changed their dynamic forever. Joel's morally questionable actions, including killing all the Fireflies to save Ellie, will likely be discovered by her, which will have consequences.

Although Joel did everything he could to keep himself and Ellie safe, his actions will create an emotional rift between the characters, which will be interesting to see in the upcoming season.

Additionally, since the show features a five-year time jump, Ellie has grown up and will be more informed in her decisions, which will play a role in Season 2, as Ramsey hinted in an interview with ScreenRant:

''...a lot has changed over those five years. Ellie was 14 and now is 19. I think, in any teenager's life, that's always the formative years, so that definitely informed it. But there's obviously deeper reasons for their little rift. I didn't enjoy feeling estranged from Pedro within a scene...''

Talking about this particular emotional scene between the characters in Season 2, Pascal added:

''...there's an incredibly painful distance between the two of them in the playing of the scene...''

Pascal and Ramsey's remarks affirm that Season 2 promises an emotional journey for the characters, making it intriguing to observe how their rift will unfold in the next chapter.

Also Read: 5 Best Shows of Pedro Pascal ahead of The Last of Us season 2

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