Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: the last of us

The Last of Us Co-Showrunner Mazin: We Killed Joel, NOT Pedro Pascal

The Last of Us co-showrunner Craig Mazin wants to make it clear that while Joel is dead, Pedro Pascal is alive and well (and very in-demand).

Sometimes TV isn't simply TV, especially when it comes to franchises with passionate fanbases, as The Last of Us as showrunner Craig Mazin is finding out. While the Chernobyl creator has familiarized himself with the games alongside HBO series co-creator in Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann (who worked on both PlayStation titles), he's still surprised over the fan unrest over protagonist, Joel Miller's (Pedro Pascal) death at the hands of Abby Anderson (Kaitlyn Dever) as revenge for killing her father at the end of season one in the season two episode "Through the Valley."

The Last of Us Creator Craig Mazin to Fans: Pedro Pascal is "in Literally Everything Else"

"Through the Valley" captured the signature moment that set the events of Part II in motion, where Abby unwittingly triggered an infected horde after falling from an avalanche. They storm Joel and Ellie's (Bella Ramsey) home in Jackson, Wyoming. After running from the infected, she stumbles upon Joel, who's on patrol with Dina (Isabela Merced), not knowing her intentions. As she leads the two into their trap, Dina is incapacitated while Abby starts beating and torturing Joel as she reminds him of the pain he caused her by massacring the Fireflies in the Salt Late City Hospital at the end of season one. As Ellie finally catches up, Abby's crew restrains Ellie as she delivers the killing blow with a broken golf club to Joel's neck.

"He did a thing. Everyone lost their shit, and then I had to do that same thing, because he did the thing, I loved doing the thing, I thought it was great," Mazin told Variety. "The big complaint that I've gotten is, 'Why did you kill Pedro Pascal?' And I keep explaining, we didn't kill him! He's a man, he's alive. He's fine. And he's in literally everything else. So I don't know what the problem is!"

As for Pascal, the actor's used to dying in so many of his roles, and among what triggered his superstardom was his character, Oberyn Martell's infamous death in Game of Thrones. "I realize this more and more as I get older, I find myself slipping into denial that anything is over. I know that I'm forever bonded to so many members of the experience and just have to see them under different circumstances, but never will under the circumstances of playing Joel on 'The Last of Us,'" he said. "And, no, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it because it makes me sad." With The Last of Us renewed for season three on HBO and HBO Max, both seasons are available to stream on HBO Max.

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