Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: Bella Ramsey, gabriel luna, HBO, Jasmila Žbanić, Pedro Pascal, Rutina Wesley, the last of us

The Last of Us Season 1 Ep. 6 "Kin" Director Talks Emotional Chapter

The Last of Us director Jasmila Žbanić breaks down the HBO series' latest episode "Kin," Joel and Tommy's reunion, game deviations & more.

As we're past the halfway point of season one in HBO's The Last of Us with three episodes left, we reach a watershed moment in the Naughty Dog PlayStation game that involves Joel (Pedro Pascal), his family, and traveling companion Ellie (Bella Ramsey) when they reach Jackson, Wyoming, their second of three stops. "Kin" was directed by Jasmila Žbanić, her first foray into episodic television. She opened up about her prior exposure to the games, set conditions, filming some emotionally tense scenes, and creative changes from the game. The following contains major spoilers for the episode.

Jasmila Žbanić's Familiarity with The Last of Us

"When I got the job, I didn't know anything about the game, so I had to really educate myself with what it is," Žbanić told Variety. "I bought the game, and I tried to play it, and then I watched a lot of YouTube videos of people playing it. I was watching the part that concerns my episode a million times. I was talking a lot with Neil about all the atmosphere of the city and what he had in mind, and what is also not there. There are some elements that Craig added to the whole piece. I was also talking to a lot of gamers. I always ask, 'What do they want to see? What do you expect from the game?' They would be saying to keep these emotions and atmosphere. These two things were like a checklist for me. I would check with each scene that they're there."

When it came to why creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann wanted to incorporate Jackson from 2020's Part II into the HBO series, "I didn't really talk about it because for me it was very natural. What we talked a lot about was that I survived the war in Sarajevo in the '90s," Žbanić said. "I think for Craig and Neil; it was interesting that I was kind of living in a place which was like Jackson in a way because we were surrounded by the Serbian army, we were constantly bombarded. We had to be on alert; we had to survive; we had to learn how to live without anything, without civilization. There was no electricity, no food, nothing. But we managed to survive because of solidarity and the way the city was restructured. You have to start from zero. That experience for me was something that I felt very close about Jackson. It's a community that functions, and I find it really beautiful and hopeful because I really believe even in the worst catastrophes, like war, I survived. People are able to keep the society. They are not always the enemy to each other. So I was really happy to direct this episode that really said something that I deeply believe in."

After Joel and Tommy's (Gabriel Luna) reunion, old demons resurfaced among the two, along with the earlier's growing PTSD affecting his mission to escort Ellie to the Fireflies. "We were very lucky because we had the opportunity to have rehearsals before we were on the set. The set was quite difficult because of the cold weather," Žbanić said. "Sometimes it was even -15 degrees Celsius, so very, very cold. That scene with Tommy and Joel was especially taken care of. They would be reading it, act, repeat and trying different stuff. They also suggested some changes, so it was very deep for both of them in each scene. It was so beautiful, because it's a very long scene in the shoe shop. It's a very emotional scene for Pedro. I was filming him as a second; first we filmed Gabriel, and then I noticed that each time we repeated, Pedro was crying. He was not on camera, but he was crying because he was giving his partner everything so that he can act. This is very special. It's so generous of an actor to do this so deep. I was amazed by Pedro's talent."

For more, including the exchange that got Joel to change his mind about Ellie, bringing Nico Parker's Sarah back for the episode, Joel's serious injury change, and more, you can check out the whole interview here. The Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO.

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