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The Last Of Us (2023), starring Pedro Pascal, has become the second most viewed TV Series in the last decade with a stunning Rotten Tomatoes score of 97 percent. Hitting 22 Million viewers, it has been confirmed that Pascal’s portrayal of protagonist Joel Miller will bring more zombie-apocalypse storylines for a second season. Also starring in The Mandalorian (2019-2023), Pascal will continue to entertain the world with his immersive acting abilities. In this article, let’s review Pascal’s take on Joel, from coping through traumas derived from the past, taking on the responsibility of protecting a new stranger, and finding the light in the foreseeable future in episode 3.
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FROM THE MANDALORIAN TO THE LAST OF US
One can imagine the responsibility it takes for him to juggle two significant characters that hold an important identity within both the Playstation franchise and Disney’s Star Wars franchise. What is truly impressive about Pascal’s portrayal of Mando from The Mandalorian and Joel from The Last of Us comes to mind considering the fact that both characters have a lot more similarities than what meets the eye. After all, Mando wears “beskar’gam in Mando'a '' armor somewhere far away in the galaxy, whereas Joel wears “your average Joe” attire on a post-apocalyptic Planet Earth.
Yet, underneath the surface, both characters carry an inspiring responsibility to protect important beings with no parental guidance, support, or most of all, love. Because the Last Of Us is only two episodes in, let’s take a deeper look at Pedro Pascal’s portrayal of being a proxy parental figure in a world on the brink of irreversible damage (warning: spoiler alert)!
The Last of Us: Episode 2 Recap (Spoiler Alert)
What we know so far is that Joel has not revealed too much about himself toward Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14 year old orphan who never knew what planet earth was like before the zombie apocalypse. What we can assume is that Joel’s rather cynical and detached approach to his circumstances emanates from beyond the new normal of a world filled with legions of lethal fungi. The dispassion stems from his past, 20 years prior to his current situation, when his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) was killed at the very beginning of the outbreak. This was noted in episode one. Moreover, he has lost touch and is concerned with the whereabouts of his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna). Believe it or not, there is more.
In the climax of episode 2, Joel is caught in a horrible fight-or-flight situation, when his good friend Tess (Anna Torv), sacrifices herself in an explosion as a means to give Joel and Ellie more time to outrun a massive swarm of zombies, and more importantly, a chance to finding the cure and ending the pandemic. With such a tragic backstory, the audience still feels a sense of hope more so than despair, as Joel composes the inner strength he has left to keep on going against all odds. Pedro Pascal’s ability to carry such a heavy role in a way that unravels a dormant desire to save mankind regardless of such heavy burdens is what makes TheLastOfUs so incredibly gripping. All that Joel has left is a stranger who he deems as questionable pertaining to her miraculous ability to withstand a zombie bite.
★ Did You Know?★
There are parallels between the fictionalized premise of The Last Of Us to the real world we live in today. An Insect Paralyzing Fungi called Ophiocordyceps that essentially hijacks the brain, eats the body from the inside, and duplicates legions of more of its own “kind” is only a danger to insects. However, it is theoretically possible that this fungal disease can mutate and potentially infect humans due to hotter climates resulting from global warming; if fungi temperatures continue to become higher and closer to our body temperatures, there is a chance there would be infections in humans.
Joel And Ellie Tread Toward Episode 3
Although he is now the protector of Ellie and essentially of all mankind, perhaps it is Ellie who is equally as much of a protector of Joel. The two go hand in hand; one pillar to keep the structure of humankind upright, and the latter to prevent humankind from collapsing. What we can look forward to in episode 3 is how Joel and Ellie’s newfound structure will hold as they begin their new journey to salvation as one unified column. Certainly there will be a lot of suspense, action packed scenes, and new plot points to anticipate with season 2 just around the corner. But first we have to hit the brakes and hold our breath for episode 3, for it is a heart wrenching, emotional episode to digest.
Watch the third episode of The Last Of Us here
Need a list of the zombie films deadicated to you?
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