As The end of us After an amazing first season on HBO, it’s time to take a look back at what made the show such a buzz for the network. skyrocketing and record-breaking viewing figures mixed with critical acclaim for the apocalyptic drama brilliantly directed by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay. In an interview with Empire Magazine, the main players in the series reflected on the successes and the scenes that worked best for them.
Opening episodes
all”zombie-neighbor“movies and shows tend to start the same way – with an epidemic, and The end of us was no exception, took the time to accommodate us Sarah’s (Nico Parker) last day with father Joel (Pascal), before he was brutally shot dead by a soldier who panicked under pressure. This is important because the story informs Joel’s character arc for the entire series. “As soon as that moment happened in the first episode, we shot that scene all night long,” Pascal said. “It was one of the hardest nights I’ve ever had, physically and emotionally.”
“It was a terrible night,” he says Craig Mazin, the pointer. “I think we took eight shots, and we got the eight that we used! Pedro beat himself up, ‘I didn’t get there, I didn’t get there.’ Because he knew how important it was. And then he got there .
A big twist The series featured characters from Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett). Bill is a supporting character in the game a full twenty-year history with her lover, Frank – does not even appear in the game, except at the end of the loop. The creators used the medium of television to present to the audience one of the greatest “standalone” episodes in television history. “I don’t even know the words to describe this episode,” he said Neil Druckmann, co-creator. “Walking down the street and hearing people talk about it is very flattering and weird The end of us Random around you.”
Pascal agrees. “A cream cake with a cherry on top, it looks like it’s cracked a little!” The episode was also a milestone for the “coming of age” portrayal of LGBTQ characters. “The letters we receive are beautiful and sometimes they make me cry,” Mazin said. “In the last 20 years The visibility of LGBTQ people on television has increased dramaticallybut if you’re 65 or 75 and you don’t have to be in a monogamous relationship.” Bill’s message for Joel to find underscores the storyline about finding purpose for your life—when you’re truly alive. ‘lim will be more meaningful. , and have someone to live for.
Henry, Sam and Bloater
Although The end of us Having already introduced the audience to the possibility of heartbreaking loss of characters we do not already know, few minutes struck as Henry’s story (Lamar Johnson), teenage Firefly turned con artist, and Sam (Keyvonn Woodard), his deaf younger brother. At the end of an incredibly intense action scene with includes Introduction of Bloater – a fan favorite that barrel-rolls like Donkey Kong – Henry, Sam, Joel and Ellie escape to a nearby building to recover, only to find Sam bitten and turned the next morning. in Bloater, “Throughout the season, we talked about the tone, how grounded we wanted it to be,” Druckmann notes. we cried.”
But it certainly contains an unforgettable moment Henry and Sam. Horrified by what just happened, Henry pulls out his gun, puts his little brother out of his misery, and turns it on himself in front of Joel and Ellie, who are burying the brothers. Ellie leaves a note on Sam’s grave that simply says, “I’m sorry.” As horrible as it is, it’s important to show Joel how close Ellie will always be to death. “It was important to show Joel that if you lose him, you lose. That’s it,” Druckman said.
Riley, David, First Love and the End of Innocence
Episode 7 takes us back to the past again, but this time with Ellie. Based on a video game add-on Stay behindit tells the story of Ellie’s night with Riley that turns into a hilarious tragedy (Storm Reid), his best friend and first love. The game, flashback, is set in the winter The end of us, when an injured Joel is on the brink of death and Ellie goes out alone to look for food and medicine. When Ellie first brought up Sarah, Joel immediately cut her off, claiming he knew nothing about the loss, which Ellie was actually forced to kill. the only person he loves. “It was heavy because it had to be. He carries the weight of it with him,” Ramsey said. “That’s why she’s determined to look after Joel. She can’t live without him.”
While trying to help Joel, he encounters David, the evangelical cannibalistic predator (played Scott Shepherd), who traps him, decides to turn him into his other half. Using her wits and survival skills that Joel has taught her, she escapes – but when David grabs her and pins her to the ground, trying to do something bad to her, Ellie beats her to death violently. and stumbles into Joel’s hand outside the burning restaurant. in shock. “I can see in an instant that he’s had an experience that I can’t defend, and from now on I’ll never have anything else against him,” Pascal said.
The season ends on the darkest note. Finally arriving at Firefly Hospital in Salt Lake City, Joel wakes up to find that Ellie has been taken into surgery – a procedure to remove the part of her brain that provides immunity to the cordyceps virus, which will kill her. After losing Sarah already, he won’t let that happen again, falls into a dissociative state and shot everyone to save his “daughter”. On the way home, Ellie pulls up in the car and asks what happened, and Joel lies to her about the hospital being broken into and how. his immunity The vaccine can’t be manipulated, Ellie doesn’t believe it in her heart.
“I think Ellie knows,” says Ramsey. “Part of him knows or fears that he’s not telling the truth. But he has to believe it. Because if he’s not telling the truth, he can’t think about what it means. He has to believe because otherwise. it’s going to break his heart.”
Joel and Ellie’s future is now uncertain – at least for those who haven’t played The Last of Us Part II. Season 2 has been greenlit, and the anticipation begins to see where their story will take us next. But for now, the debate remains – is Joel selfish, curmudgeon, hero, villain, or a little bit of everything?
The end of us now streaming in full on HBO Max.