'The Last of Us' Season 2 Just Changed How We Understand Joel
The Last of Us
It's no secret that fatherhood is a major theme in The Last of Us. But while Joel exists as Ellie's surrogate father figure in both the original video games and the HBO television adaptation, who was Joel's father? The character has never been mentioned, let alone seen in any of the original video games. But on TV, The Last of Us season 2 just gave an answer to a question few fans probably didn't even think to ask.
In the newest episode of The Last of Us, "The Price," (season 2, episode 6) the series rewinds the clock to explore the years Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) spent together in Jackson. While their earliest memories are happy, their relationship strains over time. Not only does Ellie oppose some of Joel's actions—namely, how he kills an infected Jackson resident, Eugene (Joe Pantoliano), despite promising he wouldn't—but Ellie correctly suspects that Joel is hiding what happened in Salt Lake City.
But the top of the episode brings audiences back in time even further, to 1983. Before there were fungus zombies and survivalist factions, life for Joel and his brother Tommy was just as bleak under their father, Javier, played by guest star Tony Dalton. (You might recognize him from Better Call Saul, or the Marvel shows Hawkeye and Daredevil: Born Again.) While Javier's screen time is short, his appearance reveals a wealth about Joel, including the seeds that drive him to watch over Ellie like his own daughter.
On one fateful night in 1983, a young Tommy (played by David Miranda) gets into a fight with a neighborhood drug dealer, which compels a teenage Joel (Andrew Diaz) to step in. At home, Joel volunteers to take the blame for the whole incident to protect Tommy from a beating at the hands of their father, who is also a cop. Though Javier admits he's abusive, he argues that he isn't as harsh as his own father. "Okay, yeah, I've hit you. And I've hit Tommy," Javier admits to Joel. "But never like that. Not even close."
He continues, "But I'm doing a little better than my father did. And you know, when it's your turn, I hope you do a little better than me." Javier then offers his son a beer, a symbol of uneasy understanding between the two of them.
The backstory is basically Joel's origin story, showing how and why he was so driven to protect Ellie. He was a man who used violence to protect his loved ones and believed he was doing the right thing, even when his actions said otherwise. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, creator and series executive producer Neil Druckmann explains as much, revealing how the scene encapsulates Joel's outlook that follows him to the end.
"What the dad ultimately says is, 'I think I've done the right things, but I'm not entirely sure. I just know that I did things better than my dad, who beat me even worse,'" Druckmann said. "His insecurity about that stays with Joel as well. Joel's doing the best he can with the tools that are in front of him, but he loves Ellie unconditionally."
Javier is an original character invented for the HBO series; Joel never mentioned his father in any of the games. But his inclusion deepens our understanding of Joel, a man who had rough edges but held a warmth informed by inherited traumas. You might not agree with anything Joel did, but you can't argue he wasn't doing what he thought was best, even if it killed him.
You Might Also Like
Kid Cudi Is All Right
16 Best Shoe Organizers For Storing and Displaying Your Kicks
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘We could do this show forever': ‘Somebody Somewhere' creators on final season, heart, and the humor of Bridget Everett
"We could do this show forever. We love it so much." Those are the shared sentiments of Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, the creators of HBO's critically acclaimed series Somebody Somewhere, who recently sat down with Gold Derby to reflect on the show's exploration of love, chosen family, and Midwest quirks — as well as its abrupt conclusion after three beloved seasons. Created for and starring Bridget Everett, the series earned a Peabody Award and multiple critical accolades for its tender yet hilarious portrayal of life in Manhattan, Kan. More from GoldDerby 'Wicked: For Good' trailer teases more monkeys, a wedding, and Dorothy Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood: The debunked 'White Lotus' feud explained Justine Lupe on the unexpected chemistries that power Netflix's 'Nobody Wants This' While HBO did not pick up the series for a fourth season, the creators are satisfied with how things ended. "Yes, we're sad that it's over, but we're happy that it gets to be out there forever," says Bos. "Especially now... the world feels a little bit weirder, so it's nice to have a comforting show out in the world." Thureen elaborates, "This show has always been about moments in time. We always felt like every season could be the last. All we could do was do the best we could and spend time with these characters in this moment. Even though we didn't write that final episode to be a series finale, the fact that it ends with Joel saying to Sam, 'You're my person,' which is the central love story of the show, in retrospect feels like a great conclusion." "To us, this isn't the end — they're still out there, living their lives," Bos adds. The heart of Somebody Somewhere lies in its deeply personal collaboration with Everett, who plays Sam, a character loosely inspired by Everett's own life. As Bos notes, "She's the best. She's so inspiring. When we brought her the idea of the world and a lot of what happens in the pilot, it really spoke to her." "We [started out] making our own work in New York, just like Bridget did," Thureen adds. "All these people — Murray Hill, Jeff Hiller — they didn't have a spot, so they made their own thing. This 'group of misfits making something together' is sort of in the bones of the show." For Everett, connecting to her singing roots through the series was vital. Bos describes how that arc mirrored Everett's journey as an artist and person: "Bridget's one secret power is music — it's how she connects. From the pilot, Joel (Hiller) unlocks something in her, and each season she takes steps forward. In the finale, her singing is fully on her terms, inviting her friends into her world — a moment of empowerment that speaks to Sam's growth." SEE 'It changed my life': Bridget Everett reflects on the emotional end of 'Somebody Somewhere' Somebody Somewhere stood out for its ability to mix gut-punch emotional moments with gut-busting laughs. "We really tried to make a show that wasn't like what you'd typically see on TV — more like life," Bos explains. "In life, everything can be falling apart, and then someone farts or trips up the stairs at a funeral. Those moments of comedy in tragedy ground everything." Thureen agrees, adding, "Growing up in the stoic Midwest, if you fall into something emotional, you have to undercut it. There's just something real about those absurd or awkward moments that interrupt genuine emotion." Among the pair's favorite moments were subtle physical comedy gems. Bos recalls, "There's a flick Bridget does in the bathroom with the underwear [her sister] Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison) throws at her — it killed me. Bridget can do anything as a physical comedian." One of the show's most cherished themes is chosen family, exemplified by the tight-knit dinner scenes and Sam's relationships with her friends and sister Tricia. "The 'chosen family Thanksgiving' was so fun to shoot because every actor owned their role so completely — every nuance, every moment," Bos says. "Even our set dressers cared so much — the little name tags, Brad's home life details, everything added to the authenticity." Writing the evolving bond between Sam and Tricia was especially fulfilling. Bos reflects, "[Both characters] went through so much — Tricia goes from Season 1's basement to chosen family at Brad's house. Their sisterhood was so fun to write. They were friends before the show and they lived together — and their natural chemistry together — they are like sisters. " Adds Thureen, "The way Sam is able to be there for Tricia this season flips their dynamic. The conversation about grief in the finale is so moving, and even Tricia defending her sister passionately to Iceland (Olafur Darri Ólafsson) on the farm gets me emotional — it shows how far they've come." As creators with roots in Illinois and Minnesota, Bos and Thureen infused the show with deeply specific yet relatable Midwestern humor and details — like "St. Louis sushi" (cream cheese and ham rolls). For Thureen, who grew up in East Grand Forks, Minn., the references are deeply personal. "There's a nod in Season 1 to 'Crazy Days' [a local shopping tradition] and Spot Rite Liquors. It's that vibe of Midwest life." Bos herself notes how Everett's Kansas upbringing grounded key elements of the show. "We'd always be like, 'Is this truly Midwest?' Bridget's perspective helped make it real." Although Somebody Somewhere has wrapped, Bos and Thureen left the door cracked open for potential returns. "We never know," Bos teases when asked about the possibility of revisiting the series in the future. When considering Emmy recognition, Bos reiterates the importance of spreading the show's love. "We just really want more people to see the show — that would be incredible." "I feel like the show is totally unique — so many people put their hearts and souls into it," Thureen adds. "It's so gratifying that people respond to it." Somebody Somewhere is streaming on Max. Best of GoldDerby Chloë Sevigny on Kitty Menendez and 'Monsters' fascination: 'People are endlessly curious about those who have privilege and abuse it' Jason Isaacs relives filming 'The White Lotus' piña colada scene: 'It was one of the reasons I was worried about taking the job' Kaitlyn Dever on playing 'horrible' characters in 'Last of Us', 'Apple Cider Vinegar': 'I just don't see any other option but to give 100 percent' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kaitlyn Dever out front in Drama Guest Actress Emmy odds for killer ‘The Last of Us' role
This year's Emmy race for Best Drama Guest Actress is shaping up to be a battle between The Last of Us and Severance. Two guest stars from each show appear in Gold Derby's top four spots: Kaitlyn Dever and Catherine O'Hara for HBO's zombie apocalypse adaptation, and Gwendoline Christie and Merritt Wever for Apple TV+'s sci-fi workplace series. Our predicted lineup of six is rounded out by Cherry Jones for The Handmaid's Tale and Hilary Swank for Yellowjackets. More from GoldDerby 'A lot comes with jumping into that inferno': Questlove explores the burden of Black genius in 'Sly Lives!' 'I cried a lot': Rob Delaney on the heart and humor in FX's 'Dying for Sex' - and Neighbor Guy's kick in the 'zone' 'Karate Kid: Legends' to close out May with a box-office boost, but 'Lilo & Stitch' stays on top Dever appears in three episodes of The Last of Us Season 2 as Abby, a soldier who seeks revenge against Joel (Pedro Pascal) for murdering her father. When she finally locates him, Abby and her group of followers torture and beat Joel to death with a golf club, in front of his daughter figure, Ellie (Bella Ramsey). The cycle of revenge violence continues, as Ellie takes it upon herself to kill everyone associated with Abby until the two come face to face in the finale. In 2023, Dever received the first Emmy bid of her career, for her supporting turn on Dopesick. She has also appeared in projects like Justified, Unbelievable, and Apple Cider Vinegar, the latter of which she'll be on this year's Emmy ballot for Best Movie/Limited Series Actress. HBO O'Hara plays Gail on The Last of Us, a therapist at the encampment who continues to see Joel, despite him being responsible for murdering Gail's husband, Eugene (Joe Pantoliano), who had been infected by a zombie bite. Like Dever, O'Hara could be a two-time Emmy nominee this year; she also has a key supporting role as a fired movie producer on The Studio. The veteran actress has two Emmy Awards on her mantel, for starring on Schitt's Creek (2020) and for writing SCTV Network (1982). Christie's role of Lorne, an anti-social goatherd in Severance Season 2, stood out for its sheer uniqueness. Much of her scenes are shared with Adam Scott's Mark S., who stumbles upon Lorne's Mammalians Nurturable division while trying to uncover what happened to his missing wife. This would be Christie's second career Emmy nomination, after previously earning a bid for her breakout role of Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones (2019). Wever also made her Severance debut in the second season, though her character is much more grounded and driven by emotion. She portrays Gretchen George, the wife of Zach Cherry's outie character, Dylan George. Their marriage has become stale over the years, but Gretchen soon rekindles her love for him by secretly meeting with his innie version, Dylan G., under the watchful eye of Miss Huang (Sarah Bock). Wever is already a two-time Emmy champion for the comedy series Nurse Jackie (2013) and the limited series Godless (2018). Jones returned to The Handmaid's Tale for the final season as Holly Maddox, the feminist mother of June (Elisabeth Moss). Only this time, she was seen in the present-day story (as opposed to flashbacks) after June found her alive and working at a refugee camp in Alaska. In the series finale, Holly convinces her daughter to write a book about everything she's accomplished as an escaped handmaid who helped take down Gilead. Jones has three Emmys to her name for 24 (supporting, 2009), The Handmaid's Tale (guest, 2019), and Succession (guest, 2020). Rounding out Gold Derby's top six is Swank for Yellowjackets. She plays the adult version of Jenna Burgess' Melissa, a member of the girls' soccer team who crashed in a plane and survived in the wilderness. In the present, Melissa starts a new life as Kelly after faking her death by suicide. Swank is a double Best Actress Oscar winner for Boys Don't Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), though this would be her first Emmy nomination. Others in the running for a Best Drama Guest Actress Emmy nomination include Tati Gabrielle (The Last of Us), Jane Alexander (Severance), Julie Hagerty (Matlock), Sydney Cole Alexander (Severance), Angela Bassett (Doctor Odyssey), and Rebecca Tilney (The Pitt). Note that contenders like Gabrielle, who were not officially submitted by a network or studio, can still enter their own names for Emmy consideration. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby 'I cried a lot': Rob Delaney on the heart and humor in FX's 'Dying for Sex' — and Neighbor Guy's kick in the 'zone' TV directors roundtable: 'American Primeval,' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,' 'Paradise' 'Paradise' directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra on the 'chaos' of crafting 'the world coming to an end' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kaitlyn Dever on playing ‘horrible' characters in ‘Last of Us', ‘Apple Cider Vinegar': ‘I just don't see any other option but to give 100 percent'
When she's not conning the world, she's gunning for the world. Such is the acting life of Kaitlyn Dever, whose twin performances this season — as the conniving Belle Gibson on Netflix's Apple Cider Vinegar and the vengeful Abby on HBO's The Last of Us — have her poised for a potential double nomination come July 15. More from GoldDerby 'Wicked: For Good' trailer teases more monkeys, a wedding, and Dorothy Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood: The debunked 'White Lotus' feud explained Justine Lupe on the unexpected chemistries that power Netflix's 'Nobody Wants This' "Getting the opportunity to take on such different roles is really what means the most to me as a person and also as an actor," says Dever, who took a break from filming Godzilla x Kong to talk to Gold Derby. Here, she reveals what draws her to challenging characters, how she nailed that Australian accent, and what to expect for season 3 of The Last of Us. Gold Derby: Congratulations on being an overachiever this Emmy season. Kaitlyn Dever: I think it's just all so much luck. I feel so lucky that I've been able to work as much as I have in the past few years, and to get to do so many different kinds of roles and work so many different muscles — and some muscles that I didn't even think I had. It's such a gift to be able to tap into these darker roles and heavier roles, and getting to do an Australian accent is such a rarity for an American. It certainly feels like you're not afraid to take on a challenge. What makes you say yes to a part? I think it probably is the challenge. I really do like to push certain boundaries with myself and see how far I can go with something because I do feel like my job, as I've done it more and more, feels really therapeutic. I've worked really hard, and then it's in the can, and then whatever happens after that, I leave it up to the world to decide. SEE'The Last of Us': Kaitlyn Dever will campaign as guest actress at the Emmys for Season 2 (exclusive) When your characters aren't necessarily the heroine of a story or aren't necessarily likable, how do you find your way into them? This is the thing I've thought a lot about recently because you're right, I have not played the [heroine]. When you first meet someone like Abby, she does something truly very horrible. And then you learn through the course of watching the show that she might not be so different from the rest of the people in that world. But for someone like Belle, she really does something so terrible and so horrible. And when I first read Apple Cider Vinegar, I was so mind-blown. I just couldn't believe someone would go through that much to do that kind of thing. The amount of lives that she affected by lying about having brain cancer is just so horrific and terrible. I have such a personal relationship with cancer, and so I just was furious. And so yes, I was wondering that myself, how I was going to take that fury and turn that into what I ended up doing. What I found with our writer, creator Samantha Strauss, is that she was someone that just was desperately craving love and community and would do anything to get it. Getting to discover a little bit more about her background and where she comes from and how she didn't really receive a lot of love, or the love that she wanted growing up, I think that that was helpful for me to keep in the back of my mind while playing her. What was great is that Sam Strauss with this story really wanted to create our own version of Belle Gibson because even though she does have a presence online, and a huge social media following, we really won't ever know, I think, who the real Belle Gibson is anyway. So I felt like I had to give everything I had to this character and go a little bit wild with it. Because she is a bit wild with who she is around certain people. She's very seductive in one scene and then crying her eyes out in another scene and then screaming and then, singing 'Firework' by Katy Perry a capella in front of a group of people. Whether it's embarrassing myself or feeling really sad, I just don't see any other option but to give 100 percent of my energy. SEEKaitlyn Dever out front in Drama Guest Actress Emmy odds for killer 'The Last of Us' role Talk about creating that Australian accent. I've heard nothing but praise for how authentic it was. Creating that accent was certainly just so daunting because it's such a hard accent to do, and I've never done it before. I genuinely thought that when they sent me the script, they sent it to the wrong person. I thought they had the wrong email address, I swear, because I've never proven myself in that way or done an accent. I've only really done southern accents. That's as far as I've gone in accent work. They just really put their trust in me. So three months before we started shooting, I started meeting with the dialect coach. I truly would not have been able to do this accent at all without her. Because I have a little bit of a music ear, I was able to hear every little thing I did wrong, which was I think a blessing and a curse. Were you able to reference the video interviews the real Belle Gibson had done? Yes, I watched those for sure. I used that iconic 60 Minutes interview with the pink turtleneck and that intense lip gloss. I just kept saying, I think we need more. I want the light to reflect off of my lips. I used that as the core and then pulled from that. Because if you watch that interview, you can really see there's so much going on behind her eyes. I mean, it's fascinating to watch that interview. There was also an interview of her at an Apple event, and there was one other video that she did with her publisher where they were fact-checking her. And it was watching those that I discovered just how much of a chameleon she is and how she will literally do whatever it takes. She puts on a different type of voice and a different attitude around certain people. So she's kind of an actor to me. You mentioned you've got a personal connection to cancer; I know you were dealing with your mother's illness. So how did you also protect yourself emotionally during filming? There were only a few moments that were triggering, like the part where I'm getting a brain scan. But the timing was just too crazy when this project came into my life. My mom had just started sort of exploring, in addition to her chemotherapy and radiation, integrative type of care just to help boost her immune system and was looking into nonconventional therapies. So the things that they were discussing, I was like, "Jesus. This is so, so close to home." All of the coffee enemas and all of the IV therapy, that was my life for so long, and it was my life when I left to go shoot the show in Australia. There was a moment when I was afraid to go to Australia and leave my family — you know, god forbid something happened at the time. I was really scared to do it, but what kept me going was actually my mom. I got to talk to her every single day on the job and FaceTiming and showing her my new bleached blonde hair. I hold those memories very close, and I was able to protect myself in that way. My mom was there for me for all of those moments, which, I guess, ultimately, was the thing that helped me. It's pretty powerful. Let's talk about Abby. You had just one line in the finale, and wow, did you deliver. Where did you summon the emotional energy for that one? For that job, I felt like I was totally floating through set. And for some reason, I guess, all of those emotions and that anger and that pain, I had a lot of that. And so it was just a matter of amping it up to Abby mode. I think that was ultimately what I did for that character and really getting to this this deep, deep, deep rage and just full-on rage. We saw quite a bit of it in episode two. But that last scene, you don't have much time to tell that story or to give too much context on who Abby is. So I just had to let every moment, every word that I said really matter and make the most of it. I only did three episodes total, and I really wanted to make sure that I did whatever I could to use what I had. Craig Mazin is such a brilliant writer that I had so much to work with. It's just about going through the backstory, too, and what Abby has had to see and what she's had to deal with leading up to that very point, and some of that we haven't seen yet. So it was just a matter of imagining that. How much do you know from the game, and what are we going to see in Season 3? The first game I played a couple of times with my dad, and then the second game, I only played to a certain point, because it was right around the time I had my first meeting with Craig and Neil Druckman. And Neil was actually very clear on not finishing the game. I really want you to come at this with a fresh pair of eyes. But in that meeting, they told me a lot about their plans. We're going to get to dive even deeper into Abby in season three, and I'm really looking forward to doing that. There's a lot of stuff that has happened that we don't really know about. Obviously, it's all there in the game, and I'm excited to get to explore more of that. Fans obviously have lots of feelings about Abby. Do you pay attention to it? A lot of people have asked me this, especially before the show came out, and obviously I was going to check. I have a phone, and I'm a human being, and I'm going to look. I can't help it. And it's been OK. Any negativity ... I'm able to continue to do my work. There is a lot of hatred for the character Abby in the game. There just is. But I had to just put in its own box and just give a 100 percent of myself to doing my job and doing the character and just hope that people are able to separate real person from character. And the way that they structured the show, they gave a little more context to Abby in Season 2. Because in the game, they don't actually do that. In the game, Abby literally shows up and kills Joel. And then all of a sudden you're playing as Abby. You're like, who's this lady? What is going on right now? You have no idea who she is. It was nice and also helpful to be given that context and to see her pain. Do you think she feels any guilt or remorse over killing Joel, or is it just what she needed to do? I think when you experience that kind of grief, that's what drives her. She is so angry about that loss, and she's just riddled with grief and pain. She's just a very broken person at the end of the day. For me in playing the character, I had to approach the role in thinking that, she's someone who lost someone she loves, and spends five years planning on how she was going to get revenge. And I think that planning in all of those five years it sort of brainwashes you in a lot of ways. There's no other way to think about it. This is the plan. This is what I have to do to feel better. Because when you're grieving, all you want is for that pain to go away. And what you really want is just that person back, but that's not going to happen. But I don't know if that really, at the end of the day, it made her feel any better. What do you want to see for her next season? All Craig tells me, is 'Oh boy, Kaitlyn.' He just wants to level up. We're going to be bigger is what he's told me. So I'm excited for whatever that means. Best of GoldDerby Chloë Sevigny on Kitty Menendez and 'Monsters' fascination: 'People are endlessly curious about those who have privilege and abuse it' Jason Isaacs relives filming 'The White Lotus' piña colada scene: 'It was one of the reasons I was worried about taking the job' The Making of 'Out of My Mind': Inside the groundbreaking Disney+ film redefining disability representation on screen Click here to read the full article.
