The Gilded Age Season 3: Release date, cast updates and what to expect next
By Aman Shukla Published on June 9, 2025, 18:00 IST Last updated June 9, 2025, 11:52 IST
HBO's The Gilded Age is set to return for its highly anticipated third season, bringing more opulent drama, stunning costumes, and intricate social battles to the screens. Created by Julian Fellowes, the mastermind behind Downton Abbey , this period drama set in 1880s New York City has captivated audiences with its clash of old money versus new money. With Season 3 premiering soon, here's everything you need to know about the next chapter of this lavish series. Release Date for The Gilded Age Season 3
The Gilded Age Season 3 is set to premiere on June 22, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO, with episodes available to stream simultaneously on Max. The season will consist of eight episodes, continuing the show's tradition of delivering high-stakes drama. Cast Updates: Returning Stars
The ensemble cast of The Gilded Age Season 3 will see the return of its core players. Here's a breakdown of who's coming back: Returning Cast Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell, the ambitious new-money socialite determined to dominate New York society.
Morgan Spector as George Russell, Bertha's railroad tycoon husband, whose risky business ventures could make or break the family.
Louisa Jacobson as Marian Brook, the young protagonist navigating love and societal expectations.
Denée Benton as Peggy Scott, a talented writer tackling racial and social barriers.
Taissa Farmiga as Gladys Russell, whose arranged marriage prospects spark family conflict.
Harry Richardson as Larry Russell, whose romance with Marian continues to blossom.
Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhijn, the old-money matriarch struggling with her diminished household authority.
Cynthia Nixon as Ada Forte (née Brook), now the financial head of the Brook household after inheriting a fortune.
Blake Ritson as Oscar van Rhijn, Agnes's scheming son.
Donna Murphy as Mrs. Astor, the gatekeeper of old-money society.
Supporting cast members include Ben Ahlers (Jack Trotter), Kelli O'Hara (Aurora Fane), Audra McDonald (Dorothy Scott), and Nathan Lane (Ward McAllister). Plot: What to Expect in Season 3
The Gilded Age Season 3 picks up after the dramatic Season 2 finale, where Bertha Russell secured a social victory in the Opera War by luring the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb) to the Metropolitan Opera, but at the cost of promising her daughter Gladys's hand in marriage—an act that enraged her husband, George. The official logline sets the stage: 'The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic and social change, when empires were built, but no victory came without sacrifice.'
Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at BusinessUpturn.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Parker Posey reveals ‘The White Lotus' fans are making sure she's living a comfortable life
'Thank you, darling! I dressed up for you! I got the flowers in the kitchen!' Parker Posey says, accepting a compliment on how fabulous she looks popping up on our Zoom interview from the Chateau Marmont, wearing her now signature pink glasses and a chic scarf. Although the certified Legend earned her first Emmy nomination last year for guesting on Prime Video's Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Posey considers this her first real awards season, and she's doing it right. If you watched Season 3 of HBO's The White Lotus, you already know that Posey could do no wrong as Victoria Ratliff, the North Carolina matriarch whom show creator Mike White described to the actress as a younger version of Grey Gardens' eccentric Big Edie. Having grown up in Louisiana and Mississippi, Posey couldn't wait to choose her (much-imitated) Southern accent. "I love how funny it sounds. I love how there seems to be an emphasis on feeling but not actually what you're saying," she explains. She zeroed in on Victoria's lines about her country club life. "She's under this grip of achievements, and money, and what people should do and how they should live," Posey says. "I looked at her as someone who was programmed in this kind of male-dominated world. But underneath it all, there was someone lost and waiting to come out. That's why I like her [tsunami] dream so much [in Episode 3]. A character has a dream, then that gives such another dimension to her and what's going on with her." More from GoldDerby Animal skins, clothes-swapping, and those terrifying masks: How 'Yellowjackets' costume designer works with Liv Hewson and cast 'The Last of Us': Gabriel Luna on shooting flamethrowers and what Season 3 could mean for Tommy 'The Studio' dominates 2025 Astra TV Awards with 4 wins, including Best Comedy; 'Severance' takes Best Drama Here, Posey shares how she found inspiration for some of Victoria's most memorable moments — and which scenes fans won't let her forget. Gold Derby: You've said that if Victoria hadn't been funny, she would have come across as a terrible person. Was that your biggest challenge, making her likable? Parker Posey: Yeah, you're exactly right. You know, The White Lotus is already like a brand. So we know what kind of characters we're dealing with. We're dealing with the 1 percent, and then the hospitality industry in these hotels, right? Everyone likes a snob when you look at characters in movies and TV shows, like the person who's just obnoxious. So having a [slips into Victoria's drawl] snotty way of talking, it's really juicy. So I was happy to be able to deliver that. I mean, I hope it's OK. You know I wasn't always confident, in the beginning especially. But I love Evil Under the Sun and Murder on the Orient Express, and these characters, they're almost drawn, they're kind of animated. I remember being a little kid and watching these movies and looking forward to being a grown-up and acting this way. Maggie Smith, and who else was in Evil Under the Sun? Peter Ustinov. You know they had this style and this way of being that you knew they were acting and having fun as they were playing these people, you know, but they were very drawn. It was very archetypal. And so that was fun to enter into that story world of whodunit, you know, and just playing someone who you don't really know what she's capable of doing. Do you trust her? Is she trustworthy? Is she high on lorazepam? What's going on? So all that stuff was such good fun. There's an arc with Victoria, from almost childlike to formidable: When she arrives at the White Lotus, I love how nervous she is when Pam (Morgana O'Reilly) brings up taking a test. And then cut to when she's off the lorazepam and she's the one, not husband Timothy (), who finds a way to stop Piper () from staying in Thailand. What was it like for you to play that change? It was so fun to just play a full-on woman, you know. Like, when she's in a bad way and she needs to take to bed, she's gonna take to bed. And Timothy and the whole family is going to abide by that and take care of mom and worry about mom and hope she's OK. And then, like on a dime, she can drink a cup of coffee and get the show on the road and do some detective work. [Laughs] That kind of drama. She's just a drama queen. Tell me about filming the scene in the finale when Piper reveals to Timothy and Victoria that she isn't staying in Thailand. It's so fun to watch you, as Victoria, figure out what Piper's really saying. You escalate Victoria's response to the hug. Was the thumbs up you give scripted or something that just came to you? No, that was totally scripted. And that was such a beautiful day of work for Sarah Catherine. We shot a lot in a condensed amount of time, and we shot that, I think, within the first or second week. So I didn't know really what the path of Piper was. … It's so tragic in that scene, so much about not being able to escape your family and to accept the limits of what you are capable of doing. And so really what she's saying is, "I'll never be able to leave you." And it's that powerful mother and father that have their child going, "I gotta come back to you." I just thought it's just such great writing and such a great arc. But that was all Mike White. She hugs, and she's like [gives a thumbs up], "Got her!" [Laughs] Jason told me how much he with a live audience and hearing people's reactions to certain scenes. Is there any particular scene you'd have loved to hear the response to? I haven't watched the show yet, and I wasn't there for the finale [screening] because I was working. But I talked to John Valerio, our editor, and I said, "Can you remind me of the piña colada scene? Because all I remember is, it was at like 4 o'clock in the morning. We improvised a lot of different bits, right? We were talking about desserts?" He's like, "That's not in it." He said in the editing of that scene, what was fun is the stuff that was added, just the energy of the scene. Mike would throw out funny lines, like ["Is that it, Tim? Have you ever heard of wine?"]. To be able to work with an ensemble, and to be able to build moments along with the director, who's written the story and knows it so well, it's like all these characters coming to life right in front of his eyes. It's such a remarkable thing. Every actor I've spoken to this awards season has talked about how much they love that on-set collaboration. It made me wonder about a line in Episode 2, when Victoria finds out that Jaclyn () is a famous actress and says, "Actresses are all basically prostitutes… if they're lucky." The laughter from your costars seemed genuine. Was that scripted or something thrown in? "If they're lucky" was thrown in, yeah. And that was my first day of work. Mike is so funny, because you can just hear him cackling. Has anyone done his cackle for you? Patrick (Schwarzenegger) has. It's like [shrieks twice]. Another scene that I thought might also have been enhanced by you was the house party in Episode 7 when Victoria is talking to the Thai beauty (played by Praya Lundberg), asking why she's with her older boyfriend, and telling her to come to North Carolina: "Are you scared of him? I could get you out of this." Praya was a really lovely person. We just connected on set [filming an earlier scene], and I adored her. And I told Mike. I was like, "I love Praya. Can we have a scene with her?" And he thought about it. And then he was like, "I know what I wanna do. I'm gonna bring her into the party," to the scenes that you're talking about. But that [dialogue] was all Mike. … We spent almost seven months [in Thailand], and when I went back to the premiere, people there were like, "Welcome home." Like, it's so hospitable, and the people are so lovely and kind. So I still feel like I'll be returning there soon, even though I'm not. What was cool about the experience was there was the hotel working next to us, and the Butlers. Did I read that you and Natasha Rothwell took the butlers out to dinner? God, that was such a perfect night. That was such a perfect night! Yes, we took our butlers at the Four Seasons. [Names them.] We bonded with them. They were just such cool women, you know. And when they knew that I like to just hang out — we were staying there for like two months — I felt like I got to know them a little bit, and to know just the kind of people that they are. And I just love them. "You know Khun Parker, you don't need a man if they don't enhance your life. And if they don't enhance your life, why…." [Laughs] They were, like, giving advice. … One of my favorite nights was going to set watching Lisa perform [as Mook]. And I watched Lisa dance, and it was so beautiful. The way that they just move, and that beauty, that's their culture. So I cried when I left Four Seasons, and I know how ridiculous that sounds. But I cried, like looking out of the van and waving goodbye to them. We were like, "We'll be back in like six months, five months," and when we came back. … Natasha, Michelle, and I took them all out to dinner. They were all obsessed with Lisa, and it just so happened that Lisa worked that day, and I called her assistant. I said, "Is there any way Lisa can stop by?" And she said, "Well, it just so happens that something's up with Lisa's leg and she's like a five-minute drive [away] getting a massage, and she can stop by on the way." And so we took these pictures of Lisa and the butlers. It's those moments that make it. They were just so happy. Fabio Lovino/HBO Jason told me that people now offer him piña coladas everywhere he goes. Is anything like that happening to you? On Easter Island! I was shooting a movie with Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich on Easter Island, and you know it's the furthest place you can go in the furthest part of the world. The only people there are tourists, and it's just like this hotel we were all staying in. There was a homemade mimosa bar, and so it was like 10 o'clock in the morning, and this woman walks by and she says, 'I have some lorazepam if you need some,' and just walked away. [Laughs] That will be happening for the rest of your life. And then I went on a Delta flight, and the flight attendant asked what I wanted to drink, and I said, "I'll have a seltzer with some ice," and he says, "I just want to make sure you're living a comfortable life." "Oh, thank you. I'm very comfortable." I did want to touch on that "I just don't think at this age I'm meant to live an uncomfortable life" scene. Did you know when filming it that fans would eventually be quoting it? That moment, when she says, "I don't want to live an uncomfortable life, I don't have the will," that's when you don't really know what's gonna happen to Victoria, this being at the end of her rope and what she's been through. [With] those little lines, we get to bring in the history of person. I had the essential oils and the lotions, and you just see how spoiled she is. But also, you know she's broken. She's kind of a mess, and then on the other side, she gets it together, and she's able to, like, Sherlock Holmes this stuff and get her daughter back. I love Mike White and how he writes women! We're talking about a writer who writes great women, and they're alone. They stand alone in a man's world. I feel so lucky I got to play it. Best of GoldDerby TV Hall of Fame: Top 50 best choices who should be inducted next Carrie Preston on fencing with Matthew Broderick and the heart, humor, and growth of 'Elsbeth': 'She's more than just quirky' 'RuPaul's Drag Race': Onya Nurve and Jewels Sparkles dish their 'ride of a lifetime,' stolen jokes, and turning drag 'inside out' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Deadpool and Wolverine,' ‘Thunderbolts,' ‘The Last of Us' lead the 2025 Critics Choice Super Awards nominations
Deadpool & Wolverine, Thunderbolts, and The Last of Us are having a super good Wednesday. The pair of Marvel Studios movies lead the film nominations for the fifth annual Critics Choice Super Awards, with six apiece including Best Superhero Movie. That top category is rounded out by Captain America: Brave New World, The People's Joker, Robot Dreams, and Venom: The Last Dance. More from GoldDerby Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña on Pixar's first Mexican-Dominican animated lead in 'Elio': 'The future of America are Latinos' 'RuPaul's Drag Race': Onya Nurve and Jewels Sparkles dish their 'ride of a lifetime,' stolen jokes, and turning drag 'inside out' 'And then somebody throws a piece of sh-t at you': 'The Diplomat' star Ato Essandoh on Stuart getting honeytrapped For television, HBO's zombie apocalypse drama The Last of Us leads the field with six bids, including Best Superhero Series, Limited Series, or Made-for-TV Movie. The other programs competing in that race are Agatha All Along, The Boys, Fallout, The Penguin, and Superman & Lois. Liane Hentscher/HBO The Critics Choice Super Awards honor films and shows in four separate genres: action, superhero (which includes comic book and video game adaptations), horror, and science fiction/fantasy. While heroes are the stars of the show, there are also two categories for villains. This year's nominated baddies are: Austin Butler (Dune: Part Two), Emma Corrin (Deadpool & Wolverine), Hugh Grant (Heretic), Jack O'Connell (Sinners), Lewis Pullman (Thunderbolts), and Denzel Washington (Gladiator II) for film; and Vincent D'Onofrio (Daredevil: Born Again), Michael Emerson (Evil), Colin Farrell (The Penguin), Takehiro Hira (Shōgun), Julianne Nicholson (Paradise), and Jesse Plemons (Black Mirror: USS Callister: Into Infinity) for television. "The Super Awards continue to spotlight the incredible achievements in genre cinema and television. This year's slate of nominees truly blew us away with their performances and craftsmanship. These selections represent the very best of popular culture, and we can't wait to see who takes home the honors," Sean O'Connell, CCA director of the Super Awards, said. Marvel Studios The eligibility period for scripted features and TV series is from Jan. 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025. Content may be delivered to audiences theatrically and/or by broadcast, cable, or online apps and services. Here are the 2025 Critics Choice Super Awards nominations: BEST ACTION MOVIE Civil War The Fall Guy Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Monkey Man Rebel Ridge Warfare BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE Tom Cruise – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Taron Egerton – Carry-On Ryan Gosling – The Fall Guy Dev Patel – Monkey Man Aaron Pierre – Rebel Ridge Jack Quaid – Novocaine BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE Emily Blunt – The Fall Guy Ana de Armas – From the World of John Wick: Ballerina Kirsten Dunst – Civil War Cailee Spaeny – Civil War June Squibb – Thelma Anya Taylor-Joy – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE Captain America: Brave New World Deadpool & Wolverine The People's Joker Robot Dreams Thunderbolts Venom: The Last Dance BEST ACTOR IN A SUPERHERO MOVIE David Harbour – Thunderbolts Tom Hardy – Venom: The Last Dance Hugh Jackman – Deadpool & Wolverine Anthony Mackie – Captain America: Brave New World Lewis Pullman – Thunderbolts Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool & Wolverine BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPERHERO MOVIE Emma Corrin – Deadpool & Wolverine Vera Drew – The People's Joker Lady Gaga – Joker: Folie à Deux Jennifer Garner – Deadpool & Wolverine Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Thunderbolts Florence Pugh – Thunderbolts BEST HORROR MOVIE Bring Her Back Heretic Longlegs Nosferatu Sinners The Substance BEST ACTOR IN A HORROR MOVIE Nicolas Cage – Longlegs David Dastmalchian – Late Night With the Devil Hugh Grant – Heretic Michael B. Jordan – Sinners Bill Skarsgård – Nosferatu Justice Smith – I Saw the TV Glow BEST ACTRESS IN A HORROR MOVIE Lily-Rose Depp – Nosferatu Willa Fitzgerald – Strange Darling Sally Hawkins – Bring Her Back Demi Moore – The Substance Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners Naomi Scott – Smile 2 BEST SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIE Alien: Romulus Companion Dune: Part Two Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Mickey 17 The Wild Robot BEST ACTOR IN A SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIE Austin Butler – Dune: Part Two Timothée Chalamet – Dune: Part Two David Jonsson – Alien: Romulus Robert Pattinson – Mickey 17 Jack Quaid – Companion Miles Teller – The Gorge BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIE Naomi Ackie – Mickey 17 Lupita Nyong'o – The Wild Robot Cailee Spaeny – Alien: Romulus Sophie Thatcher – Companion Alicia Vikander – The Assessment Zendaya – Dune: Part Two BEST VILLAIN IN A MOVIE Austin Butler – Dune: Part Two Emma Corrin – Deadpool & Wolverine Hugh Grant – Heretic Jack O'Connell – Sinners Lewis Pullman – Thunderbolts Denzel Washington – Gladiator II BEST ACTION SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE 9-1-1 Black Doves The Day of the Jackal The Gentlemen Reacher Shōgun BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Sterling K. Brown – Paradise Theo James – The Gentlemen Eddie Redmayne – The Day of the Jackal Alan Ritchson – Reacher Hiroyuki Sanada – Shōgun Ben Whishaw – Black Doves BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Angela Bassett – 9-1-1 Viola Davis – G20 Keira Knightley – Black Doves Lashana Lynch – The Day of the Jackal Zoe Saldaña – Lioness Anna Sawai – Shōgun BEST SUPERHERO SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Agatha All Along The Boys Fallout The Last of Us The Penguin Superman & Lois BEST ACTOR IN A SUPERHERO SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Charlie Cox – Daredevil: Born Again Colin Farrell – The Penguin Walton Goggins – Fallout Tyler Hoechlin – Superman & Lois Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us Antony Starr – The Boys BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPERHERO SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Danai Gurira – The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Kathryn Hahn – Agatha All Along Cristin Milioti – The Penguin Erin Moriarty – The Boys Ella Purnell – Fallout Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us BEST HORROR SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire Evil From The Last of Us True Detective: Night Country What We Do in the Shadows BEST ACTOR IN A HORROR SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Kevin Bacon – The Bondsman Matt Berry – What We Do in the Shadows Mike Colter – Evil Michael Emerson – Evil Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us Harold Perrineau – From BEST ACTRESS IN A HORROR SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Natasia Demetriou – What We Do in the Shadows Jodie Foster – True Detective: Night Country Katja Herbers – Evil Melanie Lynskey – Yellowjackets Niecy Nash-Betts – Grotesquerie Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us BEST SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Andor Black Mirror Doctor Who Dune: Prophecy Fantasmas Severance BEST ACTOR IN A SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Ncuti Gatwa – Doctor Who Walton Goggins – Fallout Diego Luna – Andor Adam Scott – Severance Tramell Tillman – Severance Julio Torres – Fantasmas BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Adria Arjona – Andor Caitriona Balfe – Outlander Kathryn Hahn – Agatha All Along Britt Lower – Severance Cristin Milioti – Black Mirror: USS Callister: Into Infinity Michelle Yeoh – Star Trek: Section 31 BEST VILLAIN IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE Vincent D'Onofrio – Daredevil: Born Again Michael Emerson – Evil Colin Farrell – The Penguin Takehiro Hira – Shōgun Julianne Nicholson – Paradise Jesse Plemons – Black Mirror: USS Callister: Into Infinity SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby Stephen King movies: 14 greatest films ranked worst to best 'The Life of Chuck' cast reveal their favorite Stephen King works, including Mark Hamill's love of the 'terrifying' 'Pet Sematary' From 'Hot Rod' to 'Eastbound' to 'Gemstones,' Danny McBride breaks down his most righteous roles: 'It's been an absolute blast' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
The Last of Us Creative Team on How They Crafted Season 2's Most Crucial Episodes
Full Spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2 follow. At IGN Live today, The Last of Us Co-Creator and Executive Producer Craig Mazin was joined by several of the show's core creative team – including Ksenia Sereda (Cinematographer), Ann Foley (Costume Designer), Don Macaulay (Production Designer), Alex Wang (VFX Supervisor), Timothy Good (Editor), and David Fleming (Co-Composer) – to discuss the tremendous amount of work that went into the just-completed second season of the HBO series. As the panel began, Mazin remarked, 'The truth is that Neil [Druckmann] and I are vastly over-credited for the success of the show. We work really hard on it but these are the people that bring it to life and they deserve so much credit… All of it is necessary to make it what it is.' When the panel was asked to name their favorite episode from Season 2, nearly everyone named either episode two ("Through the Valley") or episode six ('The Price'), which made sense since they were such standouts - and segued nicely into the fact that these were the two episodes moderator Amelia Emberwing focused on for the conversation. "Through the Valley' of course had two monumental events, including the horde of infected attacking Jackson and, well… that other thing which we'll get back to. With footage of the massive attack sequence playing, Mazin noted that there were visual effects in basically every shot, saying, 'I think Alex had to touch nearly everything here.' Rewatching the attack on Jackson, Macaulay joked, 'All I can think about is the thousands of meetings we have,' saying they quite seriously probably had 10 meetings about how the barrels would be launched from the town gates into the horde. As he put it, 'Nearly every shot in this took 10-15 meetings. Craig loves meetings!' Even after all of that there was 'a lot of retrofitting on set. Lots of rooftops we weren't planning to do.' Foley said episode two was definitely the hardest part of the season for her as the costume designer because of how many actors and extras were in that episode working on multiple filming units - and that it was all taking place while they were also working on the Seraphite costumes for upcoming episodes. As she explained, this involved "65 people in three different areas.' Wang stressed that previs is crucial, and the many discussions they have about what Macaulay will build vs. what Wang will oversee being added digitally. It's a long process, with Wang noting, 'You're planning for success 6-8 months down the line' and that he's constantly in communication with Macaulay, the stunt team, and many more. Mazin joked that when he calls Wang in for one of his infamous meetings, 'His heart sinks because he knows he's about to go over budget again.' One reason the infected horde was so tricky was that it dealt with such a large army and as Wang explained, in the visual effects world, when you have a group that large 'repetition is usually okay,' since you have characters in the same costumes or creatures of the same type. Here though, Mazin wanted to sell that these were all originally different human beings who were different sizes and ages in different outfits before they were infected. As he put it, they nearly 'broke Wētā [FX]' over the specifics they asked for. Then there's Good and his crucial work as editor. He has to begin editing without the final effects in place, which can be tricky. And not just because, as he pointed out, in the early footage 'a Bloater isn't a Bloater, it's a green dot.' But after they may have cut of the episode they're happy with, 'we get the animation back and everything's changed. The motion's become faster than a human actor is able to do," so they have to re-edit to adjust. When it came to scoring the 'Through the Valley,' Fleming described it as particularly challenging, because Mazin asked him, 'How do we start this at 11 and then keep going up for the whole episode?' The idea was they were 'building up momentum so it just felt relentless relentless relentless. Then at the end, it was kind of the opposite with the pivotal scene with Joel.' When Fleming paused and said he'd been avoiding talking about how that episode ended for so long, Mazin couldn't resist chiming in: 'He died!' As Fleming explained, the original music for Joel's wrenching death scene was much busier but then 'Craig asked 'strip it back.' It was a less is more situation.' While praising the performances of Pedro Pascal, Kaitlyn Dever and Bella Ramsey, Good revealed that for Joel's death 'I actually edited it five times before I was ready to show it to Craig,' because he knew how important it was to get it right. As Joel's death scene played out, the panel couldn't help but become somber and when Mazin cracked, 'Let's talk about the golf clubs we picked out. They have lots of meaning" to release some tension, he then paused and added that actually, when it came to which exact club Abby would use to beat Joel with, 'There was a whole discussion!' The conversation then moved to episode six and its flashbacks to Joel and Ellie together set between Season 1 and 2. The sequence where Ellie climbs the dinosaur was shown and Mazin remarked, 'I love this in the game. I love that we got to do it!' He added that this was a funny situation where the actual dinosaur built for Ellie to climb 'was wobbling too much so then Alex stopped it from wobbling. But then it looked fake so we had to make it wobble [again] a little bit.' Discussing Joel and Ellie's clothes, Foley noted they did their best to match their looks in the game, though there might be slight changes occasionally for specific reasons. One such case was in the museum scene. In the game, Ellie is wearing a tank top in this sequence. However, on the show, they wanted to underline that Bella Ramsey was playing a more youthful version of Ellie in these flashback scenes, so they ended up making it a t-shirt because 'changing it from a tank to a t-shirt made it look baggier and make her look younger.' In general though, 'Joel and Ellie are in the same things they wear in the game because there's no reason to change it.' Ksenia Sereda said she was both excited and nervous about shooting the scene where Ellie and Joel go inside the space capsule, because 'the way it was done in the game was so brilliant,' including the close up on Ellie smiling, imagining going into space. Sereda joked the game provided 'the most expensive previs I've ever had to work with.' Mazin marveled how Sereda lit the screen so that all of the light changes on Ellie's face were done practically, without visual effects needed. Sereda explained how difficult it was, because 'the whole sequence is lit through this teeny tiny window on the side of the capsule. It was very challenging to find this whole look.' This sequence had particular significance to Mazin because 'This is the first thing that Neil ever showed me from the second game.' He elaborated that when he went to Naughty Dog to speak to Druckmann about turning The Last of Us into a TV show, the team were nearing the completion of The Last of Us Part II. When Druckmann showed Mazin the space capsule sequence, his response was, ''We're doing that!' In my mind, I was like, 'We need to do a good enough job for Season 1 that we're renewed [to do that].'" With Season 3 of The Last of Us now in the works, Mazin said he was eager to get back in the thick of it, turning to his fellow panelists and saying 'I can't wait to do that. I can't wait to do that with all of you.' He then proclaimed: 'Don, are we going to have meetings!!'
