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The Hindu
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘The Last of Us' Season 2 finale review: A somewhat jumbled set-up for Season 3
The finale of the second season of Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann's The Last of Us, 'Convergence', tries desperately to tie the disparate elements from earlier episodes to partial success. While there is the sound and fury of the elements indicated in the title, it does not come together cohesively to complete any arc. There are episodes including the second one, 'Through the Valley', featuring Joel's (Pedro Pascal) horrific death at the hands of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), in the midst of an attack by the ravaging hoards of the infected, that feel like a mini movie, and others were nothing much happens. The Last of Us Season 2 (English) Creators: Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann Cast: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Kaitlyn Dever Episode: 7 Runtime: 50 minutes Storyline: Ellie finally catches up with Abby and acknowledges a terrible truth about herself 'Convergence' comes after the lovely, contemplative, achingly poignant 'The Price' where we see the bond between Joel and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) flower, wither and promise to bloom again over Ellie's birthdays through the years. On her 15th birthday, Joel gives her a handmade guitar. For her 16th, he takes her to an abandoned museum where Ellie is fascinated with the thought of space travel. On her 17th birthday, Joel gruffly exclaims at all teenage stuff coming at once — drugs, tattoos and sex. On her 19th birthday, Ellie goes out on her first patrol. The way Joel deals with Eugene (Joe Pantoliano), who has been bitten, after swearing to Ellie he will take him back to town to say goodbye to his wife, Gail (Catherine O'Hara), finds Ellie figuring out the truth about the carnage at the hospital. When nine months later after the New Year's Eve party in Episode 1, Ellie confronts Joel about the fate of the Fireflies at the hospital, Joel confesses the truth, insisting he would do it again. It is Ellie's reply that she could never forgive him but would like to try that creates the poignancy as Joel's death put paid to that rapprochement. The introduction of Isaac Dixon (Jeffrey Wright), the former FEDRA officer who kills his squad and joins the WLF, and the Seraphite cult, is a sufficiently brutal lead-up to the big confrontation in the finale. That the payoff is not as satisfying is putting it mildly. That bullet fired at the end and the fade to black is as clumsy a cliffhanger as there could be and the switch to Abby's perspective, while echoing the game, seems ill-judged as far as pacing goes. Even though Mel's (Ariela Barer) death is cruel and underlines the causalities of conflict, it is good that Ellie does not kill Alice, the WLF dog, like in the game. There is only so much brutality one can take. The production value remains gorgeous and the aquarium and island shots in the pelting rain are spectacular as is Ellie's desperate boat ride. Ramsey does their best to capture the hurt and hatred as well as the goofiness of a young person on the threshold of adulthood as Ellie, while Pascal's Joel is the brother, father, friend anyone would want. Wright's Isaac, while terrifying, is frustratingly underwritten. Isabela Merced brings fire and fun to Dina, proving an effective foil to the impetuous Ellie. Season 2 of The Last of Us lurches from crisis to crisis, with long lulls of running and shooting doing nothing to move the story along. Maybe instead of splitting Part II of the eponymous game into many seasons, the makers could have opted for a longer second season with a mid-season break. The Last of Us is currently streaming on JioHotstar
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bella Ramsey Says ‘It's Important' to Keep Gendered Awards for Best Actor and Actress: ‘Recognition for Women in the Industry' Must Be ‘Preserved'
Bella Ramsey appeared on the latest episode of 'The Louis Theroux Podcast' and defended having gendered categories at awards shows. In recent years, ceremonies such as the Gotham Awards and Spirit Awards have done away with separate best actress and actor categories in favor of gender neutral lead and supporting ones. Ramsey, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was nominated for lead actress in a drama series at the Emmys for the first season of HBO's 'The Last of Us.' 'I don't have the answer and I wish that there was something that was an easy way around it, but I think that it is really important that we have a female category and a male category,' Ramsey said, adding that it's important that 'recognition for women in the industry is preserved.' More from Variety 'The Last of Us' Director on Dina's Bisexuality, Introducing Isaac and How the Show Has Inspired Her Adaptation of 'The Sims' Yes, That's Josh Peck in 'The Last of Us.' Here's How He Landed That FEDRA Role and 'Jizzboy' Speech 'The Last of Us' Star Isabela Merced on Dina and Ellie's Romance, Getting That Sex Scene Right and LGBTQ Representation: 'No One Actually Thinks I'm Queer' Ramsey tried to come up with a solution and thought about a category such as 'best performance in a female character,' but they realized that would then create problems for actors playing non-binary character in films and TV shows. Even though Ramsey does not identify as female and says being labeled an 'actress' does not feel quite right, they are comfortable being put in the actress category at the Emmys for 'The Last of Us.' At least for now. 'I have a guttural, 'That's not quite right,' instinct to [being called an actress],' Ramsey said. 'But I just don't take it too seriously… it doesn't feel like an attack on my identity.' Ramsey explained that they aren't non-binary to be 'trending' but because they 'grew up more as a little boy than I did a little girl. It's been very obvious since I was young. I always called myself a tomboy, but it wasn't that I was a boyish girl, I was always like a bit of an in-between. Leaning to most of the boys side.' 'To be honest, I grew up more as a little boy than I did a little girl,' they continued. 'I always felt more masculine or more on that side of the spectrum. I guess at the moment I don't feel like I have access to femininity.' Ramsey currently appears on the second season of 'The Last of Us,' for which they will once again be in contention for an Emmy nomination in the lead actress category. Listen to Ramsy's full 'The Louis Theroux Podcast' interview here. Best of Variety Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Last of Us' introduces Jeffrey Wright's Isaac: ‘He takes steps to reinvent himself, maybe at the expense of others'
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways WARNING: The following post contains spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 4, 'Day One' On Sunday's episode of The Last of Us, fans of the television series finally got a chance to meet one of the game franchise's key antagonists: Isaac Dixon, a former FEDRA member who has become the leader of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF). In the video game The Last of Us Part II and the television adaptation, Isaac is played by Emmy Award-winning actor and Oscar nominee Jeffrey Wright. More from GoldDerby 'We were very excited when we were able to cast Jeffrey Wright, so it made complete sense to us to bring him back in the same exact role because, unlike some of the other casting choices in the game, he is the right age, he does have the right look,' co-creator of the show and the video game, Neil Druckmann, told HBO in a post-episode featurette. 'It had to be this larger-than-life character. It felt like such a sweet opportunity that I, as a fan of the story, love, and I'm sure fans of the game will eat it up.' Unlike the video game, the Isaac that the television audience first meets shows empathy for his fellow survivors against the fascist rule of FEDRA. In a scene set in the early stages of the Cordyceps fungal outbreak, Isaac admonishes a squadron of young soldiers (including former Nickelodeon star Josh Peck) for the way they mock residents of Seattle as 'voters,' a slur used because of the irony that FEDRA took away the population's right to vote after society collapsed. He then meets with a resistance leader named Hanrahan (Alanna Ubach) before killing the FEDRA soldiers and joining the WLF. Former Nickelodeon star Josh Peck (center) cameos in Episode 4 (Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO) - Credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO Liane Hentscher/HBO 'At the beginning of his story in the show, I wouldn't say he betrayed FEDRA, I think rather it's the opposite. He feels FEDRA has betrayed him in terms of ethics, commitment to citizenry,' Wright told HBO. 'So he takes steps to reinvent himself, maybe at the expense of others.' Things are remarkably different when The Last of Us catches up with Isaac in the show's present day. The character who first seemed to take a stand for his fellow neighbors is now leading the WLF on an offensive against the Seraphites, a religious cult that lives on the outskirts of Seattle. The WLF and Seraphites — or 'Scars' as Isaac and the WLF derisively call them — are engaged in an endless cycle of violence that has left countless people dead, including children. Jeffrey Wright, Ben Ahlers, and Alanna Ubach (Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO) - Credit: Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO 'Isaac, for all of his insight, still seems to suffer from the same disease everyone has, which is either infected with Cordyceps or tribalism,' co-creator Craig Mazin said. 'Isaac is still seeing the world as us versus them, and we will see how that disease is the real contagion in the world today.' Wright only has two scenes in the episode, but they're among the season's standouts thus far — especially his violent and ultimately deadly interrogation scene with a captured Seraphite, played by Ryan Masson. Ryan Masson (Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO) - Credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO Liane Hentscher/HBO 'What I appreciated about that scene was Ryan, the other actor, who is chilling,' Wright said. 'The vulnerability, but also the danger and the mystique that we associate with the Seraphites, he kind of embodied beautifully in that scene.' Wright's character is mentioned in upcoming episodes, but (spoiler alert) he doesn't appear in either Episode 5 or 6. The seven-episode season of The Last of Us concludes on May 25. Best of GoldDerby Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Yes, That's Josh Peck in ‘The Last of Us.' Here's How He Landed That FEDRA Role and ‘Jizzboy' Speech
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from 'Day One,' Season 2, Episode 4 of 'The Last of Us,' now streaming on Max. There was an unexpected 'Drake & Josh' and 'The Last of Us' crossover on Sunday night. More from Variety Josh Peck, the Nickelodeon icon who also stole scenes as a Manhattan Project scientist in 'Oppenheimer,' popped up at the beginning of HBO's newest episode of 'The Last of Us.' He delivered a memorable monologue as Janowitz, a Federal Disaster Response Agency soldier who bonded with his brothers-in-arms by telling them an expletive-ridden story about detaining 'voters' — the ironic FEDRA nickname for Quarantine Zone residents who've had their rights stripped away. In a departure from 'The Last of Us Part II' video game, the show flashes back to 2018, as soldiers in the Seattle Quarantine Zone are riding in the back of a cramped van to a mission. Janowitz entertains his buddies by telling them about the time he stopped three voters who were disseminating religious pamphlets. He recalls getting backup from Greenberg, a particularly violent FEDRA soldier who apparently confused 'disseminating' for 'jerking off and splooging in the streets.' Janowitz says that when one of the detainees corrected Greenberg, the officer slammed his head into the wall and yelled 'Nobody asked you, jizzboy!' The story gets raucous laughter from his comrades, except for one person: Jeffrey Wright's stern, humorless Isaac Dixon. 'The Last of Us Part II' gamers know that Isaac is the leader of the Washington Liberation Front who helped take control of the region from FEDRA, but little is known about his past. It turns out in the show, Isaac is a FEDRA sergeant who betrays his own men to help the local rebels, who are led by Alanna Ubach's character, Hanrahan. After their van is stopped by a blockade led by Hanrahan, Isaac gets out, greets Hanrahan then promptly throws a grenade into his vehicle full of surprised troops, locking the door behind him. Hanrahan shakes Isaac's hand and says, 'Welcome to the fight.' Isaac's explosive moment is underscored by Peck's lighthearted speech that opens the episode, but, as fans know, 'The Last of Us' is accustomed to shocking twists. Speaking with Variety, Peck explains how he landed his role and how he humanized his 'despicable' character. Before you auditioned, were you a fan of the video game or Season 1 of the show? To be honest, I'm kind of a wimp. So when the show first came out, knowing how big the video game is, I didn't watch it at first. Then when I got the audition, I'm like, 'Let me make sure I understand.' Obviously I knew that people were obsessed with the show and how huge it was, but I really wanted to make sure that I was matching the tone for the audition. So I watched the first episode, and eight hours later I had watched them all. It grabbed me immediately. It was just an audition that came in and, like most great writing, when I read the scene, I was like, 'I think I know how to do this.' I sent it out into the universe and hoped, but sort of didn't expect to hear anything back because I don't usually get things as good as this. So when I heard back, I was so excited. What drew you in and made you want to binge the show? Like most people, Episode 3 was one of the most beautiful love stories I've ever seen. I have to give so much credit to what feels like a perfectly cast show. You think about the great shows of our generation, and most of them have been on HBO, like 'The Sopranos' or even a show like 'Breaking Bad,' and there isn't a single character on that show that could have been played by anyone else. That's how I feel with 'The Last of Us.' I immediately fell in love with every character I was supposed to fall in love with, and I hated everyone I was supposed to hate. How does it feel to be on one of those generational HBO shows now? I haven't seen it, so I gotta take your word for it. Is it good? It's great. Your scene kicks off the episode, and right away I was like, 'Wait, that's Josh Peck.' Amazing. I'll be enjoying it when everyone else sees it on Sunday. I feel very, very lucky to have been involved and to have been able to work with someone like Craig Mazin, who I've been a fan of for a long time. I don't think it's a coincidence that anything I've done that's been at a higher level, be it something like 'Oppenheimer' or this or when I've gotten the chance to work with great actors, it feels refreshingly easy because everything has been worked out. There are no holes in the script. Everyone is at the top of their game, and you feel excited to be a part of that team. You have all these hilarious lines, like 'jizzboy' and 'splooging,' in this world that's normally very dark. What did that tell you about your character? War can make people say and do things that they never thought they were capable of doing. It's important that you have empathy for your characters, even when they are despicable, because otherwise I don't really know how to humanize them. What gave me a great insight into this guy was I had to personalize the story in a way. Obviously, nothing in my life could ever match up to something this extreme and horrible, thankfully, but I could relate it to just telling my friends one of my favorite stories that still cracks me up. That was my entry point into how to personalize this thing, and strip it from the extreme nature of it and just do what this guy is doing. He's talking to his co-workers, his friends and telling a story that happens to be pretty terrible. Another good entry point is when he confronted by his superior, the great Jeffrey Wright, he's hurt. He's like, 'Hey, man, this is my go-to story. Aren't we all on the same page here?' There were entry points in ways in which I could humanize it, even though what he's talking about is beyond my understanding. How did you find something to relate with him? I tried to connect the story to a story in my real life that I've told before that's totally benign and maybe would only make me laugh. He's kind of talking about that he wanted to save the guys, in some respect, that were getting bullied. Like, he was almost upset or he was just throwing his hand up that this one guy who continued to talk, knowing that they had this insane fellow soldier that was going to make that person pay. It was finding these subtle, humanizing points so that I don't look at this kid like a total monster. He's like a consiglieri. He seemed to me like a mouthpiece. He was good at following orders and whatnot. But did I ever think that he would attain the the ranks of an Isaac? I'm not sure. What do you think stuck out about your audition that landed you the role? This is very actor-y inside baseball, but so much of what you get fed as an actor of my level, where you're probably auditioning to play a supporting character, there's not always a lot there to do. So the truth is, I've been bummed out before if I didn't get a part, and my acting teacher looked at me and said, 'Josh, this isn't Hamlet.' With certain things you audition for, like some silly procedural or whatever, she'll be like, 'There's probably 20 guys who could play this part.' So then it comes down to flavor and a look. When you get great writing and a monologue like this, you get excited as an actor, because you go there's a lot for me to do here. I get to make a lot of choices. I get to bring myself and do the work that's required. Those are the auditions you feel the best about because you left everything on the table. With 'The Last of Us,' the writing was so good that I immediately had a very specific take and choice about who this guy was. Where did you shoot the scene? How many days of filming did you do? We shot on the streets of Vancouver, and then we shot on a sound stage. It was two days. I remember putting on the helmet, it was like we had just enough headroom in the vehicle that we were in. I was refreshed because if we had been more cramped it would have been tougher, but we had just the right amount of room to deliver what we needed to. The first day was all of the exterior on the street and shooting into the vehicle. Then we shot all stage the next day. What's great about a show like this is you're afforded the time and the resources. They built the van so they could remove the walls and get every angle that we needed. Finally, do you have a Greenberg in your life that you pictures when you were talking about him? Oh, yeah, I have a Greenberg in my life, and he knows who he is. You don't know him. He's a civilian, I don't wanna give his name. He's a wild, wild person. This interview has been edited and condensed. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Buzz Feed
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
This Week's "The Last Of Us" Had Some Perfect Details, So Here Are 25 That You Might've Missed The First Time
There are obviously MASSIVE spoilers ahead for The Last of Us Season 2 and The Last of Us Part II video game! 1. First, Dina (Isabela Merced) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) searching for supplies in the pharmacy is something directly from the game. While playing The Last of Us Part II, gamers search through rooms, buildings, etc, to find items to craft weapons and more. 2. Notably, Dina checks to see if there are any pills in a bottle, which is something you collect in the game as well, in order to upgrade various skills, like health, listening mode, and more. 3. The phramacy that Dina and Ellie are in is also a direct location from The Last of Us Part II. 4. The show titles this portion "Seattle Day One," which is something directly from the game, as Dina and Ellie start their journey into Seattle while tracking down Abby. 5. Dina and Ellie coming across the pride murals and flags in the street is something directly from the game as well, right down to them not knowing what the rainbows represent. In the game, Ellie and Dina also go into a queer bookstore after spotting the pride murals and flags. 6. The opening scene where Isaac (Jeffrey Wright) kills FEDRA agents is something added for the show; however, in the game, we do see FEDRA skeletons right when Ellie and Dina get to Seattle, like Ellie does in the episode. 7. Ellie mentions Apollo 1 while comparing the dead FEDRA agents to the members of the space mission. In the games, Ellie is obsessed with space, which is actually something Ashley Johnson, who voiced and did the motion capture for Ellie in the games, is obsessed with, too. HBO 8. Just like in the game, the music store Dina and Ellie stumble into is called "Valiant Music Shop," and the logo for the store matches what is in the game, too. 9. And, Dina playing the drums while exploring downstairs is something that happens in the game, the longer a player explores the store. 10. When Ellie walks up the stairs, you can see a poster for Pearl Jam, which is also something Ellie sees while walking upstairs in The Last of Us Part II. 11. Ellie playing the guitar and singing "Take on Me" to Dina is a shot-for-shot recreation of a scene in the game. In the game, the scene is sometimes missed because it's not necessary to advance in the story. 12. When Ellie leaves the guitar behind, the shot mirrors a similar shot from later in the game. 13. The sweater that Isaac wears in this episode matches exactly what he wears in the game. Also, Jeffrey Wright did the voice and motion capture for Isaac in The Last of Us Part II, so he's reprising his role. 14. While interrogating the Seraphite, Isaac calls him a "Scar," which is something directly from the game. The W.L.F., who are the biggest enemies of the Seraphites, call them Scars, which they don't appreciate. 15. When Dina and Ellie enter the TV station, the W.L.F. bodies that are hung from the ceiling mirrors the same moment from the game. Warning This image is graphic Click to reveal 16. The message written in blood on the wall from the Seraphites is a saying that Ellie and Dina encounter throughout Seattle on murals during The Last of Us Part II. 17. Ellie kills one of the W.L.F. members by stabbing him in the neck with her knife, which is something gamers do in order to complete a stealth kill. HBO / Naughty Dog / Via 18. Dina and Ellie running from a horde of infected and clickers in the abandoned metro tunnels in Seattle is a moment directly from the game. HBO / Naughty Dog / Via 19. When Ellie and Dina are trying to escape from the infected in the train car, Dina asks Ellie for a boost, and then she helps Ellie up through the emergency exit on the roof. In the game, Ellie and Dina boosting each other up happens consistently in order to climb over tall walls and more, in order to get to new locations. HBO / Naughty Dog / Via 20. The turnstile moment where Dina is almost bitten does happen in the game, except it's Ellie who is stuck and trying desperately to get through. HBO / Naughty Dog / Via 21. The theater that Ellie and Dina hide out in is directly taken from The Last of Us Part II, right to the look of the outside and inside of the building. HBO / Naughty Dog / Via 22. Dina finding out Ellie is actually immune happens differently in the game than the show, in that Ellie's mask cracks — in the game, they are dealing with airborne spores — and when Dina goes to take her mask off too, Ellie tells her she's immune. HBO / Naughty Dog / Via 23. In the game, Ellie and Dina actually have sex for the first time while hiding out in the blizzard in Eugene's grow room before they find out Joel and Tommy are missing, and ultimately before Joel's death. For the show, the couch moment between Ellie and Dina was split up between the "rate our kiss" moment in Episode 3 and the sex scene in Episode 4. HBO / Naughty Dog / Via 24. Ellie telling Dina about how the burn on her arm was originally a bite also happens in the game, but it happens earlier. It's also part of the couch/weed scene from before Joel is killed, and Dina doesn't know Ellie's immune at the time and thinks she's lying. HBO / Naughty Dog / Via 25. And finally, in The Last of Us Part II, Ellie has a much harsher reaction to Dina's pregnancy than she does in the show. In the game, she calls Dina a burden and wonders why she even accompanied her to Seattle. HBO / Naughty Dog / Via Alright, that's all for now. Come back again next week for even more details from the next episode. Did you catch any other Easter eggs or cool details? Tell us everything in the comments below! More The Last of Us Easter eggs I Genuinely Can't Watch The First Episode Of "The Last Of Us" Season 2 The Same Way Again After Noticing These Easter Eggs And Details Nora Dominick · April 14, 2025 This Week's "The Last Of Us" Had Some Brilliant (And Heartbreaking) Details, So Here Are 17 That You Might've Missed The First Time Nora Dominick · April 21, 2025 This Week's "The Last Of Us" Had Some Cool (And Sob-Inducing) Details, So Here Are 19 That You Might've Missed The First Time Nora Dominick · April 28, 2025
