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Through the Valley (The Last of Us)

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"Through the Valley"
The Last of Us episode
Abby crawls as an infected horde crushes her through a fence
Abby crawls as an infected horde crushes her. The sequence was closely adapted from the game[1] and critics praised the horror and claustrophobia of its cinematography.[2][3][4]
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 2
Directed byMark Mylod
Written byCraig Mazin
Featured music
Cinematography byCatherine Goldschmidt
Editing byTimothy A. Good
Original air dateApril 20, 2025 (2025-04-20)
Running time57 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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The Last of Us season 2
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"Through the Valley" is the second episode of the second season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series The Last of Us. Written by series co-creator Craig Mazin and directed by Mark Mylod, it aired on HBO on April 20, 2025. The episode follows Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Jesse (Young Mazino) on patrol as they search for Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Dina (Isabela Merced), while Tommy (Gabriel Luna) prepares for an attack on Jackson, Wyoming, and Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) seeks revenge against Joel.

The episode was filmed in early 2024. The attack on Jackson, written to provide ongoing character conflict and motivations, was filmed over almost four weeks and required more than 600 visual effects shots, around 100 extras, and dozens of stunt performers. The writers chose to depict Joel's death early in the season as it sets its narrative in motion. Critics praised the episode's direction, cinematography, writing, and Pascal, Ramsey, and Dever's performances; some felt the Jackson attack overshadowed Joel's death, while others lauded the juxtaposition. The episode had 643,000 viewers on linear television.

Plot

[edit]

Sheltering with her group in an abandoned lodge near Jackson, Wyoming, Abby has a dream in which she warns her past self not to enter the room in which her father was killed.[a] When she awakens, she focuses on her mission to kill Joel, while her friends, concerned about the town's security and her lack of a plan, consider retreating. Abby leaves to survey Jackson, and her friend Owen tells the rest of the group that he will try to convince her to return to Seattle.

Ellie tells Jesse that she wants to go on patrol with Joel, but Jesse informs her that he has already left with Dina. Abby accidentally awakens a large horde of infected hiding under the snow, and is rescued by Joel and Dina. In Jackson, the infected tendrils are discovered, redirecting the horde to the town, leading to a battle in which Jackson suffers heavy damage and casualties; Tommy defends his wife Maria against a bloater by drawing it away and killing it with a flamethrower.

Abby lures Joel and Dina to the lodge, saying she has friends who can help them defend Jackson. After knocking out Dina, Abby reveals herself to be the daughter of the Firefly doctor who Joel killed in Salt Lake City.[a] She shoots Joel in the knee with a shotgun and repeatedly hits his knee wound with a golf club, beating him until the club breaks in two. Ellie, who had been searching for Joel and Dina, is captured and forced to watch as Abby kills Joel by stabbing him with the broken club. Ellie swears to kill Abby as revenge, but the group spares her and leaves. Jackson begins to recover from the carnage of the battle, as Ellie, Dina, and Jesse return home with Joel's body.

Production

[edit]

Conception and writing

[edit]
Craig Mazin smiling
"Through the Valley" was written by series co-creator Craig Mazin.[6]

"Through the Valley" was written by The Last of Us series co-creator Craig Mazin and directed by Mark Mylod.[6] Mazin had wanted Mylod to work on the first season, but he was busy directing Succession. After Mylod mentioned wanting to work with Mazin during a panel, Mazin sent him the episode's script, which Mylod read and found irresistible.[7] Mylod previously directed the Game of Thrones episode "The Broken Man", which marked the first acting role for Bella Ramsey (who portrays Ellie).[8] In The Last of Us Part II (2020), the game on which the second season is based, Joel is paired with Tommy on patrol and Ellie is paired with Dina; Joel was paired with Dina in the episode to show their relationship, as they do not interact in the game, and to more closely connect her with Joel's death.[5] Keeping Dina separate from Ellie also made their ongoing relationship more ambiguous.[8] Mazin felt it gave another reason for Joel not to defend himself against Abby, as doing so risked Dina's life.[9] Ramsey found it added an element of resentment for Ellie, as Joel's final day was spent with Dina instead of her.[10] Pairing Ellie with Jesse also allowed focus on their relationship.[11]

Mazin learned of Joel's death during the development of Part II, before he began writing the show's first season.[9] He felt it was the correct narrative decision and did not wish to remove it from the series, reasoning that its brutality was an effective consequence of Joel's actions.[1]: 3:26  The writers spent a long time deciding which episode should depict Joel's death, and after briefly considering delaying it by an episode, they decided against it.[11] Mazin felt that plotting it in the season's second episode was appropriate after witnessing Joel and Ellie's strained relationship in the season premiere.[1]: 4:22  Neil Druckmann, the series co-creator who wrote and co-directed the games, thought it should occur early in the season, to parallel when its story begins in earnest[1]: 41:40  and because they believed that plotting it later would feel like they "were kind of dragging [their] feet".[5] Mazin also considered the real implications of leaving Joel's death until later in the season, understanding that viewers who had played the game would constantly be aware that it had not yet occurred,[5] and he did not want to feel like the writers were "toying with everybody".[11]

Mylod was more nervous about filming Joel's death than any of the action scenes due to its impact and his desire to do justice to the performances in the game.[1]: 20:17 [10] Druckmann felt that depicting its brutality allowed viewers to understand the characters' mindsets and their subsequent decisions,[5] though it was reduced slightly from the game due to the realism of a live-action adaptation.[8] Mazin and Mylod spent a long time discussing what level of violence to depict, believing it was necessary to justify Abby's actions while also being restrained enough to avoid glorifying it.[9] The brutality was initially intended to be more subtle but Mylod thought avoiding showing Joel's death felt "coy" and like they "were ducking out".[12] Mazin thought showing Abby's fists hitting Joel's face "would have been gratuitous and sort of action movie-ish", not reflective of the scene's true sadness and reprehensibility,[11] while Mylod "wanted to avoid overt torture".[7] Ellie's face is the last thing Joel sees, and his attempt to move after she pleads with him to get up demonstrated that he was aware of her presence, in contrast to the game.[5] Her crawl towards him was present in Mazin's first draft of the script, reflecting her need to be with him;[5] Mylod cried during one take. Some takes featured Manny spitting on Joel's corpse as he does in the game, but this was cut in favor of a better overall take.[12]

The writers felt the lack of a player character inherent in the video game allowed the series to show attacks on Jackson that are not depicted in the game.[1]: 7:16  Druckmann appreciated the depiction of the scale of the infected, which is implied in the games and first season but rarely demonstrated.[1]: 24:50  The writers' familiarity with the show's production allowed for more action sequences, through which they maintained connections to character development.[13][1]: 25:46  Mazin felt relationships like Tommy and Maria's increased the stakes, making it feel like more than "just a fight".[1]: 29:30  Druckmann thought the inclusion of the siege added more ongoing conflict for the characters as they are dealing with more losses than just Joel,[5] and Mazin felt the characters' loss of stability and safety in Jackson was palpable; Tommy's use of a flamethrower against the bloater is a reference to a weapon in the games and reflected the fear Mazin felt during gameplay.[8] The sequence with the frozen infected was expanded upon from the same scene in the game, whereas other sequences such as Abby being chased by the horde and saved by Joel were adapted more faithfully.[1]: 32:24 

Casting and characters

[edit]
Gabriel Luna smiling
Rutina Wesley smirking
Gabriel Luna (left) and Rutina Wesley (right), who portray Tommy and Maria, underwent firearms and stunt training for the episode.[10]

Pedro Pascal, who portrays Joel, was aware of the character's death when he first accepted the role.[10] He felt unchanged while filming until his gory makeup and prosthetics were applied, which he felt "killed the vibe completely as soon as anyone set their eyes on me" out of grief.[9][10] Mazin was not concerned about losing Pascal's popularity in his departure from the series, noting that the world and story are "the star".[14] Pascal bonded with Kaitlyn Dever, who portrays Abby; he found their close relationship ironic considering their characters' conflict but felt it made them closer.[15]: 2:31 

Ramsey felt sick and cried while reading the script, the first time they had done so.[10][15]: 6:11  They prepared for the scene by treating it as ordinary,[16] listening to the Buckwheat Boyz's "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" on a loop to offset the darkness and exhaustion[17][18] and continuing to do so until seconds before each take.[10] They recalled "it just all came out" during filming, but found it generally easier to perform than other moments as they "know exactly what that scene needs to be".[16] Mazin felt Ellie begging Joel to "get up" was reflective of the audience who felt the same.[9]

Gabriel Luna, who portrays Tommy, was anticipating the Jackson assault sequence since reading the script, comparing it to the Game of Thrones episode "Battle of the Bastards".[19]: 0:51  He and Rutina Wesley, who portrays Maria, underwent firearms and stunt training for the series, including with recreations of guns used in the game such as Tommy's M1 Garand. Luna also learned how to shoot with the flamethrower. After production, he had recurring visions of flaming figures running towards him, which he suspects is trauma from the flamethrower.[20] Luna was initially concerned about Tommy's absence during Joel's death; Mazin later sent him a large text outlining his plans for Tommy's story, including the battle in Jackson.[20] Druckmann felt Tommy's goal shift during the action scenes: from protecting Jackson to saving Maria, who, alongside his son, he cares about the most.[10] Wesley felt the two characters were "anchors for each other".[20]

The dead body of Abby's father was intentionally shown in the first season finale due to its relevance in the second season, particularly in Abby's dream sequence.[1]: 10:01  Dever wanted the character's grief and loss to be reflected in her eyes; she considered her "a very broken human being".[21] Mazin considered Abby "unsatisfied" after Joel's death, not fully achieving what she sought and upsetting her friends in the process;[8] he felt she "was not in control of herself" during the scene.[9] Dever found Joel's death "heartbreaking", as a viewer of the first season.[10] The scene was her first in the series; filming occurred a few weeks after her mother's death and three days after the funeral.[10] Though Pascal and Isabela Merced both had other filming obligations,[9] the production schedule was overhauled to fit Dever's needs and she selected the day to film Joel's death, asking for minimal crew. She was unable to prepare for scenes in her usual manner, which she thought benefited the character by feeling more natural.[10] Mazin wrote a monologue for Abby which was not present in the game,[10] prompted by the revelation of Abby's motivations earlier in the series than in the game.[11] Mylod felt Dever "would just give everything", even during takes not focused on Abby, which he called "my dream as the director".[7]

Music

[edit]
Shawn James
Ashley Johnson
The episode features a cover of Shawn James's (left) song "Through the Valley" performed by Ashley Johnson (right), who portrayed Ellie in the games and Anna in the series; her cover featured in the second game and its marketing.[22]

The episode ends with a cover of Shawn James's song "Through the Valley" performed by Ashley Johnson, who portrayed Ellie in the games and Ellie's mother Anna in the series. Johnson's cover featured in the second game and its marketing; the one featured in the episode is a blend of her original performance and a new recording,[22] which adds a softer version of the second verse to better fit the scenes.[23]: 29:25  Streams of Johnson's cover increased by 1,005% on Spotify in the United States after the episode aired.[24] Mazin felt its usage reflected Anna's love for Ellie during the scene wherein Ellie mourns Joel, essentially placing both of Ellie's parents within the sequence. He found some lyrics represented the episode's events—while Jackson may be saved, souls have been damned—and others reflected an unachievable desire for its characters:[1]: 38:40 [22]

I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
And I fear no evil because I'm blind to it all
And my mind and my gun, they comfort me
Because I know I'll kill my enemies when they come.[22]

Composers Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming work on the series's character-driven and action-driven score, respectively. They wanted the episode's music to reflect the inevitability of its events without overplaying them,[25] continually building up until Joel's death.[26] Fleming approached the Jackson attack by de-tuning banjos and cellos, which was featured in previous episodes,[25] and used larger drums and brass instruments. He broke the sequence in two, with the first focusing on the town's militaristic preparation and the second on the horde's overwhelming nature.[26] Fleming wanted Abby's infected chase sequence to feel dramatic but not overshadow the Jackson attack;[25] he worked closely with Mazin, attempting several versions to ensure it felt unique from other infected encounters.

Fleming and Santaolalla scored Abby to match her anger, pain, and trauma akin to Ellie's, rather than as a traditional antagonist.[25] For Joel's death scene, Santaolalla reused several themes to create an "emotional peak" while diverting to new cues with established instruments like the ronroco, keeping "the aesthetics of the music with not only the themes, but the instrumentation and the rawness".[25] The scene's music underwent several changes, originally being more active and continuous; Mazin sought more silence, wanting to create infrequent larger moments that felt more active, adding shock and making viewers feel closer to the characters akin to a game rather than passively viewing. They settled on using one of Santaolalla's tracks when Abby talks about her father's death, which they found effective.[26]

Filming

[edit]

The episode was filmed over a month and a half,[10] beginning in February 2024.[27][28] Joel's death was filmed on March 7 in Kamloops, British Columbia. Pascal was delayed to set when his flight was rerouted due to poor weather, forcing him to return to Vancouver.[10] Mazin and Mylod spent hours determining where each character would be positioned,[9] and Mylod and cinematographer Catherine Goldschmidt chose to focus on the faces of Abby's friends during the scene instead of the violence.[10] Mel's crying was improvised by actress Ariela Barer.[10] The ski lodge scenes were filmed over four days; of the two days focused on Joel's death, one primarily involved Ellie's scenes.[8][10] Mazin considered Joel's death prosthetics the season's most important. Pascal was 3D scanned to allow prosthetics designer Barrie Gower to craft with his measurements in mind, especially as Pascal's left eye would be closed.[15]: 7:45  Goldschmidt filmed a crane shot of Ellie with Joel's dead body to allow viewers to understand the full space of the room and to feel the isolation and emptiness of the intimate moment between the characters.[15]: 7:29  While the rest of the scene was framed near the actors, Mylod wanted the final shot to depart from "that camera grammar to a place that was final, judgmental, and hopefully heartbreaking".[12]

Scenes around Jackson were filmed in Mission, Fort Langley, and Langley.[29][30][31] The town was built on a parking lot in Vancouver, measuring 292,500 square feet (27,170 m2) and featuring 45 partly constructed buildings. To demonstrate its growth, materials used in Jackson's first-season depiction were not reused. The action sequence was filmed over almost four weeks; Mylod and Goldschmidt storyboarded the action on set before it was completed by production designer Don Macauley and his team, adding necessary elements to assist production like fireproofing on buildings and catwalks for cast and crew. Macauley illustrated each part of the battle on set to help the production team.[20] Executive producers Jacqueline Lesko and Cecil O'Connor led the teams responsible for the action scenes,[11] which included dozens of stunt performers and around 100 extras in prosthetics;[20] the stunt performers attended a boot camp to familiarize themselves with the roles.[12] Gower spoke with Mazin and Druckmann about changing the appearance of some infected to reflect the colder weather, making them look frostbitten.[15]: 4:42  The prosthetics team worked on about 20 to 30 performers each day for close-up shots, focusing on those who would appear on camera.[19]: 6:45 

The bloater stuntman, Glenn Ennis, was required to use cooling pads and a cooling tent before being hit with the flamethrower, which he performed around 12–14 times; Mylod thought they "almost gave him hypothermia".[20][10] Production moved to Alberta for sixteen days from March 18, including in Exshaw and Fortress Mountain Resort.[32][33] The weather impacted production, with filming occurring during a blizzard at Fortress Mountain,[12][15]: 1:00  and in Whistler, during the scene in which Abby is chased by infected;[15]: 4:11  production of the latter excluded some crew members (including the sound department) to avoid the risk of an avalanche.[23]: 4:36  Mazin and Macauley conceived the alley standoff between Tommy and the bloater after main production took place; it was filmed four months later[20] on a private property at Minaty Bay in Britannia Beach across five days—June 5, 7, 12, 13, and July 2—with smoke and flame pyrotechnics.[34][35]

Post-production

[edit]

Mylod and first assistant director Dan Miller worked with visual effects supervisor Alex Wang to create previsualization for the full action sequence.[10] Mylod felt his experiences directing Game of Thrones made him prepared for the physical production and visual effects.[7] Eleven visual effects teams worked on the episode,[20] including DNEG, Important Looking Pirates, and Wētā FX; Wētā FX worked on the infected,[1]: 26:00 [11] increasing their numbers significantly,[19]: 6:07  and Important Looking Pirates worked on the bloater sequence.[23]: 24:20  The episode used more than 600 visual effects shots, almost 200 more than the previous season's fifth episode.[20] While the bloater in that episode was initially performed practically before being replaced with computer-generated imagery (CGI), Wang and his team created the bloater in "Through the Valley" with CGI first to better understand its design.[36] They altered its design—particularly its head shape and tendril sprouts, and its blue and purple colors to reflect the frigid environment—and made it larger and more imposing.[20][36] Its movements were inspired by animals like alligators, which generally have slow movement but gain speed when cornered or attacking. Wang used Part II's gameplay as a guide to animating the bloater being burned. Several animations were tested; Wang wanted the audience to see the flame broaching the creature's multiple layers to make its death believable.[36]

Timothy A. Good edited "Through the Valley". He began working on the episode in late February 2024 and the final mix was completed over a year later.[23]: 30:22  He received more filming material than usual: 24 days of main production (three hours per day) and more than 30 days of second unit, totaling around 50 days.[23]: 20:18  Early edits cut between the Jackson battle and lodge scenes, but Good felt audiences cared more for the character-focused drama of the latter, prompting the Jackson scenes to be shuffled earlier in the episode.[37] Good considered Joel's death the most challenging scene to edit, particularly due to the pressure caused by its importance and the anxiety it would place on viewers. To better understand which of its elements were the most important, he redid his edit of the scene five times before presenting it,[23]: 5:11  upon which Mylod and Mazin provided additional direction, such as Mazin recommending the addition of more violence from Ellie's perspective and adding a pause before she reacts to Joel's death.[23]: 10:23  The series typically avoids showing violence, as was true in Good's original cut which avoided showing Joel's death, but Mazin found it more shocking. Ellie's approach to the lodge was edited with quick cuts to keep the scene moving but long enough to show her perspective.[37]

Mylod filmed the actors in several different ways, prompting Good to try and choose the most effective version; he blended several versions to demonstrate Ellie's changing emotions throughout the scene, from commanding to quiet to angry.[23]: 6:47  Mylod filmed entire scenes from different perspectives, like Joel's death from the viewpoint of one of Abby's crew, which provided more footage for Good to cut to[23]: 22:20  and allowed him to construct new moments in the story, such as Owen instructing Manny to let Ellie live.[23]: 13:07  The audio of Joel telling Abby to "just do it already" was from a different take than shown in the episode.[38] In a change from the usual process, Good edited the final scenes to match the music, which forced him to shorten the scene between Tommy and Maria; he limited it to the most important element, showing Maria comfort a broken Tommy.[23]: 27:35  Good requested the addition of the sound of Joel's body dragged across the snow to allow viewers to feel his presence.[23]: 31:07 

Reception

[edit]

Broadcast and ratings

[edit]

The episode aired on HBO on April 20, 2025.[6] On linear television, the episode had 643,000 viewers, with a 0.16 ratings share.[39]

Critical response

[edit]
Pedro Pascal smiling to the right
Bella Ramsey looking to the left
Kaitlyn Dever smiling to the left
Critics praised the performances of (left to right) Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, and Kaitlyn Dever.[40][41][42]

"Through the Valley" has an approval rating of 96% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 9.1 out of 10.[43] Nerdist's Michael Walsh called it "TV at its absolute best in every way".[41] Engadget's Nathan Ingraham felt the simultaneous depiction of Jackson's battle and Joel's death "is a testament to the writers, directors and cast",[44] though IGN's Simon Cardy felt they were "two stories that don't quite give each other enough room to breathe".[40]

Critics praised Ramsey's performance for depicting grief and fury,[42][45][46] especially in Ellie's screams as Joel is killed;[40][41][47] TVLine's Kimberly Roots named Ramsey the Performer of the Week and lauded their ability to communicate "Ellie's despair at realizing there's no time to fix things" with Joel.[48][49] The A.V. Club's Caroline Siede felt Ramsey effectively captured both Ellie's "maturity and childlike innocence".[3] Dever's performance was lauded for her intensity and ferocity,[40][45][50] which many felt compensated for Abby's less muscular physique from the game;[42][44][47] The Telegraph's Chris Bennion called Dever's performance "powerhouse", grounding Abby's actions in reality,[51] and TheWrap's Alex Welch felt it "leaves no question why she was the right actress for the role".[52] IGN's Cardy called Pascal's performance "note-perfect", citing the "acceptance in his eyes" at his death;[40] Nerdist's Walsh found his final look at Ellie memorable, and also praised Luna's nuanced emotion.[41]

The A.V. Club's Siede compared the writing to a Greek tragedy, calling its plot conveniences "purposefully devastating rather than structurally lazy".[3] Polygon's Zosha Millman appreciated that Abby unwittingly unleashing the horde on Jackson demonstrates the wider societal implications of her revenge quest.[53] Several reviewers praised Joel's death scene for balancing Abby's pain and brutality;[41][54][55] Engadget's Ingraham lauded its juxtaposition with the Jackson attack for adding layers of grief,[44] though Los Angeles Times's Tracy Brown found it unsubtle that Jackson "is destroyed by infected monsters while Joel ... is killed by human monsters".[56] IGN's Cardy felt the action overshadowed Joel's death and distracted from its events with unknown characters.[40] Kotaku's Kenneth Shepard criticized the pacing and noted the subtext is made too obvious by removing Abby's ambiguity and depicting Ellie embracing Joel's body.[2] The Atlantic's Shirley Li felt Abby's monologue removed the shock of her killing Joel and the "unrelenting" Jackson assault was added to compensate, causing the series to "become more circular and suffocating in its storytelling".[57] Many reviewers found the shock of Joel's death reminiscent of Ned Stark's or the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones.[42][44][45][58]

Mylod's direction and Goldschmidt's cinematography were praised for their focus on characters, particularly during the action sequences and Joel's death.[44][55][59] Several critics lauded Abby's chase sequence, finding the cinematography terrifying in its claustrophobia;[3][4][60][61] IGN's Cardy felt it demonstrated the infected's "rabid relentlessness"[40] and Kotaku's Shepard was reminded of the game.[2] The A.V. Club's Siede called the crane shot of Ellie embracing Joel "beautiful and devastating",[3] and IndieWire's Ben Travers felt the final shot reflected Ellie's view of the future being limited by her focus on the past.[55] Several reviewers considered the action sequence the series's most epic and intense,[44][45][58] favorably comparing it to Game of Thrones[41][51][61] and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers's Battle of Helm's Deep.[40][44][46] The Times's James Jackson compared it to Saving Private Ryan's opening sequence,[62] and Empire's John Nugent called it "exceptional grand scale cinematic television".[63] The A.V. Club's was impressed by how the scenes made her care more deeply for Tommy and Maria,[3] and Vulture's Keith Phipps felt the preparation scenes made the action more effective.[58] Conversely, IGN's Cardy considered the sequence, while beautifully shot, an overcorrection of the first season's scarce action,[64] and Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall found it "exciting" but "less compelling than it should be" due to its unfamiliar characters.[46]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Abby's father's death was depicted in "Look for the Light".[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Baker, Troy; Mazin, Craig; Druckmann, Neil (April 20, 2025). "Through the Valley". HBO's The Last of Us Podcast (Podcast). HBO. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Shepard, Kenneth (April 20, 2025). "The Last Of Us Season Two, Episode Two Recap: When Wolves Attack". Kotaku. G/O Media. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Siede, Caroline (April 20, 2025). "The Last Of Us delivers a devastating battle episode". The A.V. Club. Paste Media Group. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Rivera, Joshua (April 20, 2025). "The Last of Us Just Killed a Main Character Even More Gruesomely Than the Game". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Stephan, Katcy (April 20, 2025). "The Last of Us Shocker: Creators Tell All on That Huge Death and Bringing the 'F–ing Horrible' Video Game Scene to Life". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Huerta, Gabriel (April 8, 2025). "The Last of Us Season 2: Release date, episode schedule, and everything you need to know about the series". MeriStation. PRISA. Archived from the original on April 8, 2025. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d Hibberd, James (April 21, 2025). "The Last of Us Director Mark Mylod on the Episode 2 Moment That 'Destroyed' Him". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Campione, Katie (April 20, 2025). "The Last Of Us Creators Break Down Season 2's Heartbreaking Second Episode & Its Enduring Implications". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Hibberd, James (April 20, 2025). "The Last of Us Co-Creator Unpacks That Agonizing Death: 'All Relationships Break'". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Romano, Nick (April 20, 2025). "The game has changed: On set for The Last of Us's Pedro Pascal shocker (exclusive)". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Manfredi, Lucas (April 20, 2025). "The Last of Us Creators Unpack That Huge Season 2 Twist: Timing, Execution and Showing Restraint". TheWrap. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e Moreau, Jordan (April 21, 2025). "The Last of Us Director Mark Mylod on Filming That Death Scene With 'Tears Running Down My Face' and Why Changes to the Game Were Made". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  13. ^ Hibberd, James (March 8, 2025). "The Last of Us Season 2 Official Trailer Revealed: 'They're Not Best of Friends'". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on March 9, 2025. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  14. ^ Sarner, Lauren (April 20, 2025). "The Last of Us creator Craig Mazin on that shocking death: Pedro Pascal is in Season 2 'more than people might think'". New York Post. News Corp. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g "Making of #202". Making of The Last of Us. Max. April 20, 2025. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Hibberd, James (April 22, 2025). "No. 1 on the Call Sheet: Bella Ramsey Takes Charge of The Last of Us". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 22, 2025. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  17. ^ Vary, Adam B. (March 5, 2025). "Making The Last of Us Season 2: Casting Abby, Video Game Changes and Why the Creators Are at Peace With Telling a 'Different Version' of the Story". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on March 5, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  18. ^ Navarro, Emely (March 24, 2025). "'The Last Of Us': Bella Ramsey & Pedro Pascal Talk Filming Intense Scenes In Season 2". Access Hollywood. NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  19. ^ a b c "Battle of Jackson Deconstructed". Making of The Last of Us. Max. April 25, 2025. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hadadi, Roxana (April 20, 2025). "How The Last of Us fused two catastrophes to remove the final illusion of safety". Vulture. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
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