The Last Of Us Cast Breaks Down Heartbreaking Premiere Scene

The first episode of HBO’s The Last of Us has premiered, inviting followers of the online game franchise, in addition to those that have not performed, into the world of Ellie, Joel, clickers, and the top of society as we all know it. Anyone who’s hung out taking part in the Naughty Dog recreation collection is aware of that The Last of Us is not your run of the mill zombie apocalypse story. It’s one in all soul-crushing heartbreak and the way you progress ahead from it.

Warning: From right here on out, we will likely be discussing spoilers for the premiere episode of The Last of Us. If you’ve got but to observe the present, head over to HBO Max now and see for your self what occurs.

That heartbreak is a key part of the opening of the online game, so for these acquainted, it ought to come as no shock that the primary episode of The Last of Us realizes these horrific moments in live-action. The collection introduces Joel (Pedro Pascal), his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker), and his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna), as they arrive to understand a fungal outbreak is popping folks into zombified beings. In their battle to flee the horrors, they find yourself within the crosshairs of members of the army, who gun down Sarah. It’s a disturbing scene to observe play out, as actually no one appears to know precisely what’s taking place or why these newly-minted monsters are attacking different folks.

When it got here to filming this second, Parker admits she and Pascal “were listening to sad songs” to get in the precise headspace. They additionally each spoke with showrunner Craig Mazin in regards to the scene.

“I remember Craig came over to us as a last prompt, and he turned to me and he goes, ‘This is the most pain that you’ve ever been in in your entire life. This is the most excruciatingly painful thing that’s ever happened to you,’” she defined. “And then he said the same thing to Pedro. And for me, there’s more of a physical aspect to it, but for Pedro there’s more of an emotional pain.”

The ache and anguish that performs out on display is palpable. It’s arduous to think about such an iconic second from the video games being captured any higher in live-action, largely resulting from everybody concerned understanding how necessary it was for this scene specifically to strike the precise tone.

“It was incredibly intimidating, but also very exciting,” Pascal informed GameSpot, TV Guide, and Metacritic in an interview. He added, “It was an incredible opportunity for me to get started in that way. To have Nico Parker, who is amazing–that was an instant father-daughter bond, and fun and a perfect way to start. With Gabriel Luna playing Tommy, my brother, and this little family, essentially, that is instantly torn apart by outbreak day–an iconic moment that exists in the game that fans are all very aware of that basically shapes who this man is for the rest of his journey.”

And whereas there are actually tweaks made to make the second extra palatable as a scene on TV, there’s a lot pulled immediately from the game–down to even the framing of sure exhibits.

“I remember being struck by the similarities in the way they were framing it,” Luna mentioned. “There’s a lot of expectation on that scene. But what I could see on the monitor and the way we were handling it, we were being really, really true to the game. Tommy, of course, has seen a lot of death in his experience, and I think that what I was trying to get across was that I know what’s done; I can see this wound and I know what’s about to happen. And so a lot of it is just trying to be there for my brother when he tries to come to terms with what’s happening.”

As for whether or not we’ll see Sarah once more in flashbacks, there is no telling. Whatever the case, there may be loads extra The Last of Us story to unfold within the coming episodes.

New episodes of The Last of Us air Sundays on HBO.