Pedro Pascal is undeniably one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood right now, lighting up the screen in Materialists, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Gladiator 2. Yet it’s his deeply emotional portrayal of Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us that has truly left a mark on audiences. And while viewers were brought to tears by Joel’s journey, Pascal himself admits there’s one particular moment in Season 2 he still can’t bear to rewatch—because it hits too close to home.
The second season of the post-apocalyptic hit not only reunited fans with Joel and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey), but also introduced a slew of new faces, including Catherine O’Hara as Gail, Joe Pantoliano as Eugene, and Isabela Merced as Dina. While the series continued to receive high praise for its immersive, game-inspired environments and powerhouse performances, reactions to Season 2 were mixed—especially among die-hard fans of the original Naughty Dog video game. The season finale, in particular, saw a sharp drop in viewership compared to the show’s initial run.
As production ramps up for Season 3—though filming has yet to begin—fans are cautiously optimistic. With Abby’s storyline (led by Kaitlyn Dever) expected to take center stage, many are hoping the show will recapture the emotional tension and narrative strength that made its early episodes unforgettable.
Pedro Pascal Won’t Watch The Last of Us Season 2 Due To Heartbreaking Reasons
Even though he couldn’t look at the screen, which showed the emotional interaction between Ellie and Joel, Pascal did say that he “could talk about it” instead. “This was one of the hardest and easiest days of work I’ve ever had,” said Pascal. “We did this scene all day long.” Pascal recalls the particular scene with Ramsey and how intense it was, and that he and Bella are “like linked souls and this was the ultimate manifestation of that as scene partners on this porch. And so we took such good care of each other and just kind of like lived in the pain of it the entire day. I remember just being absolutely like emptied out by the end of the day.”
“I knew that it was ending, that my run on the show was coming to an end. And then you think about what the story is, it was just sort of like living the story out, and having all of the nuance of what my relationship to my scene partner was in the experience of doing the show. And the idea of hurting them, the idea of losing them…those things just broke my heart.”
A release date for The Last of Us Season 3 hasn’t been revealed by HBO as yet, but if the series follows the same structure as 1 and 2, the next installment could begin shooting in 2026 and premiere sometime in early 2027.
