“You killed America’s sweetheart.” Those were the charges leveled at Kaitlyn Dever by moderator Rob McElhenney Monday night as the cast and creatives of The Last of Us convened for a panel discussion about the dramatic events of Season 2 and hinted at what's to come for Season 3. More from GoldDerby Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Self-proclaimed megafan McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) got straight into it by addressing the Pedro Pascal-shaped elephant in the room and the decision to kill off his character, Joel. “The first game, when I was working on it, I’m so insecure I didn’t think it would succeed.

… I thought, ‘Oh this will be one and done. They’ll never let me do this again,’ and then it became very successful and there was a chance to do it again,” said cocreator and writer Neil Druckmann, who helmed both the first and second video game, which the series is based on. “For a long time no story felt right.

They were very plot-oriented about Ellie (Bella Ramsey) trying to find someone else who was immune like her, and then I realized it was missing this kind of thematic core that the first [game] had. … We finally landed on this idea of this continuation conversation around love, which is someone that you love so much, if somebody else hurt them, how far are you willing to go to exact revenge or justice or however you want to put it? Then everything kind of fell into place, and I could leverage how much these two characters love each other, how much they care about each other, and then break that.” Ramsey loved how complicated the relationship between Joel and Ellie became, which made the former’s death hit even harder.

“I think she was someone who already struggled to trust,” they said. “To have that taken away from her by the person she loves the most, I think that really altered her brain chemistry a bit. So she comes into this season, particularly after [his death], and she has a single-minded focus of, like, this person she loved so much who hurt her so much, she just has to do anything to try and heal from the grief of all of that.

I think if she just loved him so much and didn’t also hate him so much for what he did, I think it’d almost be simpler for her, but I think because of how complex that relationship has become she’s so driven for justice to be done, sort of beyond justice, and it gets into dangerous territory with her.” Dever, who joined the panel via Zoom from Australia (and was visible on a peculiar rectangular video screen situated beside the cast), was hilariously berated by McElhenney for dealing the final blow to Pascal’s Joel as revenge-seeking Abby. “You killed America’s sweetheart,” he exclaimed amid audience laughter. “How could you do something like that?” Dever sighed in reply.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know what came over me.” Dever’s portrayal of Abby, the Last of Us Part II game’s main antagonist, became the focus of much online fan debate this season over how faithfully the material was being adapted. Dever, for her part, wasn’t phased by the chatter.

“The controversy surrounding Abby was never really a concern for me just given my first meeting with Craig [Mazin, cocreator and writer] and Neal and how wonderful they are and how talented they are,” she said. “I’ve never felt so carried on a set in my life, especially doing that scene in the chalet [where Joel dies]. I was going through a lot personally, but it is one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had as an actor just because it really, really felt like such a team effort.

… I’ve never experienced anything like that before. The reaction and my own personal experience has just been incredibly special.” Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason for the series being so faithful to the games is HBO’s support, according to Druckmann. “I’ve been involved with several failed adaptations, both for Uncharted and The Last of Us and I think it was good to go on that journey to end up at HBO,” he said, “and end up at a place that leans into those controversial decisions, I guess, but those decisions are what the story required.

Even now, I can’t believe that they let us structure the series in this way, meaning that we just ended Season 2 [how we did] and Season 3 is going to be starring — spoiler alert — Kaitlyn.” Druckmann’s first time confirming Season 3's narrative shift prompted Dever to pretend to be shocked, exclaiming, “What? No way!” as she clutched her face. “Have you closed your deal yet?” McElhenney piped up.

“Because you just got a ton of leverage.” Dever wasn’t the only new addition to the show’s second season. Isabela Merced, who plays Ellie’s love interest Dina, told us how important Ramsey was to making her feel comfortable on the set of the HBO hit. “Bella gave me everything I needed in every single scene to be able to do what I did,” she said on the carpet.

“It wouldn’t have been half as successful or complete had it not been for our work together. There were just moments where I felt like I was losing it and Bella was the only person I had to support me because Bella was the only one who really understood, so there was solidarity and support in every take. Our performances relied so heavily on the other person.” Ramsey shared a message for the fans who felt seen in the relationship between Ellie and Dina.

“If you saw yourself in that, then it really was for you,” they told us. “Even though that relationship gets sort of dark, I hope that it was a light and a joyful kind of touch to The Last of Us and I think that the way it was so masterfully woven into the story didn’t feel like a checkbox exercise or representation for the sake of it. It was actually just two people in the apocalypse falling in love and they both happened to be women, and I love the way that story is represented.

So yeah, if you saw yourself in that, I’m really happy.” Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McElhenney hit the cast with some final superlatives to conclude the night. “Who in the cast has the hardest time shaking it off at the end of a heavy day and which of you has the ability to just drop it the second you leave, thereby making you either a great actor or a complete and total sociopath?” he asked. Ramsey singled out Young Mazino, who plays reliable, devastating protector figure Jesse.

“Young, I feel like you live in it,” they said. “You sort of really feel it deeply, so you’re the one who doesn’t just shake it off.” Young quickly chimed in with a wry, “I would love to be able to shake it off.” Gabriel Luna, who plays Joel’s younger brother, Tommy, cited Ramsey as the cast member who doesn’t let work get to them. “Bella, by far, is the one who will shake it off,” he shared.

“We had to go back to the aquarium to reshoot the last scene of the show and I’m sitting there at the monitor with Craig, and Craig’s calling out a few notes from outside, and Bella’s there being asked to perform an emergency C-section. Everyone’s crying. There’s blood everywhere.

Then Craig called ‘cut’ and Bella’s just like…” He then lowered his microphone and stuck his tongue out. “It was just immediate.” The Last of Us is streaming now on Max. Best of GoldDerby Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter.

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