When the second season of 鈥淭he Last of Us鈥 begins, five years will have passed.
That鈥檚 enough time to change relationships, introduce new characters and give the survivors of a pandemic time to assess what鈥檚 next.
Blood on the road can only mean one thing. In the new season of "The Last of Us," the characters learn.聽
For Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie, a girl with immunity to the infection killing thousands across the country, it鈥檚 a real switch.
鈥淓llie was 14 and is now 19,鈥 says Ramsey. 鈥淚n any teenager鈥檚 life, that鈥檚 the formative years, so a lot has changed.鈥
Bella Ramsey's character is 19 in the new season of "The Last of Us." That means her priorities have changed.
A relationship with Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, has become strained, even though he was the one who smuggled her out of a quarantine zone and across the United States. When the season begins, the two are at odds and hardly ready to reunite.
The first day of shooting, Pascal and Ramsey had a scene together. Even though there was 鈥渁n incredibly painful distance between the two of them,鈥 Pascal says, 鈥渨e got to be on set (together) and that was incredibly comforting. It was like coming home.鈥
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Before the first season of the series, both actors were relatively unknown. 鈥淭he Last of Us鈥 hit, however, and made both big stars and Emmy nominees.
Season Two, Ramsey says, 鈥渋s quite scary but it鈥檚 exciting. I鈥檓 trying to see it like a celebration of all the hard work we did.鈥
鈥淭he storytelling is cathartic in so many ways,鈥 Pascal adds. 鈥淢y development is based on the books I鈥檝e read, the movies I鈥檝e seen and the television I鈥檝e watched. It鈥檚 very much going to reflect the human experience. And under such extreme circumstances, there鈥檚 a very healthy and sometimes sick pleasure in that kind of catharsis.鈥
Pedro Pascal returns for season two of "The Last of Us."
As the characters see what their 鈥渘ext steps鈥 are, they add in new travelers, including Kaitlyn Dever as Abby.
For fans of the video game upon which it was based, Abby was a character they could choose to play as. In the series, says Executive Producer Neil Druckmann, 鈥測ou鈥檙e not playing as her, so we need other tools.鈥 In the first episode of the second season, her connections are very clear.
鈥淚f we were to stick to a similar timeline, viewers would have to wait a very long time to get that context,鈥 Druckmann adds. 鈥淲e felt it appropriate to move that up and give viewers the context right off the bat.鈥
For Dever, the series was a great way to tie her love for the game and her work. 鈥淭he world of 鈥楾he Last of Us鈥 is so large,鈥 she says. 鈥淵ou can definitely feel that. I felt less nervous once I got onto the set because of this wonderful group of people鈥.it really felt like I was being cared for and taken care of in a way that I haven鈥檛 ever experienced before.鈥
Isabela Merced, left, and Bella Ramsey have a different relationship in the second season of "The Last of Us."聽
Producers were thrilled with Dever鈥檚 level of engagement. Even in a blizzard, she was willing to go through with the shoot. 鈥淜aitlyn would never say no,鈥 Executive Producer Craig Mazin says. 鈥淲hen you see how physically tremendous her performance is, it鈥檚 kind of insane.鈥
Young Mazino, who鈥檚 also new this year, says he didn鈥檛 realize the scope of the series until he came into the town where it takes place and saw the huge gate producers had built. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I started to feel a little tripped out,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he longer I was there, I realized the energy was so, so warm and so inviting. There was no ego on set. And that鈥檚 a rare thing, especially the larger the set gets.鈥
Dina, a friend of Bella鈥檚, played by newcomer Isabela Merced, often lightens the mood with her comments. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our superpower as humans,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e have the power to shift our perspective and make our own reality. Dina is also Ellie鈥檚 compass and light, in a way.鈥
"The Last of Us," season two, begins April 13 on HBO.聽
