The Last Of Us Episode 1 Review - 9 Ups & 1 Down
3. Up - Pedro Pascal's Joel
This writer recalls rubbing their hands together with sheer glee when The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal was announced to be taking on the role of Joel in HBO's take on The Last of Us.
Hate to say "I told you so" but behold. Pascal is utterly spell-binding as Joel, producing a performance of such hauntingly breath-taking quality that it's already impossible to even conceive another actor who could play the male half of Naughty Dog's legendary duo. Arguably the most impressive aspect of this new take on Joel is the Chilean-American's flawless ability to bring both sides of the iconic character to life.
Whether it be the sobbing father desperately trying to coax his daughter back to life, or the stone faced smuggler burning the bodies of euthanized children without a flicker of emotion, Pascal is beyond exceptional from start to finish. As alluded to previously, the episode also flashed instances of what already appears to be electric chemistry with co-star Bella Ramsey in their brief time on-screen together - an integral aspect to any hopes of success for a show based on The Last of Us.
To top it all off, viewers even got a glorious glimpse of the Joel that fans of the games know and love - the animalistic protector pounding an unfortunate villain to death with the unabated ferocity of a grizzly bear.
Mr Pascal, take a bow.