Pedro Pascal Refuses To Watch the Finale of His Biggest Show

Fan-favorite actor and internet “daddy” Pedro Pascal has been in the spotlight since Season 1 of his hit apocalypse drama, The Last Of Us, began airing on HBO in early 2023. Season 3 of his equally successful Star Wars spinoff, The Mandalorian, also wrapped up its eight-episode run in April, meaning it’s been quite the busy year for the veteran TV actor. So busy, in fact, that he hasn’t had the time—or emotional capacity—to watch the finale of one of his biggest shows.

The Last Of Us became a bonafide TV phenomenon after premiering on HBO Max in January, which came as no surprise considering the success of the Naughty Dog video game it’s based on. Over its 10-episode run, the series saw a staggering jump in viewership, beginning with 4.7 million viewers and ending with a whopping 8.2 million, making it the most-watched show ever of the streaming platform both in Europe and Latin America.

Adapted to the small screen by Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, who created the video game of the same name, the story follows Pascal’s character, Joel Miller, a jaded survivor tasked with bringing the wise-cracking Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the country to help find a cure to the deadly Cordyceps Brain Infection responsible for wiping out Earth’s population.

Filming The Last Of Us stirred many emotions in Pascal, who opened up about his experience to Beef star Steven Yeun on the latest episode of Variety’s “Actors on Actors.” Over its lengthy 12-month shoot, Pascal gushed over his time working with the cast and crew, admitting to being “attached” to the experience by the time filming wrapped in June 2022.

Sure, he might’ve had to deal with less-than-ideal weather conditions, long work days, and being away from home. But even with its challenges, Pascal had a blast working on the show. And now that it’s reached its conclusion, he’s since hesitated to watch the Season 1 finale, which mostly comes from not wanting to feel like that experience is truly “over.”

Although there will be more Last Of Us, Pascal told Yeun, “there will never be another meeting Bella for the first time, working with Craig, with the entire crew, with my friend Coco, who did my hair, and the whole family experience of it.”

Pascal claimed he watched every episode up until the finale, adding that he hasn’t “done anything for that amount of time before,” and so, “as a guy who’s pushing 50,” he says he feels a “very innocent, semi-angry, emotional attachment” to filming The Last Of Us. He compared the experience to falling in love and simply can’t bring himself to watch the Season 1 finale “because it hurts too much.”

Watch Pedro Pascal and Steven Yeun’s full “Actors on Actors” interview below:

Although filming The Last Of Us a second time around might not be as magical an experience as the first, Pascal can look forward to being reunited with most of the cast and crew from Season 1—and hopefully, soon.

Production on Season 2 of The Last Of Us was tentatively scheduled to begin in 2023, though the ongoing WGA strike might point to trouble ahead for the show. Auditions for the new season were reportedly put on hold in solidarity, with Mazin and Drukmann joining strikers in May. 

However, HBO’s Head of Drama, Francesca Orci, seems optimistic, stating in an interview last month that The Last Of Us Season 2 is still projected to release in 2025. Whether or not her projected timeline is actually true remains to be seen, but here’s hoping Hollywood studios can work out a deal with writers so we can see Pascal reunited with his favorite cast for new episodes.

What do you think of Pedro Pascal having such an emotional attachment to The Last Of Us? Let us know in the comments below.