I Think Pedro Pascal's New Western Is Exactly What Fans Need After The Last of Us Season 2

When it first premiered, HBO's The Last of Us instantly took the world by storm. As an adaptation of Naughty Dog's hit 2013 game, it brought a video game to life in a way that no movie or show ever had before. Pedro Pascal (Joel) and Bella Ramsey (Ellie) headlined the show as an adoptive father-daughter duo, who were forced to navigate a devastated countryside while facing off against Infected zombie-like creatures along the way. It was a unique take on the concept of a zombie apocalypse, which is likely why critics and audiences both fell for the show when it premiered in early 2023. Unfortunately, despite receiving near-universal acclaim, it would prove to be difficult to maintain everything that audiences loved about the show, given the reception to the game's sequel, The Last of Us Part II.

As a fairly faithful adaptation, aside from the critically renowned episode 3 adaptation of Frank (Murray Bartlett) and Bill's (Nick Offerman) story, the show needed to adapt The Last of Us Part II to have any story for season 2 at all. Unfortunately, the game featured Ellie rampaging through the streets of Seattle alongside Dina (Isabela Merced), Jessie (Young Mazino), and Tommy (Gabriel Luna). With little involvement from Pascal, the show's headlining actor, it was inevitably going to be a divisive season. Fortunately, anyone looking to see more of Pascal's work in the coming months can catch Marvel's The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) on July 25 or a new A24 Western, which will be the perfect follow-up to The Last of Us season 2.

The Last of Us Season 2 Is Extremely Controversial

Joel's Death Damaged the Show's Reputation

The entire plot of The Last of Us season 2 revolves around Joel's death. After he saved Ellie from the Fireflies in season 1, former Firefly Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and her friends made their way to Jackson and brutally executed him in front of Ellie. Enraged, she charges into Seattle, where the W.L.F. are battling the Seraphites, and desperately tries to find Abby. It is a promising storyline in a vacuum, but it also means that Pascal would only appear in a few episodes, ensuring that he would miss half of the season. Audiences who were hoping to see more of Pascal's performance as Joel were sorely disappointed, and they certainly showed it in the season's Rotten Tomatoes scores:

Despite receiving near-universal critical acclaim in season 1, season 2 represented a major dip in audience approval of the show. The decline from season 1's 86% to season 2's 37% Popcornmeter score was enough to drag the overall Popcornmeter score down to 62%. The average rating also dropped considerably, as season 1 had an average score of 4.4 out of 5, only for that to drop to a paltry 2.4 out of 5. This significant decline is evidently a sign of widespread dissatisfaction, though there is a chance that it is the result of another coordinated review bombing campaign, which the show has faced before in season 1. Critics were still largely favorable, though there was a small decline of 4% between seasons.

These scores are far from a positive sign for the series, which also faced falling viewership between episodes. According to a report by Variety, the show premiered to a positive response from 5.3 million live viewers, only to decline to 3.7 million by the end of the season. That represents a 30% decline in viewership, which is incredibly worrying with two more seasons on the horizon. Notably, it is still performing well after 90 days of viewership, as it averaged 37 million viewers per episode at the time of the report, while season 1 earned just 32 million per episode. As divisive as the season is, it is still earning long-term viewership, which should assuage some concerns for HBO.

Still, with an increasingly poor response to the series, audiences appear to have been dissatisfied with The Last of Us season 2. Pedro Pascal's performance was highly praised, even concerning Joel's death scene, but audiences certainly wanted to see more of Ellie and Joel's interactions. The condensed season 2 left little room for more than three episodes featuring significant Ellie and Joel communication, however. Thankfully, there is a new movie that should fill the void and offer viewers what they were looking for.

Pedro Pascal's New Movie Is Exactly What Viewers Need

It Will Have a Very Different Tone

While Pascal is set to star in Fantastic Four: The First Steps, it will not be his only major July release. It will release the week before Fantastic Four, having been slotted for a July 18, 2025 opening. A Western produced by A24, Eddington follows the town of Eddington, New Mexico, as two mayoral candidates come to blows over control of their town. Pascal plays Ted Garcia, the current mayor who desperately wants to maintain his grip on power. He stars alongside Joaquin Phoenix (Joe Cross), a sheriff who hopes to be elected in place of Garcia. They are joined by a star-studded cast that includes Emma Stone (Louise Cross), Luke Grimes (Guy), Michael Ward (Michael), and more. Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar) serves as the director.

Unlike The Last of Us, which has moments of comedy but largely serves as a serious drama, Eddington is a comedy that focuses on the chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It will be one of the first mainstream COVID-19 movies, and Aster's involvement with this all-star cast should ensure that it has considerable reach. The comedic tone should also help, as it is coming on the tail end of a controversial Pascal-led show that seemingly dipped too deep into darkness with Joel's untimely death.

As a comedy, Eddington should provide everything that The Last of Us viewers are looking for, save for the presence of Bella Ramsey's Ellie. The tone will be extremely different, serving as a much-needed break from the depressing atmosphere of the Cordyceps-infected world. Pascal will have the opportunity to serve in a leading role again in a world that reflects many of the Western-inspired tropes of The Last of Us. Most importantly, he will be in a position of leadership in his community, just as he was in the show. In many ways, Eddington could offer a look at what might have been if Joel hadn't died.

Pascal Will Have a Much Bigger Role in Eddington

The Last of Us Season 2 Ruined Any Chance of Seeing More Joel

By killing Joel, The Last of Us ensured that it would never have the opportunity to delve into his character again. His story will continue only through occasional flashbacks, which is a stark difference from his role in season 1. The rest of The Last of Us' cast will have to move on without him, and his memory will fade as time goes by. Because of an early death, audiences never truly had the chance to see Pascal leading season 2, which the season 1 finale seemingly promised. Ramsey will instead fill that void, but the 21-year-old actor lacks Pascal's massive following.

Pascal first debuted in Hollywood in 1996, but it was not until he starred as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones that he earned prominence.

Pascal remains extremely active in Hollywood, having secured places in massive franchises that include Game of Thrones, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gladiator, and Star Wars. His newest role should continue to help him prove that he has earned his place as a renowned Hollywood star. It will be interesting to see him in a relatively lower-stakes role as a villain in an A24 movie. Those who wanted more from Pascal this past season will finally get what they were looking for with Eddington.