Bella Ramsey on ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Finale, Missing Pedro Pascal & Their Advice for Kaitlyn Dever & Isabela Merced

Major spoilers ahead for season two of The Last of Us.

Much has changed since Bella Ramsey’s casting in The Last of Us was first announced in 2021, both in the universe of the Emmy-winning series—which is based on the massively popular 2013 video game of the same name—and in the actor’s life. First, the show: now in its second season, the hit HBO series has seen Ramsey’s Ellie go from a naive 14-year-old orphan at odds with the world around her in season one to a hardened 19-year-old gunslinger in season two, prepared to defend her community by any means necessary in the post-apocalyptic world in which the game is set.

“Ellie’s a lot tougher now,” Ramsey, who uses they/them pronouns, tells W ahead of The Last of Us season two finale. She’s also grieving her father figure and best friend, Pedro Pascal’s Joel, who is brutally murdered in the season’s second episode. Though Joel’s death wasn’t a shock to anyone familiar with how the game ends—meaning, much of the series’ core and fervent fan base—it still hit like a gut punch, not least of all because of the way Ramsey and Pascal’s on-and-off screen chemistry has made the series such a pleasurable watch.

“We definitely felt the weight of it, and we especially have felt the weight of it after,” Ramsey says. Pascal has been a huge part of the 21-year-old’s life for the last four years, which have been formative.

The Nottingham native made their professional acting debut on another mega-franchise, Game of Thrones, playing the strikingly poised Lyanna Mormont, a 10-year-old ruler with a fierce disposition (Ramsey was just eleven when they filmed their first episode). That experience was both Ramsey’s big break and their introduction to the world of established fandoms. Growing up under such a public lens, Ramsey has faced their fair share of misunderstanding, especially as someone whose gender identity falls outside the binary. (In The Last of Us season two, Ellie has a romantic relationship with Isabela Merced’s Dina, a plotline from the game that has faced backlash from a vocal minority.)

“We’re all aware of how important this show is to a lot of people,” Ramsey says. “The level of intensity that the fanbase has is incredible. But it can also be kind of scary sometimes.”

Earlier this year, Ramsey publicly shared their autism diagnosis, which they received while filming season one. The admission has given them “more freedom and permission to be who I am in the public space,” Ramsey says. As season two of The Last of Us—which has been renewed for season three—comes to a close, Ramsey is onto something completely different, filming the coming-of-age comedy Sunny Dancer in Scotland. “It’s the antithesis of The Last of Us in every way,” they say with a smile. Below, the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor talks Joel’s death, their ongoing friendship with Pascal, and shares some teasers on what the finale will bring:

Most of The Last of Us so far has been about Ellie and Joel. How did his death this season land for you?

We don’t know what’s going to happen in future seasons, but we were aware on set that it was most likely the last time we were going to be in this dynamic together for any length of time. So we felt it while filming, but there was a little bit of denial. After, doing press for the season, I think is where it’s hit us hard. It’s losing a scene partner and losing Joel as a character, but for me, it’s also losing being with Pedro every day, which is an experience that I’m so grateful to have had.

What’s your friendship like these days, and with the rest of the cast?

A group chat has sprung up post-filming. It’s called “The Crazy of Us.” And Pedro and I are still in touch and hoping to see each other soon. He continues to be a great support to me, and I hope that I’m also a great support to him.

So much of the series has been about you and Pedro, Ellie and Joel. What was it like to film so much of this season without him, and to have Ellie be in such a different headspace?

There was a shift this season, with Ellie becoming her own version of Joel, in some ways. She’s still this scared child inside, but at the same time, she’s also now embodying this protector figure, and her heart has gotten a lot harder. She’s grieving in the way that Joel was grieving for his kid when he first met Ellie. There are so many similarities and crossovers to me between Ellie and Joel. Sometimes I’d try to emulate Pedro in certain scenes. Tommy even says it in the first episode, like, “You, my brother, same goddamn person.” That’s something I was thinking about a lot.

What was it like to have Ellie fall in love this season?

It was sweet to see a character audiences know so well in one dynamic—as the daughter—now get to see Ellie older and in a blossoming, romantic relationship. It was exciting to explore that side of her. What is she like when she’s in love? What sides of Ellie does Dina bring out, and which side is Ellie shy of?

How do you think fans will feel about the finale?

There’s an overarching theme of the whole season, which is amplified in the finale, and it’s the question of who’s the hero and who’s the villain? And whether it’s even as clear-cut as that, what lengths grief and revenge can take you to, and the morality of who is right and justified in their actions. It’s complicated. The finale leans into that moral conflict.

This season, you had two new costars, Kaitlyn Dever and Isabela Merced. Did you share any advice with them about joining the franchise?

I gave them advice that I myself don’t follow, which is to not read anything. Don’t read, don’t get lost down internet rabbit holes of people talking about you, your performance, and your casting. I just wanted to make sure they felt held and cared for throughout the whole experience.

You shared last month that you received an autism diagnosis while filming season one. How has going public with that changed things for you?

I got diagnosed in season one, and it was interesting to look back at season two and my experience now having this information. I feel like I can give myself permission to be myself. I wish I had always been before. I’ve never been able to sort of hide who I am. Now, I’m just more relaxed and more comfortable.

I imagine it’s helped a lot of other people, too.

That’s been a lovely thing off the back of it. There are people coming and telling me that it’s helped. That’s all I could hope for, really. That’s the dream.