Neil Druckmann Explains Why Joel Needs Therapy in The Last of Us Season 2

The Last of Us Season 2 introduces a caller quality into the TV amusement that has yet to look successful the video games: Joel’s therapist.

Played by Schitt's Creek prima Catherine O'Hara, the quality Gail is simply a therapist surviving successful Jackson.

Warning! Potential spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2 follow:

Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann has confirmed that Gail is successful information Eugene’s wife, which marks a departure from the games. Eugene, who is mentioned successful The Last of Us 2 but doesn’t look successful person, is played by The Sopranos and The Matrix prima Joe Pantoliano.

But wherefore does Joel request therapy successful the archetypal place?

Speaking to IGN connected the reddish carpet up of The Last of Us Season 2 premiere, Druckmann offered an explanation.

“The crushed helium goes to therapy is due to the fact that he's trying to fig retired wherefore Ellie is icing him out,” Druckmann said. “And he's rather a spot successful denial astir the existent crushed what's happening there.”

IGN had asked Druckmann if helium thought Joel went to therapy “off screen” successful the video games, and Druckmann agreed helium surely would person done truthful if helium thought it would person helped reconnect with Ellie.

“Well, I deliberation if helium had the opportunity, not for himself,” Druckmann said. “I deliberation if helium had the accidental and if determination was a mode for him to reconnect with Ellie — due to the fact that that's his biggest motivation, everything that drives him is Ellie — past helium would.”

There’s an further crushed for having a therapist quality successful The Last of Us Season 2: due to the fact that the showrunners wanted to grow connected Jackson.

Here’s Druckmann again:

“Someone similar Eugene, we had a instrumentality connected that quality to say, ‘okay, good however does that grow Joel and Ellie's relationship? How does it grow the municipality of Jackson? How does that grow what the story's about, which is this thought of emotion and the extremes that emotion tin instrumentality you to?’

“And past likewise, we besides wanted to present this thought of a therapist that exists wrong Jackson, besides to let america to grow connected Jackson to effort to get into characters’ minds. But it was specified a compelling character. Like, ‘hey, however bash we crushed this caller character? Oh, let's necktie her to idiosyncratic that's truly associated with the lore of The Last of Us: Eugene.’ And present these 2 characters are tied to Joel. If you've watched the archetypal episode, they speech astir Eugene and wherefore that's important. And you’ll spot adjacent much of wherefore that’s important arsenic the play goes on.”

Meanwhile, we asked Druckmann if he’s consenting to support the TV amusement going past the games if there’s nary The Last of Us 3, and for a tease connected Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].