Season 2 of The Last of Us introduces a new character created for the show, Gail, who is a therapist based in Jackson, Wyoming. Played by Catherine O’Hara, Gail was originally envisioned to appear in Season 1, but it didn’t work out for a variety of reasons. In Season 2, viewers will see Pedro Pascal’s Joel go to therapy–and he might not always tell her the truth.
“Now that Joel and Ellie have settled into Jackson, we really wanted to make Jackson a character,” writer Neil Druckmann told The Hollywood Reporter at the Season 2 premiere. “This sense of community. It felt like, ‘Oh, a therapist could be part of Jackson.’ It’s something everyone would need in the apocalypse after the trauma they’ve experienced.”
Druckmann also teased that the team found a way to weave Gail into the narrative, being that she is the wife of Eugene, who is played by The Matrix actor Joe Pantoliano. Eugene was referenced in The Last of Us: Part II the game, but never seen.
Speaking to Variety at the premiere, showrunner Craig Mazin said O’Hara is “warm and loving and welcoming and modest and humble,” adding that he’s particularly proud of the scene involving Gail and Joel that he directed.
“That scene is one of my favorites in the entire season. You’re watching two great actors at the top of their game. It’s almost like you’re watching this amazing fist fight without fists. Without raising voices. Words and looks and feels. I am so proud of that scene. They did amazing work,” he said.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Mazin said the idea for a therapist in The Last of Us came out of a thought exercise of considering what professions would be most useful to people in an apocalypse.
“Everybody’s who’s left is hurting. Everybody,” Mazin said.
Mazin also teased that what Joel tells Gail in his therapy sessions might not be the whole truth. “What people tell their therapists… you’d think they’re always telling their therapist the truth, but what are the parts they don’t tell their therapist? That’s where it gets interesting,” he said.
The Last of Us Season 2 premieres Sunday, April 13, and there are seven episodes in all.
