The Last of Us HBO series continues to capture the mainstream zeitgeist, and Episode 6 is no different. The latest episode, “Kin,” examines how Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) are getting along, months after their tragic experience with Henry and his brother Sam. Traveling and surviving together has bonded Joel and Ellie – but for Joel, that new connection comes at the cost of unearthing the deep wells of trauma surrounding the death of his daughter, Sarah, decades earlier (at the start of the show).
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Pedro Pascal brought a level of emotional vulnerability to his scenes of Joel suffering debilitating panic attacks, which were entirely missing from the games. Of course, social media saw Pedro Pascal digging deep to mine emotional gold, and quickly turned it into a set of hilarious Last of Us memes!
On A Serious Note…
As someone who had panic attacks I can't express how much Joel's scenes meant. Pedro Pascal's performance hit home. You're fine, then you feel your heart stop. My favorite character experiencing the same thing I did? It makes me feel better. #TheLastOfUspic.twitter.com/tqXB2PUmRp
— DeanaMarie (@DeanaXburke) February 20, 2023
#tlou spoilers
— Brit w the vegan sliders | tlou spoilers 🍓🍄 (@mothmandalorian) February 20, 2023
the fact that they’re portraying Joel as having real PTSD symptoms (panic attacks, flashbacks, survivors guilt, nightmares, etc) is actually so important to me pic.twitter.com/xcQWKrj6NU
Before we get into all the funny memes, let’s take a minute to acknowledge the very real impact Joel’s panic attack scenes had on some viewers.
Laughter vs. Pain: I’m Torn
Keep seeing this used as a meme now and I'm torn between being all "excuse you but he's going through some serious shit here!" and just swooning at more Pedro/Joel on my timeline 😂 pic.twitter.com/GES3xAZDFj
— Gem 💙 (@gemma_m_storey) February 22, 2023
Is it okay to laugh at these The Last of Us memes of Joel’s panic attacks? We leave it to you to decide…
Walk Hard, Joel
Dewey Cox has to think about his entire life before he plays pic.twitter.com/p20ifLXxQP
— 🟡 The tumboy 🟡 (@TheTumboy) February 23, 2023
— Forza Alex 🏎 🏁🇮🇹 (@FormulaRacer420) February 23, 2023
Shoutout to Dewey Cox! These Joel guitar-playing scenes are about to hit different…
Deep-Cut Easter Egg?
Was Joel's panic attacks an Easter egg for your original idea for the story where the man would have a heart condition? pic.twitter.com/Z9DXFhPLiK
— W3irdo | GG 💎 Fam (@WackyW3irdo) February 23, 2023
The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann originally did want the male protector to have the handicap of a heart condition. Druckmann is working on the HBO series so were panic attacks a cool Easter egg reference to that?
Joel Memes Go Meta
Me seeing another Joel meme pic.twitter.com/56El99vi5K
— Ed (Does gaming stuff) (@Darket696) February 22, 2023
Me trying to come up with something pithy, amusing, yet insightful to say with the Joel panic attack meme: pic.twitter.com/ddk5UgRGx4
— Josh Scherr (@joshscherr) February 22, 2023
We’ve reached that point in The Last of Us‘ popularity that fans are making memes of Joel ABOUT people making memes of Joel.
Family Guy Joel
joel having constant panic attacks because he’s so worried about ellie ending up like sarah #TheLastOfUs pic.twitter.com/FmcOMEkUmt
— yennefer’s defense attorney (@yencirilla) February 20, 2023
There are about a million versions of this meme of people connecting the dots between Joel’s panic attacks over Ellie and the trauma of losing his daughter Sarah.
Hot Ones Type Pain
joel having panic attacks and nightmares cause he’s worried that ellie will end up like sarah 😭#TheLastOfUs pic.twitter.com/8QbHWbc81H
— ً (@wrathsemilia) February 20, 2023
Joel out here looking like he swallowed a ghost pepper. “Ghost” pepper: see what I did there?
Another Episode of Emotional Breakage
this ep was…like joel having panic attacks, us finding out just how much ellie and joel cared for each other, THE ARGUMENT SCENE?!? tommy being a father, joel having flashbacks of sarah now what am I suppose to do next week imma be a MESS pic.twitter.com/zg2Yby4Dlc
— court (@voidsinclair) February 20, 2023
Must-see PTSD TV.
Super Bowl Vibes
joel having panic attacks and feeling his chest gonna explode because he's terrified of losing ellie the way he lost sarah #tloupic.twitter.com/9hztA2pwOk
— kenny (@houseofdarklina) February 20, 2023
Philadelphia Eagles fans everywhere know just how Joel feels.
Giving ME Anxiety
<center><blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>TLOU ep 6… pedro is such a good actor that joel’s anxiety and panic attacks induced a second-hand anxiety for me. ENOUGH!! <a href=”https://t.co/NCxBjYc1Li”>pic.twitter.com/NCxBjYc1Li</a></p>— miranda (@sambalteryy) <a href=”https://twitter.com/sambalteryy/status/1627910095219859456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>February 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script></center>
We end this full circle, with a meme of Pedro Pascal reacting to Joel’s panic attacks.
The Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO and HBO Max. Check out ComicBook.com’s The Last of Pods for in-depth recaps and cast interviews.
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Pedro Pascal as Joel in Max's The Last of Us Season 2.
