The Last of Us' Bella Ramsey says she had "sleepless nights" over Joel and Ellie's fight scene

21 February 2023, 13:06

Bella Ramsey opens up about Joel and Ellie’s fight scene

By Sam Prance

Fans praised Joel and Ellie's fight scene in The Last of Us for recreating their argument in the game "word for word".

The Last of Us' Bella Ramsey has opened up about how "hard" it was to film Joel and Ellie's fight scene with Pedro Pascal.

Players of The Last of Us games will already be well aware of how heartbreaking Joel and Ellie's fight scene is, and the show brings it to life in episode 6 with an almost exact recreation of what happens in the game. After growing close to each other, Joel and Ellie come to blows when Ellie overhears Joel asking his brother to take Ellie to the Fireflies instead of him.

In the scene, Ellie confronts Joel, saying she’s not his daughter while revealing that Maria told her about Sarah. She also admits to Joel that he's the only person she feels safe with. Getting angry, Joel tells Ellie that she's right and that she's not his daughter, before ending the argument by leaving the room and saying they'll part ways the next day. Ellie is then left crying by herself.

Now, Bella has revealed that she felt a lot of pressure to live up to the scene in the game and had "sleepless nights" over it.

READ MORE: Bella Ramsey says The Last of Us fans made fun of her head shape when she was cast as Ellie

Discussing the emotional scene in HBO's Inside the Episode, Bella stated: "Ellie’s biggest fear is definitely ending up alone." She then specified: "Me and Pedro both of us really felt the pressure of that and when you feel too pressured in something, when you’ve created that for yourself, it can be hard to perform how you want to. I had sleepless nights over that scene."

Based on audience reception, Bella had nothing to worry about. Fans were quick to praised the scene as soon as it came out. One person tweeted: "word for word. recreating one of the best most emotional scenes in tlou. pedro and bella are hands down the perfect joel and ellie. DOWN TO THE TONE THEYRE INSANE."

Another added: "Last of Us took the best written part of the game (Joel+ Ellie argument) and elevated it into being even better."

READ MORE: The Last of Us creators explain why Sam is deaf in the show but not the game

Discussing the beloved scene in Inside the Episode, The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin said: "That scene is perhaps the most famous scene from the game. We did it almost exactly. We changed a few things here and there. The general execution of it was something that I thought was important we stick to exactly."

Craig then added: "Ellie admits she’s afraid and that she makes her less afriad. What Joel doesn’t know how to tell her is that she makes him more afraid. When you care about something or someone, that’s when the fear happens."

Meanwhile, Neil Druckmann, who co-created the game, said: "I did not envy them trying to do a scene that exists in the game and is seared into people’s minds. They made it their own and it’s just as beautiful."

What did you think of the scene?

Read more The Last of Us news here:

• Does Joel die in The Last of Us game? Here's what happens to him and Ellie
• Bella Ramsey claps back at backlash to LGBTQ+ characters in The Last of Us
• Bella Ramsey wore a chest binder while filming The Last of Us to focus better on set
• The Last of Us' Melanie Lynskey claps back after model says she has the 'wrong body' for the show
• The Last of Us fans are screaming and crying over Nico Parker's "perfect" performance

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