Isabela Merced had big shoes to fill in The Last of Us season two.
Not only was she joining an already-beloved cast, she was doing so as a love interest to the main character – Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey – and essentially replacing another: Pedro Pascal’s Joel. Plus, there was the prospect of criticism from the show’s more rabid fans, some of whom had already been very vocal in their displeasure around Ramsey’s casting.
