The Last of Us Part II video game didn’t exactly dedicate much/any time to mental health, but HBO’s hit series sure did in its season two premiere. The Last of Us‘ highly anticipated return introduced a fantastic original character, Catherine O’Hara’s Gail. She’s Jackson, Wyoming’s intelligent, blunt psychotherapist who takes payment in the form of pot. What else did we learn about her and her role on the commune in The Last of Us season two’s premiere episode, “Future Days?” And why does she hate her patient, Joel? Here’s what we know about The Last of Us‘ Gail and who she is, so far.
What is Gail’s Job at the Commune on The Last of Us?
Catherine O’Hara’s Gail is a psychotherapist (not a psychiatrist, a.k.a. “the pill ones”) who still practices for the sake of her fellow denizens of the commune in Jackson. She seems to work with a lot of patients. When Joel told Dina he can’t hold himself “responsible for another person’s emotional state” in The Last of Us season two’s premiere, she immediately knew he was “seeing Gail.”
Gail is clearly very astute and good at her job. She intuitively knew Joel was hiding something from her during his treatment, though she couldn’t get him to fully admit it.
On The Last of Us season two, Gail doesn’t work for free or out of the goodness of her heart, though. For a single, one-hour session, she takes payment in the form of pot. Without a licensing board to worry about, she’s also not above drinking on the job, as she did for a very specific reason during Joel’s session in the show’s season two premiere.
Why Was Gail Sad During Her Session With Joel on The Last of Us?
The Last of Us‘ season two premiere saw Joel come in for a session on Gail’s birthday. It was her first in 41 years without her late husband Eugene. We didn’t learn much about Eugene, a man who used to be able to get her full-grown pot plants any time of year, even in the midst of a wasteland overrun with monsters. But his wife misses him dearly and had to get drunk to deal with not having him on that special day. Eugene, it’s worth noting, is a character from The Last of Us—Part II game. But we didn’t actually learn too much about him in the games. This backstory from season two of The Last of Us is all new information.
Having Joel come to her late husband’s house didn’t help, either, because Joel is the one who killed Eugene.
Why Did Joel Kill Eugene on The Last of Us and Why Does Gail Hate Him for It?
A drunk Gail finally found the nerve to say something she’d been afraid to express on The Last of Us season two’s first episode. She found the courage (aided by some liquid courage), because as she said, “You can’t heal something unless you’re brave enough to say it out loud.” What she had to say to Joel was brutal and references a past event that sounds truly awful for both.
You shot and killed my husband. You killed Eugene, and I resent you for it. No, maybe a little more than that. I…hate you for it. I hate you for it. And yes, I know you had no choice. I know that. I know I should forgive you. Well I’ve tried, but I cant, because of how you did it. And looking at your face, sitting in our home, makes me so fucking angry.
It’s not hard to guess why Joel would have had “no choice” but to kill someone from the commune. Eugene almost certainly contracted cordyceps. What we don’t know is why the way Joel killed Eugene was especially heinous, so much so that Gail told her own patient she hates Joel.
But despite that, Gail is a professional. She still wants to help Joel with his Ellie problem.
Will she feel that way if she finds out that when Joel “saved” Ellie, he doomed everyone, including Eugene, to living in a world controlled by cordyceps? If Joel ever tells her that, he’d better bring a lot more pot with him.
Catherine O’Hara’s Gail in The Last of Us Season 2
We can’t wait to see more of Catherine O’Hara’s Gail as The Last of Us season two continues to unroll. We’re not sure what kind of part she’ll play yet, but judging by her immediate introduction, we’ll likely see her again. We certainly hope so anyway.
Content shared from nerdist.com.