The Last of Us' Ashley Johnson shares her reaction to the season 2 backlash: "Sometimes that passion feels really great, and sometimes it feels not great"

The Last of Us actor Ashley Johnson, who surprised fans when she cameoed as Ellie's ill-fated mom Anna in the HBO TV show, says she "understands" the backlash to season 2 – but that "sometimes it feels not great" when players' passion for the games inspires such intense negativity.

When asked by The Direct about the response to the second chapter, Johnson, who brings Ellie to life in both Naughty Dog's The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II, said: "Yeah, I feel like with The Last of Us, people really love that story, including me, and it's very, very passionate fans. And sometimes that passion feels really great, and sometimes it feels not great. But you know, I understand it. I understand loving something so much, and wanting it to be what you want it to be."

She added that she "loves" The Last of Us "in every form" and that she's "so happy" she gets to "be a part of that telling of the story."

Johnson went on: "It can be hard sometimes, when you are making these things, and on your side of things, you're passionate about it, and excited about it, and hopefully that those two things can meet. Sometimes they do not. And that's hard, because I mean, anytime you're working on anything, you want people to like it, and you want people to love it as much as you."

While The Last of Us season 1 followed the source material pretty faithfully, season 2 took more creative swings – deviating from the games in regards to its structure, pacing, and diluting Ellie's quest for revenge. It said goodbye to Pedro Pascal's Joel, too, of course, which will have shocked viewers who aren't familiar with the games.

Even before it premiered on April 13, 2025, Craig Mazin, one of the co-showrunners at the time, admitted that he anticipated "furor" at the new batch of episodes. "I mean, there usually is, starting even with casting," he explained candidly to Entertainment Weekly. "We are not interested in creating social media fear. We just want to tell the story the way we think it should be told."

The Last of Us seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now on HBO Max. Be sure to keep up with The Last of Us season 3 with our handy, everything-you-need-to-know guide.