Following the success of the 2023 HBO series adaptation of the game "The Last of Us," which starred Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal, fans are excited to see a new chapter featuring Joel and Ellie after a two-year hiatus.

Known for her role as the young queen Lynna Mormont in Game of Thrones, Bella's performance as Ellie takes the audience by storm. For fans of Game of Thrones, seeing Bella grow into an excellent actor was a full-circle moment.

With the arrival of the newest season this weekend, Bella shared her experience and preparations for season 2 with the international press, including the Manila Bulletin Entertainment.

"It's been fun sort of getting into different aspects of her and finding different layers to her. It's been five years. I think that she's tougher than she was," Bella said.

"She's physically stronger and tougher, has matured and grown up in different ways, and has a lot of anger for the world, which I think she always has. But I think that that's showing itself more," she continued.  

With more action scenes in the second season, Bella also mentions that part of the preparation is two months of training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

"I had about two months of training before we started filming training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is like her fighting style this season because she's small. And that's sort of like her way of fighting. It's believable that she could take down someone twice her size."

"So yeah, I did like physical training for a couple of months, which was good. It was really good, mentally and physically, to feel strong and capable," Bella shares.

With season 1 ending with the significant shift between Ellie's character and Joel's (Pedro), Bella becomes honest that it was hard for them to act cold with each other while filming the series.

"Season one, we were getting to know each other. In season two, we came into it having known each other and spent this incredible year together during season one. And I think because we have so much trust and love for each other, we were able to sort of play this shifted dynamic in a way that was quite painful for both of us to play. It didn't feel natural to be cold with each other. Or it's more Ellie, cold to Joel," she said.

But despite the coldness in their characters, Bella says that working with Pedro is a fun and memorable experience. "Joel is trying his best, which is even more sad. Yeah, so there is a real shift with Joel and Ellie. But with Pedro and me, everything is the same; maybe we are more in love than ever."

How Ellie changed Bella's life

Being able to portray Ellie and inspire many audiences, Bella describes Ellie as a "beautiful storm of a lot of things.''

"She's very fierce and very mature and stubborn. And also, there's this sensitivity to her beneath the hard exterior of her heart, especially in the second season. She mirrors Joel in that way. And so it's been amazing to get to like exploring her. And she has a lot of anger in her as well, which is not an emotion that I often feel in my everyday life."

But that anger comes from a sense of justice, which I can relate to. And so she's inspiring me in that way that she will; she fiercely loves and protects the people she loves. And I think that's an incredible quality to have. And yeah, she's taught me a lot about myself and to fight for what matters," Bella shared.

With the big transition of Bella's character from season 1 to season 2, the British actor shared that Ellie still has that innocent mind of a 14-year-old.

"In many ways, Ellie is still this innocent 14-year-old, has grown up, and has seen much of the world since then. I say a lot of the world. I mean, like she's seen the complexities of different relationships. She's living in Jackson now in a community and has been impacted by that.  And yeah, I mean, she does get very dark and intense."

"This is vengeful, like I said before, like anger and need for justice. And I've also grown up naturally from season one to season two.  So taking that like my experience of moving through the world and bringing that into Ellie, but still feeling like the same character." Bella shared. 

Catch "The Last of Us" Season 2 on MAX.