Tati Gabrielle about the death of Nora’s brutal traces

Spoiler alert: This story contains spoilers from season 2, episode 5 of “The Last of Us”, which now streams at Max.

Tati Gabrielle had viewers of “The Last of Us” to keep their breath in the last episode more than one reason. Not only is her character, WLF member Nora, the first victim of Cordyceps -tracks traces in the air in the series, but she also takes a cheeky beating by Ellie (Bella Ramsey), desperate to find Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) to take her revenge.

“The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and “You” Alum Gabrielle has emerged as the favorite of “The Last of US” developer Naughty Dog, who previously appeared in the “Uncharted” film adjustment and the top position of the fiercely geanted game “Intergalactic: the rehetic project”. The actor, who has an unmistakable bustle, even with a zoom call at the Dawn’s crane, cannot wait to lead the franchise. “The child in me shouts! I am in the clouds. I literally have no words,” she says.

Gabrielle spoke with Variety About Nora’s harrowing death, working with Ramsey and how she imagines that a Cordyceps infection really feels.

When Ellie Nora confronts about Abby who kills Joel, Nora first plays along and seems sympathetic, before he switched to that seven line: “Little Bitch got what he earned.” How did you approach that moment?

I think the apology she gives Ellie and the distortion of the memory, I wanted it all to feel honest, because I think Nora drags a different line different from Abby. It was not only pure revenge, it was not pure anger. I think Nora had the feeling that justice should be served in one way or another, but from a very apparently sober position, while he was poor. I think Nora wanted to be honest with Ellie in giving that apology. I play the memory again and I think it is something that Nora is still struggling with: that did not go down that we even expected it would fall. That is not what Abby told us. She just said she wanted to kill him. She didn’t say she wanted to beat him pointlessly to be so brutal.

I think that for Nora, to be honest, she walks through this thing every night to play it and get in her head again, to be traumatized, but to push it away and justify it: “No, no. He got what he earned. He did us all. He killed us all.” It’s not even about Abby’s father. It is about the entire damn scope of this planet at the moment. And that man ruined everyone. He denied us a future. He denied us any feeling of hope. I wanted it to feel honest, but I also want you to hear it on my side too. And yes, that little bitch got what he earned.

The director of the episode Stephen Williams told my colleague His priority was to create a safe environment for you and Bella during the confrontation. What did that look on the set?

It is so funny, because especially with the chase in the elevator, Stephen, bless him, was such a father. Uncle Energy! In the elevator shaft there was a take that they eventually used where I did not land my foot well. When the elevator actually dropped, I waved out the shaft itself. That is then Stephen called it for the day. I had something like this: “No, we’re going to do it again! I can do it well this time, I promise!” And he grabbed my hand. As if he was my father, he said, “No, my heart can’t handle it anymore, so we’re finished. “Stephen always wanted to make sure we were good!

Bella too! Bella wanted to make sure that they didn’t touch me too hard. They didn’t do that! I had something like that: “I’m a pity! I hired you for two hours! Let’s do it!” I just enjoyed this experience in the show in general, for how much such as the cast and crew reflect the show. There is family, there is caring. When I tried to cough up my lungs, everyone made sure there was water, there was tea. I am very grateful for that.

Speaking of coughing, this episode introduces the concept of traces in the air for the first time in the series. What did you and the team make what it would look like to grab the infection in this way?

This was something I am really doing with Craig [Mazin]. Craig wants it to be exaggerated. He wants to make science as real as possible. Have you ever seen when Cordyceps take over an insect or something? I asked Craig all the questions: “She inhales it. If you inhale something, it goes straight to your brain. So that means it first goes to your nervous system. But do she suffocate?” We would have pointed out conversations very much, because I wanted it to feel as real as possible. Her nervous system is taken over by this thing. Her lungs are filled with a substance with which our lungs are not normally filled. It is not suffocation. That was something that Craig said. She can breathe technically, but it’s just not that simple. There is more tension in your body. The small muscles are because it is something of the brain: she tries to fight to keep her mind enough to get out what she has to say to Ellie. You go crazy against your own will, and fairly quickly. Each survivores clings to humanity and clings to itself. It was probably the hardest thing I ever had to do as an actor. It is almost easier to die and say your last words while you die. It is much more difficult if you don’t die at all. You are just digested by something from the inside.

Nora’s death in both the game and the series marks a turning point when Ellie is completely digested by anger and sorrow. What was it like to make those moments with Bella?

I felt afraid of them! Bella is such a sweetheart. Between every take, looking at me like: “Is it going?” Seeing the look in Bella’s eyes of that conviction really helped me as a Nora to be influenced by the determination that Ellie had. And let Nora feel like: “Oh, we are all just fucked. You don’t care that you are the answer, let alone that he has doomed us all. We have no future because of what your ‘father’ did.” It was nice to feel that cold of them. “Nice” might be a strange word, but it wax pleasure. Knowing that Bella is the opposite of that normally, it helped me very much to find the place I had to be. It was beautiful.

This interview has been edited and condensed.