This Sunday’s episode of HBO’s The Last of Us saw character actress Melanie Lynskey show off her chops as Kathleen, a brutal rebel leader who Joel and Ellie come across while making their way through a post-apocalyptic U.S. However, despite Lynskey’s engaging (and terrifying) portrayal of the character, many fans are finding themselves unable to look past her iconic role as Rose in Two and a Half Men.
In the sitcom, Lynskey plays the unstable Rose, Charlie’s neighbor and stalker. Her unhinged behavior in the Chuck Lorre sitcom has led some Twitter users to make tongue-in-cheek jokes about how the character survived the apocalypse and moved from breezy Malibu to Kansas, where her vicious instincts were finally allowed to fully take over — an idea that makes sense in the context of Kathleen’s violent actions in Sunday’s episode “Please Hold my Hand.”
Lysnkey is known for taking on interesting characters and has been labeled an indie queen by many thanks to her standout performances in smaller films. With that said, she recently had a starring role in the critically acclaimed Yellowjackets, and is getting more and more mainstream praise for her work.
The character of Kathleen was written for the show and doesn’t appear in the games, which has led some fans to complain about a lack of faithfulness to the source material. However, most watchers are just excited to see such a talented actress take on a role that has lots of room for development as an antagonist for Joel and Ellie.
While the idea that The Last of Us and Two and a Half Men take place in the same universe might be a fun fan theory, the two shows definitely aren’t linked. One thing is for sure, though: Lynskey will be bringing more menace to our screens in the role of Kathleen, having noted that her character “…doesn’t have a ton of humanity.” Rose may have been obsessive, but Kathleen is out-and-out dangerous, and we can’t wait to see what she gets up to next.
Published: Feb 6, 2023 08:48 am