‘The Last of Us’ star was up to the challenge of putting a fresh spin on an established game character

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us, Episode 6: “Kin.”

After what was a heartbreaking climax for the fifth episode, “Endure and Survive,” the thrilling sixth episode of The Last of Us, titled “Kin,” dropped last night, Feb. 19. Right now, we’re overwhelmed by a lot of emotions, but the main takeaway from such a mixed-bag episode would be Pedro Pascal’s groundbreaking performance as Joel, who in “Kin” reunited with his long-lost brother Tommy, whom he hasn’t seen nor heard from for a very long time. After a fateful encounter in the woods has a group of strangers escorting Joel and Ellie to Jackson, Wyoming, the Miller brothers finally find one another again.

“Kin” introduces us to not only Tommy but also another significant character who’ll be familiar to any The Last of Us diehards. The thriving Jackson community is overseen by Maria Miller, Tommy’s wife, who is played by Rutina Wesley in this instance. Wesley might be best known as Tara Thornton in True Blood, plus some one-off appearances in popular TV shows such as Hannibal, Arrow and the other-other phenomenal zombie-centered series The Walking Dead.

As we’ve gathered from the showrunners’ decision to race swap Joel’s daughter, Sarah Miller, HBO isn’t afraid to push some boundaries. We see this again with Maria, who’s white in the games but portrayed by African-American Rutina Wesley in HBO’s adaptation. Stepping into those enormous shoes bares some equally enormous responsibility, but Wesley seemed up for the task. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Wesley shares her apprehension about bringing an established character to life:

“It’s terrifying playing a character that’s been established, even though it’s a game. But I also was up for the challenge of playing her in my way and putting my energy on it to see what people would think of that.”

Wesley has been show-stopping in every role she’s ever played, so Maria is no exception. She might not have been who many fans were expecting to see as Maria, but she’s staying true to herself and giving it her all. And what more could we ever ask for?

All episodes of The Last of Us are streaming now on HBO Max.