About

Joel Having a Panic Attack, also known as Pedro Pascal Leaning on Post, refers to scenes from episode six of The Last of Us in which the protagonist Joel Miller (portrayed by Pedro Pascal) appears to suffer anxiety attacks, causing him to hold himself up to catch his breath while leaning against a fencepost. After the episode aired in mid-February 2023, the scenes became prevalent in memes online as a reaction image and were paired with humorous captions expressing difficult tasks and situations.

Origin

In episode six of The Last of Us, aired February 19th, 2023, Joel has several scenes in which he appears to suffer from chest pains and shortness of breath. Later in the episode, he explains he's having something similar to anxiety and panic attacks.^[1] On February 20th, Twitter user @DeanaXBurke tweeted one of the scenes, praising actor Pedro Pascal's portrayal of suffering a panic attack (shown below).

As someone who had panic attacks I can't express how much Joel's scenes meant. Pedro Pascal's performance hit home. You're fine, then you feel your heart stop. My favorite character experiencing the same thing I did? It makes me feel better. #TheLastOfUspic.twitter.com/tqXB2PUmRp

— DeanaMarie (@DeanaXburke) February 20, 2023

Spread

After the episode aired, an image collage of Joel's panic attacks spread on Twitter as a reaction image meme. For example, on February 21st, 2023, Twitter user @heartimecia^[2] posted the collage with the caption, "me after sending one (1) email," gaining over 1,700 retweets and 8,100 likes in less than 24 hours (shown below, left). Also that day, user @TheAndyCortez^[3] posted a joke about Joel's brother Tommy realizing he's living a communist lifestyle, gaining over 40 retweets and 480 likes in a similar timeframe (shown below, right).

Various Examples

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External References