By now, there is no doubt that 2023 is Pedro Pascal’s year, as the beloved star has been dominating the TV landscape with his turn as the tormented yet badass Joel in The Last of Us and as the bold Din Djarin — who is currently the damsel-in-distress needing Bo-Katan’s constant rescuing — in The Mandalorian season three. And if anyone had any doubts about it being Daddy Pedro’s year to shine, you just need to take a look at His Sexiness in all his glory at the 2023 Oscars.
Yes, there are many renowned faces who have ascended the stage tonight to present the awards, but none have the zealous Pascal fan following, now do they? Or the ability to reduce the onlookers to a puddle. The man has already won hearts with all of the pictures of his Oscars rehearsal that went out earlier, resulting in fans swooning, stressing that he deserves an award of his own, or questioning whether there is a Lakers shirt underneath that jacket.
But as expected, the Game of Thrones star has one-upped himself ⏤ who else can trump Daddy’s charm coupled with specs, after all? Not even the mesmerizing Elizabeth Olsen, it seems ⏤ with his current ensemble at the Oscars and that million-dollar smile as he presents the Best Documentary Film award to Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga for The Elephant Whisperers and the Best Animated Short Film to Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud for The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.
And if the suave Pedro fails to get your motors running, Joel is also here to save the day in The Last of Us season finale. Though the character managed to reunite with a severely traumatized Ellie after ruthlessly slashing his way through the enemies and sending the internet on a crying spree with his “baby girl,” the fact that the episode was not rescheduled even though the Oscars are airing the same night was already not a good omen — and now we know why.
While the Oscars trump the Super Bowl, the episode was not shifted this time because what the finale had in store for Ellie and Joel easily makes us forget that a thing like the Academy Awards even exists *tries to calm my furiously beating heart* No spoilers though! Go watch the episode and lose your heartbeats to Pedro Pascal all over again.