Who is Ariela Barer? Meet the actress who plays Mel in The Last of Us season 2
American-born actress Ariela Barer recently starred as Mel in HBO's The Last of Us season 2, which premiered on April 13, 2025. Ariela first appears as Mel in the series' second episode, Through the Valley. The episode was directed by Mark Mylod and written by Craig Mazin.
The series is based on the popular video game series of the same name and follows the journey of Ellie and Joel in a post-apocalyptic world. The second season adapted the sequel to the original video game, titled The Last of Us Part II.
Variety announced in March 2024 that Ariela Barer was cast as Mel in the then-upcoming The Last of Us season 2. Mel is a doctor in the rogue fireflies group led by Abby, who are looking for Joel to kill him.
Her character is one of the survivors of Joel's massacre of the Fireflies group, who is deeply traumatized by his actions. However, in the episode Through the Valley, Mel showed resistance when Abby threatened to kill Dina if Joel didn't talk. Watching Abby torture Joel to death made her visibly uncomfortable as she broke down in tears at the action.
The Last of Us season 2 is set to consist of seven episodes. As per IMDb, the series has received a positive rating of 8.7/10 with over 647,000 user reviews so far.
Everything to know about Ariela Barer
The Latina-Jewish actor Ariela Barer started her career at the early age of three and professionally at nine. She has appeared in numerous movies and TV series and also co-wrote and co-produced the feature film How to Blow Up a Pipeline in 2022. Apart from working on a variety of projects, she also performed as part of an indie rock band called The Love-Inns.
Her notable work involves being cast as Gert Yorkes in the Hulu series Runaways, based on the Marvel comics of the same title. The show aired for three seasons and included a crossover with fellow Marvel television series Cloak & Dagger in the final installment.
Ariela also portrayed Carmen on One Day at a Time and Bailey Bennett on Atypical. She also played the character Ziggie on the ABC series Rebel, which is inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich.
As per Deadline, Ariela Barer is also set to feature in the upcoming comedy-drama film See You When I See You by director Jay Duplass.
What is The Last of Us season 2 all about?
The Last of Us season 2 picks up five years after the events of the first installment. Joel and Ellie have settled into Jackson, Wyoming, with Joel's brother Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna) and Ellie's friends Dina and Jesse. After Joel massacred the group of fireflies to save Ellie at the hospital, a bunch of survivors from the group started looking for him.
Abby and a few other fireflies, including Mel (played by Ariela Barer), have finally arrived at Jackson, Wyoming, in their search. The series is expected to deliver more gruesome and gut-wrenching twists to its audience and also shed more light on Ellie's future.
The next episode of HBO's post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us season 2 is scheduled to release on May 4, 2025. The episode is directed by Kate Herron and written by Craig Mazin.
Stay tuned with us for further updates on The Last of Us Season 2.
