If you’ve played The Last of Us—Part II game, or even just read up on it a little, then you’ve probably known that a major character death was coming to HBO’s The Last of Us series. But what none of us could know was when such a death would hit us. When The Last of Us announced Abby’s casting for season two, we knew the death was at least approaching us. But even with all this forewarning, none of us could have expected that such a major loss would arrive in episode two of season two. It feels decidedly too early. But those are the stakes in a dystopian world. And, as so often happens, the human element is scarier and less predictable than the one created by the monsters.
The Last of Us Brings Us Joel’s Death in Season 2, Episode 2
Joel was fated to die right from the start of The Last of Us series. No matter how beautifully Pedro Pascal played Joel, or how beloved the character, his death was sealed by The Last of Us‘ games, and nothing could change that. Still, we kind of expected to have more time with Pascal’s Joel. After all, he is one of the two main characters on the series. But it was not to be. After almost no scenes between Joel and Ellie in episode one of the season, episode two of The Last of Us season two dives right into recreating The Last of Us—Part II‘s fated sequence. Abby falls into a nest of Infected, and Joel just happens to be at the wrong, or maybe right, place at the wrong, or maybe right, time to save her life.
Regardless of the moral valence of the moment, Joel rescues Abby from the Infected, and without knowing it, seals his fate.
How Does Joel Die on The Last of Us Season 2?
After Joel and Dina rescue Abby, they are still surrounded by Infected on all sides. Abby suggests they return to the lodge where she and her team of Fireflies are staying. With little choice, Joel agrees to go with Abby, although he almost changes his mind when he sees Jackson burning from afar. The irony of this The Last of Us moment is that Joel would probably have succumbed to death by frostbite before he reached Jackson, so he was in a truly no-win, or in this case, no-life scenario.
When they return to the cabin, Abby introduces her guests to the Fireflies. They, of course, know instantly who Joel is. They put Dina to sleep using some kind of chemical, and then Abby reveals to Joel that she is the daughter of the doctor/surgeon Joel killed in Salt Lake City. Joel doesn’t bother to deny that he murdered 19 Fireflies, but insists that Abby just get his death over with. She, however, has other plans. She shoots Joel in the leg to stop him from running away, but orders that her team tourniquet it so he doesn’t bleed out.
The long and the short of it is that in The Last of Us season two, episode two, Abby basically slowly bludgeons Joel to death with a golf club. She only ends it when Ellie rushes in and stabs him right through the throat with a piece of metal. Ellie watches Joel die, but the Fireflies don’t kill her.
Joel’s Death Changes in Some Significant Ways From the Games
Joel’s death on The Last of Us season two is fairly similar to his death in The Last of Us—Part II game. The one major difference is that Joel is with Tommy, not Dina, during the sequence, and Ellie is with Dina not Jesse. In the games, Joel and Dina don’t have the kind of father-daughter relationship that the series sets up for them. So it wouldn’t have made that much sense for Dina to be with Joel. Meanwhile, in the show, Dina loves both Joel and Ellie and works to help them repair their relationship. Having her there in this harrowing moment will no doubt serve as a way to bring Dina and Ellie even closer together. The fact that Dina spent Joel’s last living moments with him will also no doubt be a huge burden, but also a gift of a sort, for both of them.
As for Tommy, this change means a certain amount of guilt will not sit on his shoulders. But he’ll no doubt feel lost without having gotten the opportunity to say a real goodbye to Joel.
Will We See More of Joel on The Last of Us Season 2 After His Death?
The biggest question that now remains is whether Pedro Pascal’s Joel will return to The Last of Us season two for more episodes and scenes despite his death. We certainly hope so because we feel this was a very sudden way to lose Joel. It was definitely impactful and striking, but we’re not quite ready to say goodbye yet. Trailers for the series do give an answer of a sort, so, those interested can take a closer look at what we might receive. Hopefully, we haven’t seen the last of… Joel yet.
The Last of Us is now airing on HBO and Max on Sundays at 9 pm.
Content shared from nerdist.com.