The Last of Us isn’t new to shocking viewers, but Season 2, Episode 2 is clearly one of the most shocking in the HBO series as it recreates a death scene straight from the video game that everyone anticipated coming down the pipeline. While many people thought it would happen a few more episodes down the road, the death of Joel took place in Episode 2, and it is guaranteed to be one of the most crucial moments of the entire series.
The episode leans into this major turning point — one that left a lot of viewers asking the same thing: Is that really it for Joel?
‘The Last of Us’ Season 2, Episode 2’s plot
In the second episode of The Last of Us Season 2, the infected unleash terror and storm toward Jackson. This happens while Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Jesse (Young Mazino) are on patrol together, and while Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Dina (Isabela Merced) are on patrol together. Tommy (Gabriel Luna), Maria (Rutina Wesley), and the residents try to hold Jackson down amid the attack. Meanwhile, Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and her crew are located at an elevated lodge where they are hiding and planning their next move, as Abby is dedicated to her mission to kill Joel.
On patrol, Joel and Dina come across Abby as they are running from the infected, and they save her life. As the infected get closer and closer, Abby persuades them to come back to the lodge, where they can get ammo and other things they need before heading back to Jackson to help the others. This chance encounter leads to a ruse by Abby, where she lures them to the cabin in order to kill Joel — and she does, just as Ellie shows up at the cabin and sees Joel and Ellie’s horses outside.
Is Joel dead… for real?
Yes, Joel is dead for good in The Last of Us Season 2. Some folks who are familiar with the game saw this moment coming. Others hoped the series might take a different route. And even if you think you know, the way it’s portrayed in the show adds a whole new layer of uncertainty and emotional weight as we see Joel subjected to a brutal, slow death at the hands of Abby while Ellie is there to watch. Just as in the game, Joel’s death is even more tragic given the fact that he and Ellie didn’t really reconcile prior to his death. The closest reconciliation they had was if he heard her cries, telling him to get up as she arrived at the lodge.
When does Joel’s death happen in the game?
Joel’s death happens very early in The Last of Us Part II, just as it does in this season. However, many fans thought that this would happen later in the season.
“I think we needed just to settle back into the show,” co-creator Neil Druckmann said in an interview with Variety. “Because even in the game, there’s like an hour or something before you get to this moment. But we also knew it needed to be early enough, because this is the inciting incident for this story. So yes, we always pick every permutation, but the later it got in the season, it just felt we were kind of dragging our feet instead of just getting to the meat of what the story is about.”
Are there any differences in Joel’s death in the show vs. the game?
There are some slight differences. In the show, Joel is patrolling with Dina, but in the game, he is patrolling with Tommy. They meet Abby and rescue her as she is trying to escape the infected. Because of the snow, Abby convinces them to come to the lodge where she and her group are sheltering. Then, once they get there, Abby shoots Joel in the leg and they restrain Tommy. Then, Ellie gets to the lodge and is restrained as well, and she witnesses Joel’s death.
Aside from the fact that Tommy and Dina switch places here, this is pretty much the same in the show, but in the game, Abby hits Joel with the golf club one last time. In the show, as we see, she sticks a remaining part of the golf club in his neck.
The Last of Us airs weekly on Sundays on HBO.
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