Warning: Major spoilers ahead for “The Last of Us” season two.
In a shocking turn of events, “The Last of Us” season two just killed off a pivotal character in a heartbreaking manner, and it was precisely what the show required.
When the second season was announced, fans of the game expressed concerns about how the HBO series would handle one of the franchise’s most controversial moments. Fortunately, the show addresses this moment faithfully in the second episode.
For those who have avoided spoilers from the five-year-old game, Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever, tortures and kills Joel Miller, portrayed by Pedro Pascal, seeking vengeance for her father and the many others killed by Joel at the end of the first season.
The scene mirrors the game closely, showcasing Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, as she is forced to watch Joel’s tragic demise—screaming at him to get up while being held back by Abby’s crew.
However, Joel’s death in the show differs from what happened in “The Last of Us Part II.”
Joel’s demise is brutal, but it is necessary for the story.
In the series, Abby expresses her desire to make Joel pay for his actions before shooting him in the leg. As in the game, Joel tells her to get on with it, leading to Abby beating his leg with a golf club. By the time Ellie arrives, Joel has endured enough punishment for Abby to break the club in half. While Ellie is restrained on the floor, Abby cruelly stabs Joel in the neck with the broken club.
Witnessing this moment is horrific, as there’s no room for interpretation—Joel is undeniably dead. The writers do not shy away from this reality, ensuring that it serves the narrative rather than capitalizing on Pedro Pascal’s popularity.
In the game, the sequence is slightly different. Joel’s brother Tommy is with him during the encounter, and he is knocked out by Nora, played by Tati Gabrielle in the show. Abby tortures Joel in a similar fashion, but the golf club doesn’t break. When Ellie eventually bursts in, Abby only hits Joel once in the head with the club, killing him.
If the show had depicted the death this way, some viewers might have entertained the possibility that Joel was still alive. The writers aimed to eliminate that ambiguity to highlight Ellie’s grief and horror over losing her father figure, setting her on a path of revenge against Abby, just as in the game.