This article contains SPOILERS for The Last of Us season 2 Episode 2.
The second season of The Last of Us is in full swing, and this past weekend it delivered its first big bombshell. "Through the Valley" is a massive episode of television that features a battle in Jackson that's on par with anything from Game of Thrones...but it was the smaller moments that really left viewers bereft. Yes, I'm talking about the horrific scene where new character Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) killed Joel, the hardened smuggler played by Pedro Pascal. And right in front of Joel's surrogate daughter Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to boot.
Abby does this in revenge for the bloody rampage Joel went on during the season 1 finale, when he murdered a hospital full of Fireflies along with a doctor trying to develop a cure of the cordyceps plague, rather than let them kill Ellie in the name of developing said cure. Joel's death was an iconic moment in The Last of Us Part II video game, and I have a feeling it's going to be just as much of one for HBO's television series.
While HBO may be known for producing Game of Thrones, which famously murdered major characters left and right, this death still hits hard. Another series might have chosen to string things along a little bit, having Joel die later in the season. But for The Last of Us, that was never really an option.
Joel's death is "where the story starts in earnest" for The Last of Us season 2
"Why did we do it at this moment? Why kill Joel [in] Episode 2 and not later?" asked co-showrunner Neil Druckmann on the latest episode of The Last of Us podcast. "Again, these are conversations we had early on when we were constructing the season, and it's like...because this is the beginning of the story. This is where the story starts in earnest."
In addition to serving as a co-showrunner on the series, Druckmann was also the main creative force behind the video games. So fans can rest assured, he knows of that which he speaks, and no one on Earth understands this story better. The Last of Us Part II is a very different sort of story than the first game, and it all boils down to one thing: revenge, and how it changes those who seek it.
"It's what she promises all of them in that room," Druckmann said, referring to Ellie's screamed promise that she'll kill Abby's entire group of friends who were involved in Joel's murder. Before the season's out, you can rest assured she'll try her damnedest to make good.
Is Joel really dead in The Last of Us?
From here on, Ellie will serve as the main character for the season. It may be a hard pill to swallow for fans who were attached to Joel and Ellie's relationship — or the onscreen chemistry between Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal — but it was inevitable. Rest assured, there will be plenty to enjoy about the season, even without Pascal.
That said, this won't be the last time we'll see Joel. "But I will say, and I'll be intentional about this...that we do know that for the viewer there are some mysteries here. There are some gaps about Ellie and Joel's relationship," co-showrunner Craig Mazin said. "And I don't think it's a spoiler, based on the fact that there is a trailer out there with lots of shots in it, this is not the last we will see of Joel."
We'd already drawn this conclusion based on playing the game, but it's still nice to hear it directly from Mazin. Yes, Joel is really dead, but we'll still see Pascal, most likely in flashbacks. As Mazin said, you can even catch a glimpse of a few of those scenes in the Weeks Ahead trailer that dropped after the season premiere:
Something tells me that when we do see Pascal again, it's going to cut straight to the heart.
New episodes of The Last of Us premiere Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on HBO and Max.
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