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If there’s one thing that has defined HBO series since the Game of Thrones days, it’s the fact that not even main characters are usually safe from the horrors of their respective worlds. Mazin and Druckmann’sThe Last of Usadaptation is no different. Considering that the title of the series clearly states that it’s more about the characters surviving in a post-apocalyptic world than the zombie-like creatures that haunt them, every major death has a massive impact.
However, in the second episode of Season 2, a shocking twist takes place that has left fans of the series in disbelief at what they have witnessed, proving that the zombies aren’t the only entities that make it a horrifying world.
Major spoilers for HBO’s The Last of Us and Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 below.
During the climax of the second episode of The Last of Us Season 2, Joel Miller findshimself trapped and surrounded by Abbyand her group inside a lodge that they are using as a hideout.Abby shoots Joel in his legwith a shotgun and threatens him that if he tries anything and does not answer her questions, she will kill Dina, who is knocked unconscious by Abby’s group. Abby then finally reveals her true identity to Joel and why she is obsessed with killing him, telling him that she is thedaughter of the doctor Joel shotand killed in Salt Lake City for trying to take the infected cure out of Ellie’s bodyin the first season’sfinale.
Driven by revenge for her dead father, Abby repeatedly keeps hitting hisshotgun wound with a golf cluband punching his face until he bleeds. By the time Ellie gets to the lodge and enters the room, it is too late, as shesees Joel lying on the floorwith his face all bloodied up as Abby lands yet another hit on him. Ellie is instantly apprehended by the rest of the group and unable to do anything except scream and look in horror as Abbystabs Joel with the golf clubshe broke while hitting him.
As Abby’s group leaves, Elliecrawls towards Joel and lies downnext to him, looking at his lifeless body and devastated by the loss of the closest person she could actually call a father.So yes, Joel really does die in the second episodeofThe Last of Us Season 2, Through the Valley.
Does Joel Die In The Game?
Yes, Joel does, in fact, diein the video game The Last of Us Part 2 as well, but there are various changes that the HBO adaptation implements in its execution of one of the most controversial deaths in recent media.For starters, it is not Joel and Dina who find Abby in the game,but actually Joel and Tommy whoare right in the middle of the action.
This is because theentireassault on Jacksonwascreated solelyfor the television adaptationand is not featured in the game, which is why Tommy is not stuck at the settlement and is present when his brother dies.
There are no infected tendrils in Jackson, so the horde following Abby never gets its attention diverted towards the settlement, as it keeps running after her, with Joel and Tommy coming to her rescue. One of the most questionable elements that led to Joel’s death in the game was that Joel and Tommy bothdirectly revealed their names to Abbywhile trying to gain her trust to let them save her, which is another aspect that was changed in the HBO adaptation, with Dina unknowingly calling out Joel’s name in Abby’s presence.
Additionally, in The Last of Us Part 2, Abby does not need to persuade Joel to come with her to her group’s hideout, as thetrio is forced to take shelterat the outpost while running away from the infected horde.
Additionally, while Abby is accompanied by Owen, Manny, Mel, and Nora in the television adaptation, there aremore members of her group whoassist her in apprehendingJoel and Tommy in the game. After getting shot in the leg, Joel in the gameis strong enough to fight back, requiring two members of Abby’s group to keep holding him until she picks up her golf club, while in the TV show, he stays on the ground by himself, powerless to do anything.
Furthermore, while Abby in the television adaptation repeatedly hits Joel on his wound with her golf club, she actuallyhits him directly on the facein the game, after which the scene instantly cuts. In the game, after telling Joel to guess who she is,Abby neverreveals her connection to the Salt Lake City doctor to him, at least not on-screen; however, sheshares her entire backstory withJoel in the television series.
In the HBO series, Abby is also seen punching Joel after her golf club breaks, but she does nothave to resort to her fistsin the game because her club remains intact, which becomes the reason for Joel’s bloodied face. Another key difference in the game involves Ellie, asshe is not on patrol and getting high with Jesse, as seen in the TV show; instead, sheispaired up with Dinain a similar situation.
When Ellie enters the room in the television adaptation, she sees Abby punching Joel. In contrast, in the game, she witnesses thefull brutality of the golf club, as the way Joel meets his end is also executedslightly differently. Instead of stabbing Joel with the broken golf club like in the TV show, Abby lands thefinal blow by smashing his headin with the fully intact golf club instead.
But although Joel dies quite early on in The Last of Us Part 2, heis featured in plenty of flashbacksthroughout the rest of the game tofurther establish his bond with Ellie.
And consideringPedro Pascal’s star power and presencein the television adaptation, it is highly unlikely that the second episode of Season 2 was the last one featuring Joel.
