Pedro Pascal in “The Last of Us” Season 2, Episode 2.
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the Last of Us Season 2.
For fans of The Last of Us video game, the moment they’ve long anticipated and dreaded finally arrived. Season 2, Episode 2 delivers one of the series’ most heartbreaking scenes yet, killing off a beloved main character and leaving viewers unfamiliar with the story stunned.
Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) death is one of the most controversial moments in The Last of Us Part II video game, and the HBO series wastes no time bringing it to life. By the end of Episode 2, Joel is gone, giving the remaining five episodes room to explore the aftermath. (The Last of Us is also returning for a third season.)
By the middle of Episode 2, chaos erupts as thousands of infected descend on the Jackson settlement while Joel and Dina (Isabela Merced) head home. At the same time, Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) strays from her camp and stumbles upon a swarm of infected—now clever enough to hide themselves beneath corpses. She tries to escape but becomes trapped behind a fence, only to be saved by Joel. When Dina calls out his name, Abby realizes who he is and urges them to follow her to a nearby lodge, claiming her friends are trapped and need help.
ForbesThe Best New TV Shows Streaming In April 2025 On Netflix, Max, And MoreBy Monica MercuriAt the lodge, Abby and her crew turn on Joel and Dina. It’s then that Abby reveals her true identity: she’s the daughter of the Firefly surgeon Joel shot in the head during the Season 1 finale. (To recap, Joel had to choose between letting Ellie die so the Fireflies could create a vaccine or saving her and killing anyone who stood in his way. He chose the latter, killing Abby’s father in the process.)
Dina is drugged so she won’t witness what happens next, but Ellie, having snuck away from Jackson to find Joel, stumbles upon the scene, only to see her worst fear unfolding before her eyes.
Is Joel Really Dead In The Last Of Us Season 2?
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in “The Last of Us” Season 2, Episode 2.
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Yes, Joel really dies in The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 2, “Through the Valley,” at the hands of Abby, who sought vengeance for her father’s death and the massacre at the Firefly hospital.
She initially shoots Joel in the leg with a shotgun, intent on making him suffer, before brutally beating him with a golf club. As the club breaks, she uses the jagged end to stab him in the neck in front of Ellie.
The harrowing scene is nearly identical to how Joel dies in the 2020 video game. Just like in the show, Ellie is forced to watch as Joel is murdered, screaming at him to get up while being restrained by Abby’s group.
There are, however, a few key differences. In the game, Joel is accompanied by his brother Tommy—not Dina—when they meet Abby. Additionally, the golf club doesn’t break in half in the game, and Abby kills Joel with a single blow to the head.
Bella Ramsey in “The Last of Us” Season 2.
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
In both the video game and the TV series, Joel’s death marks a turning point in the story, setting Ellie on a path of revenge.
“I think some viewers will start seeing some parallels between Abby and Ellie,” creator Neil Druckmann stands said in HBO’s “After the Episode” feature. “Abby has lost her dad, and now, inadvertently, Abby has created those same nightmares for another character. This event will change all the characters we know forever, from this point on. Now this person that’s capable of such violence—this impulsive character—what’s going to happen to them next?”
The episode ends with Ellie, Dina, and Jesse carrying Joel’s body back to Jackson, which is nearly destroyed and smoking from the attack.
Will Viewers See Joel Again In The Last Of Us Season 2?
Isabela Merced and Pedro Pascal in “The Last of Us” Season 2.
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Although Joel is dead, the show’s creator confirmed that this is not the last time we’ll see Pascal’s character on screen. Viewers will likely see flashbacks of Joel with Ellie in the five-year time jump between Seasons 1 and 2.
“This is where the story starts in earnest,” Druckmann said on the latest episode of The Last of Us Season 2 podcast. “But I will say that we do know there are some mysteries here, some gaps, in Ellie and Joel’s relationships. And I think this is a spoiler because we put a trailer out there with lots of shots in it. This is not the last that we will see of Joel.”
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pascal shared that he wasn’t sure his death would happen so early in the season, but he always knew the storyline would remain faithful to the source material.
“It’s not like they said, ‘Hey, we kill you at the beginning of Season 2,’” he said. “But it was always an understanding that it would stay true to the source material in a specific way and that the, let’s say, practical and exclusive obligation would be for Season 1. It was just a matter of how and when.”
Forbes‘The Last Of Us’ Season 2 Release Schedule—When Do New Episodes Drop?By Monica MercuriRamsey also reflected on their time filming the tragic scene by reading directly from their notebook. “So, Bella, what was your prep like for that first day? Talk us through it. Well, I pretended like it was a normal day. I actually tried to not be in the zone between takes. I read the scene minutes before shooting it. I watched a video of ‘Peanut Butter Jelly Time.'”
The song became an inside joke between Ramsey and co-showrunner Craig Mazin. “It’s like a death song,” Ramsey said. “It’s like, ‘Peanut Butter Jelly Time’ comes for us all.'” They continued reading: “I was listening to that at full volume and danced to it, and I mouthed the lyrics right up until action.”
The first two episodes of The Last of Us Season 2 are streaming on Max. Watch the official trailer for Season 2 below.
