The Last of Us is not pulling any punches. As most of the world knows by now, episode 2 of season 2 killed off one major character: Joel Miller (played by Pedro Pascal). The heartbreaking scene shows Ellie (Bella Ramsey) sobbing as she watches her surrogate father die at the hands of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). Though fans of the original video game knew his death was coming, they didn’t think it would come so soon. So, why did HBO kill off Joel in season 2?
Below, Hollywood Life is breaking down everything we know about Joel’s on-screen death.
Yes, Joel was brutally beaten and fatally stabbed by Abby in Season 2, Episode 2. After his death, Ellie and Tommy (Gabriel Luna) bring his body back to town. While Joel is no longer alive in the show’s present timeline, his story isn’t over. Pascal will continue to appear throughout the season in flashbacks.
The answer is simple: The Last of Us kills off Joel because the video game does the same, and the HBO adaptation follows the storyline. Fans always knew that Joel would die, as did Pedro, which the actor told Entertainment Weekly after that shocking episode aired in April 2025.
“It’s not like they said, ‘Hey, we kill you at the beginning of season 2,’ 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,” Pedro told the publication. “It was just a matter of how and when.”
In season 2, episode 2, Abby and the last of the Fireflies hunt down Joel to avenge the deaths of the people he killed: soldiers and the doctor who was going to split Ellie open, who happened to be Abby’s father. Abby accidentally stumbles upon Joel in the frigid blizzard while a ferocious pack of Cordyceps monsters are on the prowl. She lures Joel and Dina (Isabela Merced) back to a lodge where the other Fireflies are hiding, where they knock out Dina, and Abby beats Joel. Ellie finds them and attempts to shoot Abby, but one of the Fireflies holds her down while she watches Joel die a bloody death. As they leave the room, Ellie vows to kill them.
All episodes of The Last of Us are available to watch on HBO and to stream on Max.
Each new episode of The Last of Us airs on HBO and Max at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT on Sundays.
Yes, HBO renewed The Last of Us for season 3.
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