The Last Of Us Season 2: Is [Spoiler] Really Dead?

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• Is Joel Dead In The Last Of Us Season 2?

• Does Joel Die In The Game?

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's The Last of Us adaptation 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.

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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.

Is Joel Dead In The Last Of Us Season 2?

During the climax of the second episode of The Last of Us Season 2, Joel Miller finds himself trapped and surrounded by Abby and her group inside a lodge that they are using as a hideout. Abby shoots Joel in his leg with 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 the daughter of the doctor Joel shot and killed in Salt Lake City for trying to take the infected cure out of Ellie's body in the first season's finale.

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Driven by revenge for her dead father, Abby repeatedly keeps hitting his shotgun wound with a golf club and punching his face until he bleeds. By the time Ellie gets to the lodge and enters the room, it is too late, as she sees Joel lying on the floor with 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 Abby stabs Joel with the golf club she broke while hitting him.

As Abby's group leaves, Ellie crawls towards Joel and lies down next 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 episode of The Last of Us Season 2, Through the Valley.

Does Joel Die In The Game?

Yes, Joel does, in fact, die in 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 who are right in the middle of the action.

This is because the entire assault on Jackson was created solely for the television adaptation and is not featured in the game, which is why Tommy is not stuck at the settlement and is present when his brother dies.

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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 both directly revealed their names to Abby while 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 the trio is forced to take shelter at 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 are more members of her group who assist her in apprehending Joel and Tommy in the game. After getting shot in the leg, Joel in the game is 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 actually hits him directly on the face in the game, after which the scene instantly cuts. In the game, after telling Joel to guess who she is, Abby never reveals her connection to the Salt Lake City doctor to him, at least not on-screen; however, she shares her entire backstory with Joel in the television series.

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In the HBO series, Abby is also seen punching Joel after her golf club breaks, but she does not have to resort to her fists in the game because her club remains intact, which becomes the reason for Joel's bloodied face. Another key difference in the game involves Ellie, as she is not on patrol and getting high with Jesse, as seen in the TV show; instead, she is paired up with Dina in a similar situation.

When Ellie enters the room in the television adaptation, she sees Abby punching Joel. In contrast, in the game, she witnesses the full brutality of the golf club, as the way Joel meets his end is also executed slightly differently. Instead of stabbing Joel with the broken golf club like in the TV show, Abby lands the final blow by smashing his head in with the fully intact golf club instead.

But although Joel dies quite early on in The Last of Us Part 2, he is featured in plenty of flashbacks throughout the rest of the game to further establish his bond with Ellie.

And considering Pedro Pascal's star power and presence in the television adaptation, it is highly unlikely that the second episode of Season 2 was the last one featuring Joel.

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