Brutal Turning Point That Fans Will Not Forget
The story of The Last of Us has always walked the delicate line between survival and sacrifice. But nothing quite prepares you for the emotional sledgehammer delivered in Season 2, Episode 2—an episode that doesn’t just shift the story’s direction but fundamentally alters the emotional core of the show.
In what can only be described as a heart-wrenching and deeply unsettling moment, Joel—portrayed by Pedro Pascal—meets his end in a scene so visceral, even fans of the original video game admit they weren’t ready. While players of The Last of Us Part II have lived with this inevitability for years, the show’s adaptation strips away the buffer of gameplay, replacing it with raw human emotion, intimate camera work, and performances that demand your full emotional bandwidth.
A Reckoning Five Years in the Making
Season 2 opens five years after the brutal conclusion of Season 1, where Joel rescues Ellie (Bella Ramsey) from a Firefly hospital by murdering those who sought to sacrifice her in the name of a cure. That decision, heavy with moral complexity, casts a long shadow. The weight of it all finally crashes down in Episode 2, Through the Valley.
Joel rescues Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) from a wave of the infected—unaware that she is the daughter of the doctor he killed in that hospital massacre. What follows is not just revenge, but a reckoning. Abby lures Joel into a trap, shooting him in the leg before subjecting him to a brutal, harrowing beating with a golf club. Ellie finds him just in time to witness the final blow but not in time to stop it.
It’s one of those rare moments in television where the silence says more than the screams. Fans described it best: haunting, unforgettable, and devastating in ways that words struggle to capture.
The Fanbase Responds — Pain, Catharsis, and Unresolved Grief
Reactions from the fanbase have poured in with a shared sense of loss. Even those who had foreseen Joel’s demise admitted the show’s execution went far beyond expectation. “They made it even worse in the show,” one fan tweeted. Another added, “This is 10x more painful than I imagined.”
And for fans unfamiliar with the game, the moment hit like an unexpected blow to the gut. “That single shot of Ellie crawling to Joel’s body... I’ll never forget it,” read another tweet. Many compared the feeling to the emotional chaos of Game of Thrones, calling it a welcome—if traumatic—return to storytelling that doesn’t flinch.
Perhaps the most revealing comments came from longtime fans who had kept this narrative twist to themselves for years. “Do you know how long we’ve held this secret?” one joked online. Now, finally, they can grieve together with a broader audience.
Pascal’s Exit: A Measured, Inevitable End
Pedro Pascal, whose performance as Joel anchored the series, admitted in a post-episode interview that the ending was always part of the deal. “It was always an understanding that it would stay true to the source material,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
He described being on set, in full bloody makeup, and watching the emotional response from cast and crew. “It wasn’t one of revulsion but of heartbreak,” he said. Pascal’s own words perhaps say it best: “I’m in active denial.” It’s a sentiment many fans are echoing now that Joel—protector, father figure, and flawed hero—is gone.
A Shift in Power, A Story Reborn
For Bella Ramsey’s Ellie, this moment is not just personal—it’s transformative. Ramsey admitted that reading the script moved her to tears. “I sobbed. It’s the first time a piece of writing made me cry like that,” she told HBO.
Co-creator Craig Mazin defended the timing of Joel’s death. “There’s a danger of tormenting people,” he said. “We didn’t want it to feel manipulative—we wanted it to feel like the story naturally demanded it. And it did.”
With Joel gone, The Last of Us pivots into uncharted territory—narratively and emotionally. The bond that defined the show’s heart has been severed. What remains is the question of how Ellie—and the audience—moves forward.
If you’ve watched this far, you already know: The Last of Us doesn’t just tell a story. It takes you through it, leaves marks, and refuses to let go quietly.