“Meant to happen”: The Last of Us creator breaks silence on Joel’s death in Season 2

The second episode of The Last of Us Season 2 shook the series, as our main characters experienced major losses. The idyllic settlement of Jackson is attacked by infected people, and Joel is murdered by Abby and her crew in the last act of this episode. This mirrors the game, as the same events play out very early. Even those who played the game did not expect Joel to die this early.

Thus, after the conclusion of the episode, Craig Mazin, the showrunner, was interviewed by USA Today, where Mazin discussed Joel's death in the second episode of The Last of Us' second season. While Mazin acknowledged that viewers will be upset, he justified this creative decision by saying:

"People are going to be upset. That's sometimes how good drama goes. This was something that was always meant to happen. So much of the first season was, in a weird way, leading to this moment. And it's upsetting."

The Last of Us showrunner reveals that the ending of the latest episode was mostly destined

An adaptation of the 2020 game, The Last of Us Part II, this HBO post-apocalyptic drama picks up five years after the events of the first game, where Joel saved Ellie by massacring the Fireflies in the hospital at Salt Lake City. The events at Salt Lake City come back to haunt Joel both in the game and The Last of Us Season 2. Thus, it made perfect sense when Joel died in the game.

Those who played the game five years ago, amidst a global lockdown, knew what was coming ever since the show was released in January 2023. Thus, those who played the game knew the death was inevitable in HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us. Mazin seems to agree with that perspective, and said:

"Loss is kind of how this story functions, so this was largely preordained. When I talked to Pedro the first time, I said, 'This is how this will go.' I wanted him to know that we're not going to do this for seven seasons with you in that spot. We're going to do a season, and if it goes well and there's a second season, this will happen."

Mazin touched on the change from Abby using the golf club to hit Joel's head to doing the same to his leg, which is shot. Mazin justified this change for the sake of realism:

"This is live action. We do have to work a little closer to truer physics."

While on the same topic, the showrunner discussed the scene in which Abby jammed the broken golf club into Joel's neck. His exact words were:

"So that broken piece of golf club was the coup de grâce. In some ways, it's more haunting. We actually tried to show quite a bit of restraint in what people see. But it's important for Abby's character to go too far. There's justice, and then there's this other thing."

Mazin also teases several The Last of Us Season 2 episodes featuring Pedro Pascal's Joel

Just because we see Joel die in this The Last of Us Season 2 episode, doesn't mean that this is the last we see of Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller. The trailers released until now have featured several scenes with Joel that haven't played out yet. Given how the episode ended, all these scenes will be flashbacks. Even Mazin confirmed Pedro Pascal scenes:

"I don't think I'm spoiling anything. We have not seen the last of Pedro Pascal on 'The Last of Us.'"

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