The Last Of Us Showrunners Address [SPOILER] In Season 2

Major Spoilers for The Last of Us are down below.

Summary

The Last of Us Season 2 addresses *that* death in the second episode, breaking fans and the showrunners' hearts.
Showrunners chose to have the death early to avoid tormenting the audience and dragging the plot.
The death is pivotal to the plot and essential for Ellie's development in exploring themes of pain and revenge.

The most anticipated event from The Last of Us Part II was finally featured in the live-action television series. As such, The Last of Us showrunners addressed the much-talked-about scene.

The Last of Us has finally returned for its second season. Fans were both thrilled and sad because many knew one of the major characters would bid goodbye this season. However, they weren't sure whether they had to wait for the whole season to see the demise of the fan-favorite. The showrunners didn't want to torment the people, so they addressed it head-on by featuring it in the second episode.

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By Catherine Armecin Martin

The second episode of The Last of Us Season 2 broke hearts after it featured the most anticipated and heartbreaking scene from the game – Joel's (Pedro Pascal) death at the hands of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). Even if many expected Joel's death this season, it still left many desolate. Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, who co-created the show, addressed the controversial scene. According to Druckmann, they had to "settle back into the show." He acknowledged that it took about an hour in the game before Joel died. However, they didn't follow that timeline in the TV show because that incident was a turning point in the plot, and they didn't want to drag the story on. He said:

But we also knew it needed to be early enough, because this is the inciting incident for this story. So yes, we always pick every permutation, but the later it got in the season, it just felt we were kind of dragging our feet instead of just getting to the meat of what the story is about.

The Last of Us Simply Had To Address The Major Elephant In The Room Early On In The Season

Mazin agreed with his co-creator's approach. According to him, "There's a danger of tormenting people." He admitted that Joel's death was something they didn't want to do, but it was inevitable. The audience knew it was coming, and delaying it would only make them "feel tormented." Additionally, those who aren't aware of the story would also eventually know that Joel will die, because many would talk about it, thanks to the game, and wonder why it's taking so long to get to. Hence, the decision to feature it in the early episodes of Season 2. Since they decided to show Joel's death early on, Mazin said they thought more about how to show it naturally. He explained:

Our instinct was to make sure that when we did it, that it felt natural in the story and was not some meta-function of us wanting to upset people.

Joel's death was expected, but many fans admitted it still broke their hearts. Although the incident was something ardent fans knew was coming, nothing prepared them for the actual heartbreak when they witnessed how Abby killed Joel. She jammed the broken end of the golf club into his neck for a fatal blow. To make the incident even more painful, Joel lifted his head when he heard Ellie (Bella Ramsey) call him. Mazin was emotional when he discussed that scene while adding that Ellie's face was Joel's last sight before he passed away. The Last of Us co-creator said he felt the same as the audience. It was also reportedly hard for them to kill off Joel. Druckmann added that they loved Joel and would want him to "get up." However, everyone knew that it wasn't happening because he had to die.

Despite this, some hoped the show would change Joel's fate. They wanted the fan-favorite to survive this time, unlike in the game. Unfortunately, there was no way for Joel to escape his death because his passing is significant in the plot. It showed that Joel had to face the consequences of his past after he killed the Fireflies to save Ellie. His brutal death also forces Ellie to confront pain, loss, and vengeance, which is necessary since The Last of Us Part II's narrative shifts to the cycle of revenge. Joel's death serves as an emotional trigger and a life-changing event for Ellie, and skipping it would change the story its telling.