Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part II video game and The Last of Us season 2.With best video games ever made, The Last of Us follows Joel Miller through a post-apocalyptic world as he tries to protect teenager Ellie Williams, the only person immune to the Cordyceps infection that ravaged humanity, where most people have died or become infected and turned into zombie-like creatures controlled by the Cordyceps.

One of the most appealing aspects of The Last of Us is the relationship between Joel and Ellie, and how it progresses over the course of the first game and first season of the series. In a lot of ways, it is the beating heart of the entire franchise, and The Last of Us Part II decides to emotionally devastate everyone with what they decide to do with Joel and Ellie over the course of the sequel. With The Last of Us season 2 being another fantastic season of television, one major moment in the story will change everything.

Joel Dies In The Last Of Us 2 Game

The Catalyst For Ellie's Arc

Joel dies in The Last of Us Part II, and his death is the catalyst for Ellie's character arc. Early on in the plot of the game, Joel and his brother Tommy rescue Abby Anderson from a group of infected, and they bring Abby back to her group of former Fireflies. However, the group ends up turning on Joel and Tommy. It's revealed that Abby is the daughter of a surgeon that Joel killed at the end of The Last of Us. Ellie and her girlfriend Dina arrive to see Abby beat Joel to death to avenge her father's murder.

Joel's Death Is The Last Of Us' Most Brutal Twist

A Shocking End For A Beloved Character

Joel and Ellie's relationship was already rough between the first and second The Last of Us video games, making his death an even more brutal plot point that leads Ellie down a vengeful path almost identical to Abby's. At the end of The Last of Us, Abby's father is about to perform surgery on Ellie to remove part of her brain, which can hopefully be used to create a cure. Unfortunately, this would kill Ellie, so Joel goes on a killing spree to save her. When Ellie awakens, Joel lies about what happened, telling her they couldn't create a cure.

After Ellie discovers that Joel lied and stops speaking to him, they are only just starting to patch things up when Abby kills Joel, leaving Ellie with even more survivor's guilt than she started with. However, she does have some relief, knowing that in their final conversation, she told Joel she might be able to forgive him. While the first game and The Last of Us season 1 look at Joel's grief for his daughter and the world he once knew, The Last of Us Part II similarly examines Ellie's grief.

When Will Joel Die In The Last Of Us TV Show?

He Will Likely Die In Season 2

There are several differences between the Last of Us game and the TV series, but the general plot has remained the same, and will continue in The Last of Us season 2 with season 3 confirmed. Because of this, Joel will likely die in The Last of Us season 2, possibly in the first episode if it remains close to the game. If the show covers more time than the second game, maybe by delving deeper into the four years that between the games, Joel's death could be the perfect climax to the Last of Us season 2 finale.

More time means Joel could survive for even longer, maybe into The Last of Us season 3. HBO's The Last of Us adaptation could also completely change the course of the plot and character arcs, having Joel survive the show's full run, but this would go against the spirit of The Last of Us. In a perfect world, Joel would live, but the series does not portray a perfect world. Joel's death helps Ellie learn the same lessons Joel had to, so it is vital to the future of The Last of Us.

How Joel's Death Impacts The Story

Shifts The Focus To Ellie And Abby

Joel is an incredibly beloved character in The Last of Us franchise, and his death towards the beginning of The Last of Us Part II is still hotly debated among fans of the franchise to date. Whatever way someone might feel about it, his death does have lasting ramifications for the story, of course, with the most notable being the path of vengeance it sends Ellie on over the course of the second game, building up to a final confrontation with Abby.

They have become the main characters of the franchise following his death.

In killing off Joel, it also shifted the focus to not only Ellie, but Abby as well, who is played for a significant amount of time in The Last of Part II. They have become the main characters of the franchise following his death, which will likely be the case in The Last of Us season 2 and season 3, throwing viewers for a massive, emotionally impactful loop in the process.