The Last of Us boss explains why they killed Joel so early in season 2

22 April 2025, 16:34 | Updated: 22 April 2025, 17:03

Why did they kill Joel so early in The Last of Us? Creators reveal they thought about moving his death scene. Picture: HBO

By Katie Louise Smith

Why did they kill Joel? The Last of Us season 2 sticks to the game's timeline but the co-showrunners reveal they considered changing when Joel's death happened.

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The Last of Us season 2 shocked viewers after brutally killing off Pedro Pascal's beloved Joel Miller in episode 2. Killing him that early in the season? How could you!? But if you had already played the games, then you already knew what was coming...

Yep, Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever) took Joel for a round of golf after finally managing to track him down after five long years. Seeking revenge after he killed her father in the hospital massacre, Abby tortures and kills Joel as Ellie watches on.

In the game, that traumatic moment happens around an hour and a half into the gameplay but fans had theorised that the show might switch it up and push it back in order to keep Pedro part of the story for longer.

Well, now we know that they did not do that – but they did think about it. Co-showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have explained why.

Read more: Is Pedro Pascal leaving The Last of Us? Does Joel come back in season 2?
Read more: Is Joel really dead in The Last of Us? Pedro Pascal speaks out

Why did they kill Joel in The Last of Us?

Joel is killed by Abby in The Last of Us season 2 episode 2. Picture: HBO

In an interview with Variety, Craig and Neil explained why the creative team decided to stick to the game's timeline and kill Joel off so early. Season 2 episode 2 was, according to the team, the right time to bring the “f---ing horrible” moment to the screen.

"We also knew it needed to be early enough, because this is the inciting incident for this story," Neil said.

"There’s a danger of tormenting people. It’s not what we want to do,” Craig explained. “If people know it’s coming, they will start to feel tormented. And people who don’t know it’s coming are going to find out it’s coming, because people are going to talk about the fact that it hasn’t shown up yet."

"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."

Watch The Last of Us season 2 weeks ahead trailer

That said, Craig also confirmed that there was a possibility that Joel's death could have played out later in the season. "Every choice was on the table, as I recall," he said of the decision.

Neil added: "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."