Is Joel really dead in 'The Last of Us'? Why Pedro Pascal will return

22 April 2025, 12:19 | Updated: 22 April 2025, 12:28

• 'The Last of Us', season two episode two, saw Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) take revenge on Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) for murdering her father and the rest of the Fireflies in season one.
• People that have played the 'The Last of Us' game have known the death of Joel was coming up for a long time now, with the HBO series following the plot.
• Even though Abby's murder of Joel was final, fans of the show are still hoping that he will return.
• Read more: Bella Ramsey reveals 'The Last of Us' question they are sick of answering

By Alice Dear

As 'The Last of Us' fans mourn the death of Joel Miller in the second episode of season two, some heartbroken viewers have been left asking; Is Joel really dead?

'The Last of Us' season two, episode two, left viewers of the hit HBO TV series heartbroken as they watched the moment Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) murdered Joel (Pedro Pascal).

In the tense episode - which also saw the infected break into the compound of Jackson - Abby finally gets revenge on Joel for the murder of her father (who he killed along with the rest of the Fireflies in season one) after he and Dina save her from a horde of infected.

In the heartbreaking scenes, Abby shoots Joel in the leg before beating him within an inch of his life with a golf club before Ellie (Bella Ramsey) breaks in and attempts to stop the murder. The surviving Fireflies hold Ellie down as she watches Abby drive a blade into Joel's neck, ultimately killing him.

• Read more: The Last Of Us season 2 episode guide: How many, titles, synopsis and release time and date

In the final scene of 'The Last of Us' season two, episode two, we see Dina, Jesse and Ellie returning to Jackson on their horses, with Joel's body dragging behind them.

Is Joel really dead in 'The Last of Us'?

While we'd love to tell you that Joel survived that beating and stabbing by Abby and recovers at Jackson, before making amends with Ellie, the reality is that Joel really is dead.

While it seemed for a moment that Ellie could save Joel from his fate, the final blow from Abby ended Pedro Pascal's time on the show.

How does Joel die in 'The Last of Us' game?

The twist of Joel's death is almost identical to that from the 'The Last Of Us Part II' video game. The only difference between the game's version of Joel's death and the HBO TV series is that viewers are given a clear reason for Abby's violent actions.

In the video game, the reasoning for the murder is not explained until much later in the story, leaving little sympathy towards the character.

Pedro Pascal has revealed that he has known his character would die since he signed onto the project: “It’s not like they said, 'Hey, we kill you at the beginning of season 2,'” he told Entertainment Weekly: “But it was always an understanding that it would stay true to the source material in a specific way and that the, let’s say, practical and exclusive obligation would be for season one. It was just a matter of how and when.”

Does Joel come back in 'The Last of Us'?

While Joel sadly won't be returning from the dead, with Abby's murder of him being very final, Pedro Pascal is still set to be making appearances in upcoming episodes, but in the form of flashbacks.

'The Last of Us' creator Neil Druckmann explained: “This is where the story starts in earnest, but I will say that we do know there are some mysteries here, some gaps, in Ellie and Joel’s relationships.

"And I think this is a spoiler because we put a trailer out there with lots of shots in it. This is not the last that we will see of Joel."