Joel Miller's death in The Last of Us analysed as fans question if he survived
The Last of Us served up a brutal gut punch
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How The Last of Us season twoâs major death differs from the video game
â??The Last of Usâ?? has just delivered one of the most shocking deaths in modern TV history, but how did they change it from the game?
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Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Last of Us season two episode two.
The Last of Us season two has left fans of the TV show an emotional wreck with potentially one of the most shocking deaths in recent television history.
The critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning show follows Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, respectively, who attempt to survive in the post-apocalyptic United States caused by a deadly mass fungal infection.
Tragically, though, Pascalâs journey, or at least Joelâs journey, has violently come to an end in a demise that fans of the video game would have been all too aware of. Perhaps most shockingly, Joelâs death wasnât at the hands of any of the infected but by other humans.
Who is Abby and the Fireflies?
If you recall the end of season one, Joel saved Bella, who is believed to be immune to the deadly infection, from the radical militia group the Fireflies who intended to carry out a non-survivable surgical procedure on her to find a cure.
Pedro Pascal, left, and Bella Ramsey in the season one finale of âThe Last of Usâ (HBO )Joel killed many people during his rescue mission, one of whom was the father of Kaitlyn Deverâs character Abby, who now seeks revenge, vowing: âWhen we kill him, we kill him slowly.â
In episode one, viewers were briefly introduced to Abby and a group of surviving Fireflies at their base in Salt Lake City, Utah. At the end of the episode, which is now five years after Joelâs attack on the Fireflies, the group reappear having trekked across the wilderness to the safe haven of Jackson, Wyoming, where Joel, Bella and many others reside.
How does Joel die in the video game?
Much like the TV show, Joelâs death occurs early into the story of The Last of Us Part II.
While out on patrol, Joel and his brother Tommy rescue a stranger, Abby, from a horde of the infected. Fleeing for safety, they arrive at an old house which is being used as an outpost by Abbyâs group, who are now named the Washington Liberation Front.
Once back inside, the atmosphere changes when Joel formally introduces himself. âYâall act like you heard of us or something,â he says in response to the tension.
Without hesitation, Abby shoots Joel in the leg with a shotgun while Tommy is knocked out by other members of the group.
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Now helpless, Joel asks who Abby and the others are. While she never tells him, there is a hint that Joel knows their true identity and is ready to accept his fate, telling the group: âWhy donât you say whatever speech youâve got rehearsed and get this over with.â
Rather than shoot Joel again, Abby instead decides to brutally beat him over the head with a golf club.
Meanwhile, Ellie and her girlfriend Dina are now out searching for the missing Joel and Tommy. Ellie manages to find the outpost, but before she can save Joel is overwhelmed and beaten by the other WLF members. Pinned to the ground, Ellie witnesses Joelâs last breath as Abby rains down one last fatal blow upon his head with the golf club.
A scene from The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive )An unconscious Ellie, who has been spared by the WLF, is then woken by Dina who takes her and Tommy, who has also been spared, back to safety.
How does Joelâs death differ in the show?
The episode deviates from the game in its big set piece, which revolves around an assault on the town of Jackson by a mass of âinfectedâ. In the game, the town itself is never under siege.
In the show, Ellie goes on patrol with Jesse, rather than Dina, which means that Dina is there at the scene of Joelâs death from the start. It also means that the scene in which Ellie and Dina become romantically involved after smoking cannabis does not feature.
Abby and her group's encounter with Joel does, however, play out similarly to the game. As in the game, Abby shoots Joel in the leg before torturing him with a golf club.
Dever's character is presented more sympathetically at this point in the series than in the game, with Abby given new dialogue justifying her actions and discussing her moral code.
Joelâs eventual execution is also slightly altered from the game, with Abby sticking the point of a broken golf club directly into Joel's head, rather than beating him to death.
Season two of The Last of Us airs Sundays at 9pm ET on Max in the U.S. and Sky Atlantic and NOW every Monday at 2am BST in the U.K.
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