Does Joel Die In The Last Of Us? Pedro Pascal's Potential HBO Series Fate Explained

Contains spoilers for the video game "The Last of Us: Part II"

"The Last of Us" Season 2 is only a year away, which, if you're a fan, will either excite you or put you on edge for an even more traumatic viewing experience. Those feeling the latter might be right to do so, as "The Last of Us Part II," which the 2nd season adapts, is a harrowing game. Loaded with horror and heartbreak, there are many distressing moments fans of the game will be bracing for, including the death of Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal).

Early in "The Last of Us Part II," gamers are hit with the jaw-dropping demise of our flannel shirt-wearing hero. While on patrol with his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna), he encounters a faction of survivors that he takes shelter with. After Joel and Tommy introduce themselves, things quickly turn south as the group overpowers them, knocks Tommy out, and shoots Joel in the leg. From there, the group's leader, Abby (now confirmed to be in "The Last of Us" Season 2, played by Kaitlyn Dever), beats Joel to death with a golf club, while Ellie — who turns up late to the encounter — helplessly watches on. The only questions are if this sequence will be altered in any way for live-action and how soon it'll be seen on the show.

Season 1 makes a great effort to adapt all the central details of "The Last Of Us Part I," which should assure fans, for better or worse, that this brutal story beat is essential to Season 2 and could come as early as Episode 1. Such a gut-wrenching death would replicate Season 1's traumatic twist; the loss of Joel's daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) helps viewers understand the worn-down loner from the jump. Something similar could happen with his passing, impacting Eliie and Abby.

The masterstroke of "The Last of Us Part II" is that it has players jump between control of Ellie, who is on the hunt for Joel's killer, and Abby. As the story progresses, it's revealed Abby's actions were born out of vengeance for the death of her father, the Firefly surgeon who hoped to find a cure by operating on Ellie but was killed by Joel during his rescue mission. This revelation will undoubtedly split audiences down the middle and could become an even more tearful ordeal if Joel's presence in the show matches the source material.

Given the likelihood of Pedro Pascal's character being offed early in Season 2, casual fans would be forgiven for thinking that TV's go-to guardian would be dipping out permanently after Joel's encounter with Abby. However, seeing as this show has already proven to break viewers' hearts as much as it can, there's a chance it'll replicate the flashbacks peppered throughout "The Last of Us Part II," which made Joel's abrupt passing all the more upsetting.

The game spends a lot of time with Ellie processing her complicated relationship with her father figure. Casting her mind back to the good times and the bad would, therefore, allow more screentime for Pascal in flashbacks, with a final one hammering the story's message home. Abby will also most likely think back to the time Joel killed her father, ensuring that Pascal is an almost ghostly presence throughout Season 2. The bad news is we're going to have to endure it all. The good news is that Pascal's record for suffering a severe head injury in television shows remains untouched. First "Game of Thrones," now this? No wonder wearing a helmet on "The Mandalorian" was appealing.