Image Credit: HBO
The Last of Us season 2 has finally arrived, and with it comes the heartbreak that fans have anticipated. With various estrangements and new relationships forming between characters, viewers are dying to find out what happens between Joel and Ellie. After that season 1 cliffhanger, the duo is now estranged in the second season, which is set five years later. And as original fans know, Joel dies in the video game storyline. So, what will happen to him in the TV show?
Below, Hollywood Life is breaking down everything we know so far about Joel’s future. (Warning: spoilers are ahead on The Last of Us season 2)
Who Does Pedro Pascal Play in The Last of Us?
Pedro Pascal plays the role of Joel, who begrudgingly forms an alliance with Bella Ramsey‘s character, Ellie, in season 1. But after bonding, Joel becomes Ellie’s unofficial protective guardian as they travel across a ruined post-apocalyptic United States.
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Is Pedro Pascal Still in The Last of Us Season 2?
Yes, Pedro stars in season 2 of The Last of Us. Since the season is just beginning, it’s unclear how many episodes he appears in, but it’s safe to assume that it’s most of them if not all.
While speaking at Variety‘s March 2025 press conference, Pedro refrained from disclosing any spoilers about Joel, but he noted that he was “grateful to be back and yet, at the same time, this experience, more than any other I’ve had, is hard for me to separate what the characters are going through and how it makes me feel, in a way that isn’t very healthy. And so I kind of feel their pain.”
Pedro also discussed his character’s relationship with Gabriel Luna‘s Tommy.
“I think that there was just a very, very well placed arc for us,” Pedro pointed out, referring to their characters. “I started the season with (Gabriel). We started season 1 together on D-Day, right? And so there was a kind of bonding, initiation process, stepping into all of it. … I feel like it was a beautiful setup by (show creators) Craig (Mazin) and Neil (Druckmann) that the first thing that I got to shoot was just you and I and in kind of an intimate setting. There’s incredibly painful distance between the two of them and the playing of the scene, but we still got to be on set and fuck around and laugh and stuff like that. And that was incredibly comforting, that was like coming home.”
Does Joel Die in The Last of Us Season 2?
While the cast and creators have stayed quiet about Joel’s fate, fans of the original video game know what’s likely coming. In The Last of Us Part II, Joel is killed early on. Whether the HBO series follows the same path as the game or takes a new direction remains to be seen, but the emotional stakes are already set high.
Season 2 introduces Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever), who makes her mission clear from the start: she’s out to kill Joel. Her motivation stems from the Season 1 finale, where Joel rescues Ellie from a life-threatening operation that could have created a cure, killing several Fireflies in the process, including Abby’s father.
In season 2, episode 2, Abby encounters Joel after being chased by a hoard of Cordyceps beasts. He shoots one of them, saving Abby’s life, and she lures him and Dina back to the lodge where the rest of the fireflies are hiding. Upon arriving, Abby brutally beats and fatally stabs Joel in the neck while Dina is knocked out. Ellie eventually arrives, only to see Abby finish Joel off and kill him.
Joel dies, and Ellie tearfully embraces him, swearing revenge on Abby.
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