The inevitable death of our beloved character, Joel, finally happened in season 2 of The Last of Us TV Show. The depiction of Joel’s death in the TLOU Part 2 video game still stands tall as one of the most controversial deaths in video game history. Joel had it coming, whether we like it or not, and everyone wondered how the showrunners would pull it off in the series. Joel hit the end of the road in The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 2, and the creators have made some major changes to how the tragic event transpired in the TV show. So, find out how Joel Miller’s death was depicted differently in The Last of Us TV show compared to the video game.
Spoilers Warning:
This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 game and season 2 of the TV show. So, proceed with caution.
Joel’s Death in The Last of Us Part 2 Video Game
Let me start with how the events transpired in the game first, so you can easily grasp the difference between the TLOU game and the TV show. In the game, Abby goes out to hunt Joel alone, as Owen (Abby’s close friend) has concerns over how they will get to Joel, as Jackson is a big town with a lot of people. Moreover, Owen didn’t want to risk the lives of his friends without a clear plan. Abby gets caught up in a blizzard and is also chased by a horde of zombies, but luckily gets saved by Joel, who was on a patrol with his brother Tommy.
In a tense moment, Tommy reveals his identity along with his brother, Joel’s, to help the poor girl calm down after escaping from a horde. This is when Abby realizes this is the man she has been looking for all along. Abby is lucky to find Joel away from the secured town, so she lures him back to her friend’s shelter, saying they can be safe together.
Joel and Tommy head back to the shelter along with Abby without being aware of what awaits them there. When Mel introduces herself, Tommy and Joel also introduce themselves, and soon Abby’s friends realize Joel walked right into their trap without any bait. As soon as Joel starts to realize something feels wrong, Abby shoots his leg, and her friends knock out Tommy.
You stupid old man. You don’t get to rush this – Abby
Joel’s now aware that this is his tragic end and asks Abby to get this over with quickly. But Abby, who had been waiting for this moment all along, didn’t want to rush it. She asks Mel to tourniquet Joel’s injured leg and begins to bash the old man’s head with a golf club. At this point, Ellie tracks Joel and reaches the shelter. Before Ellie can do anything to save Joel, she gets pinned down to the ground by Abby’s friends.
Owen asks Abby to finish her business quickly upon finding out someone has tracked them down. Therefore, Abby bludgeons Joel to death right in front of a helpless Ellie. They also make sure to knock out Ellie and leave Wyoming, as they have now completed their revenge mission.
Showrunners Make Changes to Joel’s Death in The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 2
The showrunners played out the events leading up to Joel’s death slightly differently from the game in the TV show. For starters, Joel goes out on patrol with Dina instead of his brother in the TV show. During this, Abby triggers an infected avalanche, which hits Jackson Town. The town is also breached by the infected horde, which never happens in the game. Abby gets chased by the horde when she is on the lookout for Joel, and gets saved by him, like in the game.
While Tommy spills their names in the game, Abby gets to learn about Joel’s identity when Dina calls out his name in the warehouse where they were holed up. Then, Abby coaxes Joel and Dina to go to her shelter to save their lives from the horde.
Upon reaching the shelter, Joel sees Jackson Town burning and tries to contact his people back in town. On the other hand, Abby urges her friends to help them initially, only to reveal that Joel is here with them.
They quickly put a gun to Dina’s head and snatched away Joel’s gun. As their target is only Joel, the crew puts Dina to sleep using an injection. Unlike in the game, Abby interrogates Joel about his actions against the Fireflies and reveals that he is the one who killed her father in a long speech (which is a callback to the game). In line with the game, Abby shoots him in his leg, tourniquets his injured leg, and proceeds to grab a golf club.
Then, she hits his injured spot and moves over to smack his head next. Ellie finds Joel and Dina’s horse and goes inside the house to look for them. Unfortunately, Abby’s friends slam Ellie to the floor when she discovers a blood-soaked Joel lying on the floor, utterly powerless. When Owen asks her to end it quickly, Abby picks up a broken golf club and stabs the sharp point right into Joel’s neck, like how one kills an infected. Ellie is left barely conscious, but she crawls her way to her father figure, Joel, and hugs the fallen soul.
These little changes offer new sequences, however, Joel’s death is as gruesome as ever in the game and broke my heart again. The sorrowful fate of Joel is going to haunt us forever. In the meantime, let us know if you liked the changes made in the TLOU show in the comments below.
Source: Beebom