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The following post contains massive spoilers about The Last of Us Season 2 episode, “Through the Valley”
The creators of HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us grappled with a pivotal and emotional moment in the story: the death of the central character, Joel Miller, portrayed by Pedro Pascal. This tragic event occurs early in Season 2.
Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie, shared her emotional experience upon reading the script that outlined Joel’s death. “I was well aware that Joel’s fate was sealed from Season 1. However, when I reached that part in the script, I was overwhelmed with dread and ended up crying. It was the first instance where reading a text had that profound an effect on me,” Ramsey revealed in a recent interview released by HBO.
Pascal echoed these sentiments, expressing admiration for how thoughtfully the show’s creators approached his character’s demise. “I hold deep respect for the emotional investment that audiences bring to video games, television shows, and books. I’ve had similar reactions and found myself in such agony over a narrative that it compelled me to throw a book across the room. If the audience feels a deep pain from this storyline, then that’s a remarkable achievement of storytelling,” he reflected.
The response from fans who may not have experience with the original video games, The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II, remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the series remains faithful to its source material, depicting Joel’s death at the hands of Abby, a character played by Kaitlyn Dever. Abby is a former Fireflies member whose father was killed by Joel during a harrowing confrontation in the previous season. At the beginning of Season 2, Abby is fueled by a desire for revenge, having vowed to take Joel’s life slowly. Five years later, she tracks him to Jackson, Wyoming, where a series of fateful encounters lead to their confrontation amid a fierce snowstorm and an attack by countless infected. In a moment of twisted irony, Joel saves Abby’s life, only for her to reveal her true intentions later. In a harrowing scene, she incapacitates him and brutally kills him in front of Ellie, who pledges to avenge his death. The video game portrays an even more graphic ending, with Abby severely injuring Joel in a more violent manner, and her motives are less clearly articulated.
Craig Mazin, the show’s co-creator, noted the emotional toll that writing and filming this pivotal scene took on the team. “The moment of Abby’s action was just as challenging for us to conceive and perform as it was for viewers to witness,” Mazin stated after the episode aired. “This narrative explores how we cope with those unexpected and difficult moments in life. We often think we can endure certain hardships, but then life presents us with even greater challenges that test our limits.”
In a reflection on the narrative’s emotional impact, Mazin drew a comparison between Joel’s death and a significant moment from C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. “It’s undeniably a heart-wrenching scene. I felt these intense emotions because his vulnerability is so stark,” he explained. “Joel’s struggle is incredibly poignant; he nearly rises from the ground, motivated by Ellie’s plea, and that moment is profoundly distressing. Our intention isn’t to inflict harm; rather, we are aligning with Ellie’s devastating experience of grief that we all will face in some form,” he remarked.
In the adaptation, Ellie reacts differently than in the game, remaining conscious after being injured, and crawls over to Joel’s side after Abby and her friends leave. This poignant moment of connection was an addition made specifically for the series. “This aspect was included from the very first draft. She’s gravely injured and unlikely to survive, and her drive to be with him in his final moments speaks volumes. It’s where she truly desires to be,” Mazin shared.
As The Last of Us progresses, the narrative will delve deeper into the consequences of violence and revenge, highlighted by Ellie’s own vow to eliminate Abby, mirroring Abby’s earlier mission.
“Viewers may start to perceive similarities between Abby and Ellie. Both have experienced profound loss; Abby has lost her father, and now she has inadvertently caused that same trauma for another,” remarked Neil Druckmann, co-creator and original game developer. “This incident irrevocably alters all the characters going forward, raising questions about the future for a character capable of such violence.”
New episodes of The Last of Us air Sundays on HBO and are available for streaming on Max.
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