Is Joel really dead in The Last of Us? Pedro Pascal speaks out

21 April 2025, 14:48

Is Joel really dead in The Last of Us season 2? Pedro Pascal breaks silence about his exit. Picture: HBO

By Katie Louise Smith

Is Joel really dead in The Last of Us? Pedro Pascal has now addressed the devastating moment – and he says he's in denial about the whole thing.

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Did that really just happen? The Last of Us season 2 just delivered the brutal moment all game players have been dreading since the very first episode and it was just as traumatic – if not worse! – than how it unfolds in the game.

Obviously, major spoilers ahead...

In case you haven't played The Last of Us Part II game, you may not have seen season 2 episode 2's huge death coming. In a scene involving Joel, Ellie, Dina, Abby and Abby's friends, the game's second-most controversial moment plays out.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pedro has now spoken out about the death in season 2 episode 2 – and he's in denial about the whole thing.

Read more: The Last of Us season 2 changes Abby's introduction for an important reason
Read more: The Last Of Us' Kaitlyn Dever had extra security on season 2 set because of Abby Hatred

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us season 2!

WARNING: MAJOR THE LAST OF US SPOILERS AHEAD. Picture: HBO

Did Joel really die in The Last of Us?

Yes, he did – Joel is dead. In the game, Joel is killed by Abby quite early on in the story. For years, fans had been speculating whether the show would stick to the same timeline or whether it would add more scenes in between in order to keep Pedro Pascal as the co-lead of the series. Now we know...

Speaking to EW about knowing of Joel's brutal death before signing on to the show, Pedro said: "It’s not like they said, 'Hey, we kill you at the beginning of season 2.' But it was always an understanding that it would stay true to the source material in a specific way and that the, let’s say, practical and exclusive obligation would be for season 1. It was just a matter of how and when.”

Pedro then went on to say that he was in "active denial" about Joel's fate.

Watch The Last of Us season 2 weeks ahead trailer

"I realize this more and more as I get older, I find myself slipping into denial that anything is over," he confessed. "I know that I’m forever bonded to so many members of the experience and just have to see them under different circumstances, but never will under the circumstances of playing Joel on The Last of Us."

"And, no, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it because it makes me sad."

In HBO's official 'After Show' series, Pedro added: "I have nothing but respect for the level of investment that people have in a video game or a TV show or movie or book. I experience that myself. I’ve flung books across the room because its impact is so profound on me and experiencing the story. I think it is incredibly painful for people and that’s obviously a brilliant achievement of the storytelling.”

Is Joel really dead in The Last of Us season 2? . Picture: HBO

On top of that, Bella Ramsey also shared their own heartbreaking reaction to reading Joel's death in the script.

Speaking to HBO, they said: "I knew that Joel was going to die but reading it in the script I was dreading getting to that bit… and I cried. I actually sobbed my little heart out. It’s the first time I’ve cried from reading a piece of writing."