Why is Ellie mad at Joel in The Last of Us season 2? Joel's lie explained

15 April 2025, 21:03 | Updated: 15 April 2025, 22:24

Why is Ellie mad at Joel in The Last of Us season 2? How Joel's lie affects their relationship. Picture: HBO via YouTube

By Katie Louise Smith

The Last of Us season 2 will include flashbacks that explain why Ellie is mad at Joel – and it's all to do with what happened in the hospital at the end of season 1.

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At long last, The Last of Us season 2 has returned but Joel and Ellie's relationship is no longer the same as it was back in season 1. At the start of season 2, Ellie is avoiding Joel at all costs... but why is she mad at him?

The Last of Us season 2 is set five years after season 1's highly traumatic (!) final episode when Joel decides to go to extreme lengths to save Ellie's life rather than sacrifice her to help find a cure and save all of humanity.

At the end of season 1, Ellie makes Joel swear that he's not lying to her about the Fireflies and what happened at the hospital, and he swears that he's telling the truth. He blatantly lies to her face and continues on as normal.

The reason why Ellie is mad at Joel at the start of season 2 will be revealed later in the show (we see their confrontation in the trailer) and, for those who don't care about spoilers, here's the full explainer of what happens in the games.

Read more: What happened to Eugene in The Last of Us and why did Joel kill him?
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WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us Part II game!

Watch the latest teaser for The Last of Us season 2

Why is Ellie mad at Joel? What did Joel do?

In the game, we know Ellie is mad at Joel because she finds out that Joel lied to her about what happened at the Firefly hospital in Salt Lake City, essentially stealing the possibility of saving humanity from her.

Due to his bold lie, which he kept secret for three years, Ellie feels massively betrayed by the one person she trusted the most.

In the HBO series, it's unclear if the show will deviate from how Ellie finds out in the games but, based on Joel's therapy session, it appears as though he and Ellie have already had their big confrontation about the truth.

During his therapy session with Gail (and his earlier conversation with Dina), Joel says he's confused as to why Ellie is so distant but Gail clocks him and realises he's leaving out important details.

Later in the session, Joel starts to break down when asked directly about what he did to Ellie. He then simply says, "I saved her" and leaves.

How does Ellie find out the truth about Joel's lie in The Last of Us? Picture: HBO

How does Ellie find out that Joel lied to her?

In The Last of Us Part II game, Ellie discovers the truth in a flashback scene that takes place two years earlier.

Upon returning to Salt Lake City and exploring the hospital, she finds medical reports about her brain and then discovers a voice recording of someone explaining that the "only person who could develop a vaccine is dead", referring to the Fireflies' surgeon that Joel killed.

Ellie later confronts Joel and he reluctantly confesses which then prompts Ellie to shut Joel off completely.

Again, it's unclear if the HBO series will approach Ellie discovering the truth in the exact same way as the game.

In the trailer, we see Nora, one of Abby's allies, appear to tell Ellie: "Don't you know what he did?" In another scene, Ellie then confronts Joel, saying: "You swore."

We'll have to wait and see how it all unfolds.