HBO
Spoiler Waring: This article contains MASSIVE SPOILERS for season two, episode two of The Last of Us — “Through the Valley.” Do not read past this sentence if you are not caught up on the series or don’t mind having major plot details spoiled.
The hit HBO series The Last of Us dropped a nuke in the second episode of its second season, as it stayed true to the storyline of the games and killed Pedro Pascal’s Joel Miller, the lead character in the original The Last of Us game.
While those who previously played The Last of Us video games knew what to expect, strictly show-watchers likely never saw it coming, leading to some hilarious reactions on social media.
To be fair, even though I played both of The Last of Us games, the speed at which the series reached this point almost caught me off-guard. Heading into the season premiere, I had expected Joel’s death to perhaps happen at the midway point, certainly not in the second episode.
Me watching Joel die even though I played the game #TheLastOfUspic.twitter.com/8c7Q7ddijC
— kira 🍉 (@shivmcavoy) April 21, 2025
#TheLastOfUs game players knew this WHOLE TIME that Joel was gonna die and you didn’t warn me?!? pic.twitter.com/fKXD4IwWSA
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) April 21, 2025
this is actually 10x worse than i thought it would be #TheLastOfUs pic.twitter.com/O6x7BpGPWS
— l (@89sharry_) April 21, 2025
me trying to kill abby through my tv screen to save joel #TheLastOfUs
pic.twitter.com/tD9cCB8ETq— emma⟢🐈⬛ (@cosmicoraline) April 21, 2025
Even Jon Stewart apparently played The Last of Us and is keeping up with the HBO show.
“Damn… they really are sticking to the game…” The Daily Show host tweeted on Sunday night.
“Everyone experiencing THAT moment on #TheLastOfUs for the first time…welcome to the trauma…” added another viral post.
“Joel couldn’t save his daughter, so he protected every GD teenage girl until it killed him,” a popular post assessed.
The second season of The Last of Us consists of 7 episodes, meaning there are five remaining left in the season. Reports indicate that the evens of The Last of Us: Part II will be split across season two and season three of the HBO series.
Now that Joel’s character arc is complete, it makes sense why Pedro Pascal agreed to star in The Last of Us despite now being one of the most in-demand movie actors in the world, as it allowed him to star in a prestige HBO show based on a wildly popular video game without being saddled with the longterm commitment that usually comes with starring on a TV show.