‘The Last of Us’ Season 2: Creators Talk About That Horrific Moment From Games, Big Changes, and Gut-Wrenching Ending

Fans of The Last of Us game knew it was coming. Still, nothing could prepare viewers for what happened in Season 2, Episode 2, titled “Through the Valley.”

In this emotional episode, Pedro Pascal’s character Joel dies in a brutal and heartbreaking way. While on a morning patrol in the middle of a snowstorm, Joel saves a young woman named Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever) from a group of infected. But things quickly turn deadly. Abby, wanting revenge for her father’s death (killed by Joel in Season 1), tricks Joel and Dina (Isabela Merced) and leads them into a trap.

She shoots Joel in the leg and beats him to death with a golf club while Ellie (Bella Ramsey) watches, helpless and terrified. At the same time, the town of Jackson is under attack from a large group of infected.

Creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann spoke to Variety about this emotional episode, what it means, and why it had to happen this way.

Some fans thought Joel’s death might happen later in the season. But the creators wanted to make it early.

Craig Mazin said: “There’s a danger of tormenting people. It’s not what we want to do… Our instinct was to make sure that when we did it, that it felt natural in the story.”

Neil Druckmann added: “It needed to be early enough, because this is the inciting incident for this story… the later it got in the season, it just felt we were kind of dragging our feet.”

In the show, Joel’s death happens while the town of Jackson is under siege. That wasn’t the case in the game, but the creators thought it was important to show.

Druckmann explained: “Jackson is now a character in the story… We’ve lost a lot of people, and now the safety of this town is compromised. Where do we go from here?”

Mazin added: “Joel is riding up this mountain with Abby and Dina, and he looks out and sees Jackson on fire… His concern is entirely about those people.”

Later, Ellie rides the same path, sees the same destruction, but chooses to look for Joel instead. That difference shows how much these characters value different things.

The patrol groups are different in the show. Joel is with Dina. Ellie is with Jesse (Young Mazino). Tommy (Gabriel Luna) is back in Jackson.

Druckmann said: “In the years that Joel and Ellie have settled down in Jackson, Dina has gotten close to Joel… she’s this other surrogate daughter he could mentor and teach.”

Abby’s attack on Joel is very hard to watch. It’s even more graphic than in the game. The creators said that was on purpose.

Druckmann said: “You’ve played the game, and you know how important everyone’s mindset about what happened to Joel is going forward… we couldn’t spare the audience either.”

Mazin shared a childhood memory: “I remember… there’s the scene where they shave Aslan’s mane, and it’s a very sad scene. I cried my heart out… Joel is brought low here in a way that it’s so heartbreaking.”

Joel tries to move after Ellie calls to him—but he can’t.

Mazin said: “He hears her, and he’s aware of her. He wants to, he just can’t… Her face is the last thing he sees.”

Druckmann added: “Even as writers, we want Joel to get up. We love this character.”

Mazin, getting emotional, said: “I’m going to get a little emotional… I’m suffering like everybody.”

One of the most painful scenes is Ellie crawling toward Joel’s body after being badly hurt.

Mazin said: “She’s not crawling over there just to say goodbye. She’s crawling over there so she could be with him in death… when she takes his hand. We’ve seen her do it before. Bella Ramsey, geez.”

The episode ends with Ashley Johnson’s version of “Through the Valley.” Johnson played Ellie’s mom in Season 1—and voiced Ellie in the game.

Mazin explained why they chose the song: “There is little Ellie gasping for breath with the man who is her father, and we hear the voice of the woman who is her mother… the lyrics are beautiful, Ashley’s voice is beautiful… I just couldn’t think of a better way to end.”

This episode hit hard for fans—both of the game and the show. And as Mazin put it: “We don’t do these things to hurt people… we’re with Ellie, and she’s experiencing this horrible thing… grief and heartbreak. It’s coming for us all.”

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