‘The Last Of Us’ fans shocked by “brutal” episode two ending: “been dreading this moment”

22 April, 2025

Pedro Pascal as Joel in 'The Last Of Us' season two.

Spoilers for ‘The Last Of Us’ season two episode two ahead.

The Last Of Us viewers were left shaken by episode two, which saw the death of a lead character in a way that won rave reviews but put off others from continuing watching.

Remaining true to The Last Of Us Part II. the game on which the season is based, the episode Through The Valley concluded with the character of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) killing Pedro Pascal’s Joel, as revenge for the people he killed during the hospital escape at the end of season one (including Abby’s father).

Murdered in front of a screaming Ellie (Bella Ramsey), the scene has been noted for its graphic violence.

The episode has scored highly on IMDb (Internet Movie Database), with fans rating it 9.5 out of 10 based on over 23,000 votes at the time of writing. However, not everyone’s happy, with some taking to X (formerly Twitter) to say the scene has put them off watching any further episodes.

“This where the show basically ends. It was a fun time but we can stop watching” said one, with another exclaiming: “Yeah sorry but killing off Joel is a no go for me. Sorry can’t watch the show anymore. It was great til this”.

 

Others were taken aback by the brutality of the moment, even those familiar with the console version.

“I wasn’t expecting tonight to be more brutal than the game, honestly. the broken club to the neck??? Ellie crawling over to him and resting her head on his??? that overhead shot??? beautifully brutal television” proclaimed one tweet.

 

One user agreed the harshness of the moment only added to the brilliance. “Absolutely Amazing & Brutal episode from #TheLastOfUs been dreading this moment but it was really well done” they wrote.

 

In an interview with Variety, the episode’s director Mark Mylod justified the decision to have the death play out on screen. “The intention was very much initially on the page to not see it happen” he said. “The decision to change was because it felt coy. It felt like we were ducking out”.

He continued: “So much of the game is about consequences and facing the music. The idea of them blinking and hiding from that felt coy and almost dishonest and disingenuous. That’s why we changed it and did show it”.

He also remarked on the toll it took on the cast, saying: “Kaitlyn and Bella had to make themselves so vulnerable over multiple days to find extraordinary mental and physical stamina,” he said, “to take themselves to the edge so that nothing was left on the table, emotionally”.

 

Mylod said he knew when they had got what they needed, saying: “There was one take where I just couldn’t talk afterwards with tears running down my face, and that’s the lovely moment as a director where you know that’s the one”.

In March, Pascal had warned fans of the emotional impact of the second season, saying that it would be “fucking heartbreaking”.

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