Will we be spared the biggest ‘The Last Of Us’ shocker in season 2 – or will it get even worse?

To begin with and after the somewhat vague introduction, here again the clear warning: The article below contains major spoilers for the start of the second game of The Last Of Us, which will serve as the basis for Season 2 of the series adaptation. So for anyone who doesn’t know “The Last Of Us Part II”, the following applies: Read on at your own risk!

When it was already known in advance that the recently ended first season of the series “The Last Of Us” will already cover the entire storyline of the first part of the game, it was clear to many fans of the brand that the (now confirmed) second season would have to do without their biggest star Pedro Pascal. Because after all the traumatic experiences of the first “Last Of Us” game, developer studio Naughty Dog has clearly upped the ante in “Part II” and kicked off the sequel’s plot with what is probably the biggest shock of the series:

The main character Joel (played by Pedro Pascal in the series) is brutally murdered very early on, leading his surrogate daughter Ellie to start a ruthless vendetta that dictates the rest of the story. And now that we’ve seen how faithfully season 1 of the series has adapted the first game, we can expect something similar in season 2 in regards to part 2, so at first it looked like we would have to say goodbye to Pedro Pascal as Joel in one of the first episodes of season 2. But after an update from the creators of “Last Of Us”, things might look a little different …

Joel’s death in season 3?

As “Last Of Us” creator and series creator Neil Druckmann and his co-showrunner Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl”) have now confirmed, the second season of “The Last Of Us” (unlike Season 1 and Game 1) ) not the full story of the second game. Since the plot of the sequel is much more extensive than that of part 1, it should be divided into (at least) two seasons instead.

It is still completely unclear what this will look like and to what extent Season 2 (and then probably Season 3 as well) will be based on the narrative structure of the game template, which also works with lots of flashbacks and perspective changes. From this and any additions to the content, as there were already in Season 1, it should also depend on how much of Pedro Pascal we actually get to see in the next season.

However, after the revealed plans for the division, at least it can be said with some certainty that Pascal will be with us a little longer in “The Last Of Us”, and that his Joel probably will not die directly in the first or second episode. Maybe Season 2 will focus on filling the gap between the main stories of the two games after all. Thus, we could see how Joel and Ellie settle into Jackson together, possibly attend some sequences that are not served up until later in “Part II” through flashbacks (keyword: museum visit) and finally experience how Joel’s actions and his actions in the background lie. By the end of Season 1, the relationship between the two had become increasingly strained.

That way, Pedro Pascal could even remain a co-star (alongside Bella Ramsey as Ellie) in Season 2, giving the Mandalorian star’s fanbase a grace period before he leaves. Joel’s death can even be saved until the beginning of Season 3. Or you opt for a much perfidious variant…

…or as a cliffhanger in Season 2?

It would also be conceivable – and we even think this option is very likely – that Druckmann and Mazin present Joel’s surprise death as a cliffhanger at the end of Season 2. – and that should amplify the full force and (after) effect of the shock. Because while the game continues immediately afterwards (or only really begins) and we embark on the path of revenge together with Ellie, the tragedy in the season finale of the series with all the emotions and thoughts that go with it would burn us into an agonizing long pause. The wait between seasons can be up to two years for a complex production like “The Last Of Us”.

In the end, of course, all this remains speculation, and perhaps Mazin and Druckman will find a completely different way of transferring the further story from one medium to another. After all, with Season 1 they have already proven to have the necessary sensitivity and to be able to surprise players despite their loyalty to the original. Sooner or later Joel’s death will come, but for all the love for Pedro Pascal, it is probably inevitable, because anything else would be far too much of a departure from a very central element of the template, which has a decisive influence in particular on Ellie’s whole development and her storyline.

It remains to be seen whether the long break will bring us more insights in the coming months. The second ‘Last Of Us’ season will probably start in the second half of 2024 at the earliest.