A Shocking Twist Reshapes the Series Forever, Leaving Fans Reeling and the Future Uncertain.
There is a recurring theme in the majority of post-apocalyptic tales, including "The Last of Us," that states that when death is always in sight, life suddenly seems more valuable. Joel Miller is an excellent illustration. It feels almost miraculous that he has survived this long despite all the near misses and lucky breaks.
However, in this week's episode, he is able to save Abby, a woman who has been after him for years, precisely when he needs to be. But the shocking twist is that Abby does not want to be saved. She desires vengeance. And in one of the most brutal scenes in this show's history, she kills Joel with a golf club and a cold, deliberate blow, not with drama or fanfare. It hurts so much. Joel was more than just a survivor; he was a representation of what life had to offer in a world that was broken. It feels like he was losing more than just a man when he passed away.
The episode titled "Through the Valley" might have been remembered for its jaw-dropping action if it weren't for that gut-wrenching moment. Especially the intense battle in Jackson, where the community barely holds the line against a relentless swarm of infected. The grand, cinematic battles of "Game of Thrones" are evoked by the snowy setting and scope of the conflict.
However, before we can appreciate any of that, we must endure Joel's passing, a loss that will shake the series and its fans to their core.
The death of Joel in the second episode of Season 2 is like a gut punch for those who have been watching the HBO adaptation of the video game "The Last of Us Part II." It is risky to kill off a main character so early in a new season, especially one who has been at the center of so much of the show's emotional core.
It's hard to watch the violent, unflinching scene. Not only is Joel's death shocking in timing, but it is also shockingly brutal. Who, then, is this violence intended for? What does it say about Joel as an individual?
The scene may seem like an act of vengeance to some viewers. After all, Joel's past actions, especially his decision to save Ellie from the Fireflies at the end of Season 1, have far-reaching consequences. He killed a lot of Fireflies in the process, including Abby's father, a crucial surgeon who might have been humanity's best hope for a cure for the world's devastating fungal infection.
Joel is more than just a flawed antihero; from some points of view, he could be considered the story's villain. His decision put Ellie's life ahead of humanity's potential salvation, resulting in the world continuing to suffer.
The fact that Joel ultimately dies at the hands of Abby, the daughter of the man he killed, only adds to the tragic irony. However, Joel actually saves her life before she can exact her vengeance. Abby encounters a new breed of infected that has adapted to the harsh winter by burrowing beneath frozen corpses as she travels to Jackson, Wyoming, in search of Joel, whom she only vaguely recognizes.
Abby is on a mountain ridge watching Jackson's patrols when she falls into one of these deadly ambush zones. She is surrounded and overwhelmed, so she has no choice but to flee for her life until Joel shows up. He fights the infection and rescues the person who will soon end his own life without knowing it.
The moment encapsulates the tragic complexity of "The Last of Us," which depicts a world in which survival and morality are constantly at odds and in which every act of kindness or cruelty has unintended consequences.