Last of Us 2: Is (SPOILER) Really Dead?

[Warning: Spoilers for The Last of Us: Part 2]

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us: Part 2 threw players a twist early on when they killed off the original game’s main character, Joel Miller, in a brutal and unexpected death. Minutes earlier, Tommy and Joel had been helping Abby after meeting her in the woods, only to then be ambushed when they got back to her lodge. Players had to witness Tommy and later Ellie see the former Fireflies torturing and subsequently killing Joel.

Joel was one of the most beloved characters in the game, so naturally, some fans of the franchise began questioning if Joel did indeed die. Having the character mysteriously reappear would be an incredible way to start a third installment in the franchise, and since Naughty Dog is known for trilogies – take the Uncharted  and Crash Bandicoot games as an example – there’s precedence for them to do so.

Alas, the game provides pretty clear evidence to confirm that Joel is dead. After all, the entire plot of The Last of Us: Part 2 wouldn’t have been able to happen had he not really been killed. Tommy wouldn’t have gone on a manhunt for Abby and her friends, leading Ellie and Dina to follow suit. As difficult as it is to accept, Joel Miller is no longer alive in the TLOU universe.

The Last Of Us’ Joel Is Dead & He’s Not Coming Back

For one, immediately after Joel’s death scene, players are forced to watch the remaining characters grieve their loss. Throughout the game, Ellie is depicted to have PTSD as she has recurring flashbacks to when she watched Joel getting tortured. Though players don’t actually see Tommy and Ellie take care of Joel’s body, it’s implied they were able to hold some sort of tribute honoring his life, like a burial. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense why they didn’t try to recover his body from Abby and the WLF when they went to hunt them down. Moreover, had Joel really not died, both Tommy and Ellie wouldn’t have gone off after Abby.

Perhaps the biggest piece of evidence that confirms Joel is dead is that Abby backed off as soon as she killed him. Granted, she wanted to kill Ellie and Tommy too, but she was dissuaded not to. Her quest for blood had been quenched – Joel had killed her father, a doctor, when the Fireflies were trying to operate on Ellie. So, when she killed Joel, her father’s death was avenged. She wouldn’t have stopped her mission unless she knew with certainty that Joel was dead. Plus, had Joel survived somehow, it wouldn’t make sense for the game not to incorporate that into the ending.

Even if they plan on bringing him back someone in a third installment, the game’s writers would be hard-pressed to find a plausible way to explain away his death. The Last of Us 2 makes it pretty clear that Joel is dead, and while many fans may not like that, the evidence speaks for itself.

Next: What Happened To Dina’s Family In The Last Of Us 2

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