This week's installment of 'The Last of Us' left us emotionally devastated
Rewritten Article:
Editor's Note: This piece summarizes key plot points from Season 2, Episode 2 of "The Last of Us."
Adios, Tranquil Jackson, and hello to a bucketful of tears that'll linger for eternity. If HBO's "Game of Thrones" offered the Battle of the Bastards, then "The Last of Us" has just mapped out The Epic of Endless Sobbing.
Jackson, the safe haven, took a faceplant in the snow, courtesy of a herd of infected, and a good dose of gut-wrenching drama. (Major spoiler incoming.)
In the episode, Abby's (Kaitlyn Dever) relentless pursuit of Joel (Pedro Pascal) reached its peak. They crossed paths after Abby stumbled upon Joel and Dina (Isabela Merced) while patrolling, eventually leading to Joel's demise at Abby's hands.
Jackson had turned out to be much larger and more complex than Abby and her crew had expected. They were ill-prepared for entering the town or locating Joel.
While Abby kept watch, she spotted Joel and Dina on horseback. To get a closer look, she sprinted down the hill and fell into a pit teeming with the infected, who initially seemed frozen under the snow.
A horde of infected arose and pursued Abby. One almost caught her until Joel, her savior, rescued her. They took refuge in a barn where Dina and their horses sat.
Abby quickly identified Joel thanks to Dina mentioning his name, and managed to convince them to escort her back to their camp.
Once at the camp, Abby revealed her intentions. Mel (Ariela Barer) injected Dina with a sedative, but not before Dina spotted a patch on their backpacks that read "W.L.F." – a hint about Abby and her crew which will likely come into play later.
Abby shot Joel in the knee to subdue him. She then divulged the details of the fateful day in the hospital where Joel killed 18 soldiers and a doctor, her father being the doctor in question.
Abby testified that there was a rule in her militia that forbid killing defenseless individuals. Joel, she argued, was in a defenseless position now. However, she claimed that this rule didn't matter.
"There are things everyone agrees are simply wrong, no matter what code you live by or how lawless you are," Abby asserted to Joel.
After repeatedly beating Joel, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) arrived at the camp and burst through the door to find Joel nearly dead. Ellie was immediately restrained by Abby's crew, whereupon she sobbed for Joel on the floor, crying out for him to awaken.
Abby finally delivered the fatal blow, stabbing Joel in the neck with a spear.
Ellie vowed vengeance, declaring that she would hunt down and kill Abby and her crew. As she lay next to Joel's lifeless body, it seemed the rest of the season would revolve around Ellie's quest for revenge.
The episode ended with Jesse, Dina, and Ellie trekking back towards Jackson, with Joel's body draped in a white cloth, being dragged along behind them.
In a more heart-piercing scene earlier in the episode, Ellie disclosed to Jesse that despite the tension between her and Joel, and their unresolved issues, "I'm still me, he's still Joel, and nothing's ever going to change that."
Executive producer Craig Mazin explained in a post-episode interview that the drama sheds light on how people cope with life's challenging moments.
Executive producer and creator Neil Druckmann hinted at Abby and Ellie's shared trauma, losing their fathers, setting the stage for revelations and possible connections in the coming episodes.
"This event will alter all the characters we know forever from this point on," Druckmann ominously said, referring to Joel's death.
"The Last of Us" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EDT on HBO, with the episode available to stream on Max. HBO and Max, like CNN, are owned by the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
[1] Enrichment Data:* The doctor that Abby's father was has a significant role since Joel brutally murdered him in an attempt to protect Ellie, who needed a cure for the Cordyceps infection, a fungal species that turns humans into infected.
[2] Enrichment Data:* Joel's killing of Abby's father further fueled her determination to seek vengeance, leading to the chain of events culminating in Joel's death in the aforementioned episode.
- The heartbreakingly tragic demise of Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, at the hands of Abby, portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever, was a pivotal moment in the movies-and-tv series "The Last of Us."
- In the Entertainment category, HBO's "The Last of Us" has been stirring emotions with its profound plot, as evident in Season 2, Episode 2.
- Abby's persistent pursuit of Joel, despite the complexities and dangers of Jackson, culminated in a worrying turn of events for Joel's allies.
- The second episode of Season 2 in "The Last of Us" on HBO presented a horde of infected, leading to a series of dramatic encounters, including the shocking fate of Tranquil Jackson and the emotional turmoil faced by the characters.
