Spoilers ahead for the first two episodes of The Last Of Us Season 2.
HBO has always been a hub for quality content, and right now there's some great shows airing (and streaming with a Max subscription). Right now that includes Season 2 of The Last Of Us, which has already been devastating after just two episodes. And while the show wants us to be mad at Joel over his big lie to Ellie, the show will simply never get me to hate him after the Season 2 premiere.
While some folks figure out how to watch The Last of Us Season 2, I'm actively tuning in every Sunday to see what happens in the apocalyptic series. The second episode had a gut-wrenching scene, where Pedro Pascal's Joel was killed as a result of his murderous actions in The Last of Us' Season 1 finale. He perished without telling Ellie the truth about The Fireflies, which will presumably make her grief all the more complicated when she learns the truth. Despite all of this, I adore the character, especially after the Season 2 premiere.
The first episode of Season 2 saw Joel and Ellie years after the first season, and living somewhat estranged from each other. But that didn't stop him from coming to her defense when Jackson resident Seth used a homophobic slur to refer to Ellie and Dina. While Bella Ramsey's character didn't appreciate this violent defense, as a queer person I found his response to be super endearing; I would be forever bonded if someone stood up for me in this type of way.
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Lots of young people don't want their parents involved in their personal lives. That, combined with Ellie's strong independent nature, is likely why she had such a strong reaction to Joel getting violent after she was the victim of a homophobic slur. But this honestly just made me love him more, despite how many innocent people he killed last season in order to save Ellie. Even the ongoing storyline about his big lie to her is still not enough to make me mad at the former protagonist of the game and HBO series.
I'm a fan of The Last Of Us show who purposefully didn't play the video games, allowing the twists and turns of the show to wash over me. Given the conversation surrounding the show, I figure Joel was going to be killed off eventually. But I didn't expect it so early into Season 2, especially given the wild popularity of Pedro Pascal.
Only time will tell how Ellie's relationship with Joel changes now that he's no longer with it. I have to assume that audiences will also have evolving feelings, but I'm afraid I'm a fan for life.
The Last Of Us airs new episodes on Sundays on HBO as part of the 2025 TV premiere list. We'll just have to see how many other beloved characters get killed off before Season 2 ends.