Ever since Naughty Dog revealed the first The Last of Us Part 2 trailer players have had questions about Joel's role in the game. There were some that thought that his absence from early promotional material suggested he had died in the time since TLOU1, but eventually, Naughty Dog did come clean. One of the later trailers confirmed that Joel is in The Last of Us Part 2, but there was still a lot of mystery surrounding him.
For players who may not be totally sold on The Last of Us Part 2 or who are just curious about why Ellie is a playable character and not Joel, there is a good reason why. But in order to fully explain everything, there will be SPOILERS. Be warned.
Early on in The Last of Us Part 2, players take control of Abby, one of the new characters introduced for the sequel. At the time it's unclear who Abby is or what her role is in the game, but there is an early suggestion that she's looking for someone and it might be Joel.
Eventually, Abby is rescued by Joel and his brother Tommy and she takes him to a nearby house where her “friends” are lodging. Abby then starts attacking Joel and the perspective switches to Ellie, who leaves the Jackson settlement in search of Joel.
After some exploring with Dina, Ellie comes upon the group holding Joel and Tommy hostage. Abby, who clearly harbors immense anger towards Joel, begins hitting him violently in the head with a golf club and ends up killing him.
The group considers eliminating Ellie and Tommy to remove any witnesses but some members think it is excessive. They end up knocking the two survivors out and leave. When Ellie regains consciousness she sees Joel and has to face the reality of his death.
Much like the intro to The Last of Us 1, Part 2 begins with a shocking setup that is going to be polarizing for a lot of players. Killing off a major character – one who was playable in the first game, no less – is a bold choice by Naughty Dog and not everyone is going to like it.
However, Joel's death is also the catalyst for the story in The Last of Us Part 2, which sees Ellie on a quest to find Abby and exact her revenge. Of course, in typical Last of Us fashion, that goal is not so cut and dry, but it is Ellie's goal at the outset.
So while the theories about Joel being dead weren't exactly accurate, they did predict the character's ultimate fate in the series. Naughty Dog may be master stortellers, but they can also make players face some harsh situations.
The Last of Us Part 2 releases June 19, 2020 for PS4.