Last Updated on Jun 8, 2025 @ 16:21:23 PM.
The pressure was high for The Last of Us Season 2, especially since the source material was hailed as one of the best stories ever told in gaming. The first season got the ground running after Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann faithfully retold the story of the first game with a few creative changes and omissions, but this didn’t do the pair any favors for the latest season.
As an adaptation, the show is obligated to follow through with the events of the game, meaning certain characters will be introduced and killed throughout the season. When the moment came to adapt the most controversial death scene in gaming history, the showrunners might have underestimated how a different audience would react.
The Last of Us Season 2 Is Repeating History
The gaming community had high expectations for the show and hoped it would rival the source material. The Last of Us Part 2 was released in 2020 for the PlayStation 4, and it received a mixed reaction, even after the death of a major character leaked before release. There is no denying that death is always on the cards in this world, but some fans can’t get over the fact how one scene was executed.
In the game, Joel Miller dies a gruesome death at the hands of Abby Anderson and her friends in their quest for justice. This was the catalyst that set things in motion for the entire game, and not everyone was on board with how it went down. The same can be said about the live-action adaptation, where Pedro Pascal’s version suffered a similar fate with a few changes in episode 2 of the second season.
In a recent interview, Craig Mazin discussed the fan reaction he has seen since the episode aired and revealed he didn’t want to kill Pascal. Joel Miller is a fan favorite in the original PlayStation game, but his popularity skyrocketed when paired with Pascal’s star power.
He did a thing. Everyone lost their shit, and then I had to do that same thing, because he did the thing. I loved doing the thing, I thought it was great,”
Mazin is trying to play it for laughs about the decision to kill Pedro Pascal, and knew this would garner him the same reactions Neil Druckmann had five years ago.
The big complaint that I’ve gotten is, ‘Why did you kill Pedro Pascal?’ And I keep explaining, we didn’t kill him! He’s a man, he’s alive. He’s fine. And he’s in literally everything else. So I don’t know what the problem is!
Pascal was aware of his character’s arc, and this was another reason he chose to be a part of the project. Joel’s limited screen time in the second season allowed him to work on other projects, but this didn’t sit well with the fans he made during his time on The Last of Us.
Pedro Pascal Is Alive and Well, Working on Fantastic Projects
Audience members failed to realize that Joel Miller’s fate was sealed before the second season was greenlit by HBO. Pascal did an impressive job carrying the first season, but Neil Druckmann ended his story in the games. Mazin is adamant that this adaptation will not deviate from the source material, and it was only a matter of time before the show reached that controversial moment in the game.
Pascal is busy working on other projects beyond The Last of Us and will be seen next in Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Perhaps his decision to work on the HBO show was strategic, knowing that he would not be involved as much as he used to be in the first season.
For more Thumb Wars coverage, check out how one artist missed the chance to work on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and how The Last of Us Season 2 made adjustments to accommodate the actors. Otherwise, follow Thumb Wars on X, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram to keep up with the latest news, reviews, and interviews!
Rouvin Josef Quirimit is a Content Writer, an avid gamer (on his PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch), and film enthusiast. He was fortunate to grow up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and was enamored by the storytelling of a shared universe full of heart and spectacle. His love for movies led him to great single-player games and he intends to cover major franchises for years to come!
