‘The Last of Us’ Season 2: What Happens After [SPOILER] Death? Plot Revealed (2025)

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Last of Us Season 2 aired its most shocking moment to date on Sunday (April 20), leading to the death of one of its most beloved stars.

Now, fans are furiously trying to figure out what’s going to happen with the rest of the series now that the character is no more.

Keep reading to find out more…

Pedro Pascal‘s Joel dies in the second episode of The Last of Us Season 2.

As the TV show is based on the video game series, we also know what (presumably) will happen following the shocking death of the character.

Just as in 2020′s The Last of Us Part II, Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) lured Joel into an ambush, beating him to death with a golf club while Ellie (Bella Ramsey) watched, unable to help.

What comes next, as you might imagine, is Ellie’s revenge.

In the game, Dina (Isabela Merced) and Ellie leave Jackson and follow Abby’s group to Seattle where they encounter an army known as the WLF, which is waging war with another faction made up of religious extremists, per ComicBook.com.

Also in the game, Tommy (Gabriel Luna) decides to follow Abby and her friends first It’s not clear how Tommy will get to Seattle in the series.

Most of the second video game takes place in Seattle, as Ellie grapples with where she left things with Joel while also trying to avenge him.

Many of Abby’s friends have already been introduced in The Last of Us Season 2, and Ellie goes on to kill several of Abby’s friends, via Screen Rant.

Abby and Ellie have another encounter in the game at an abandoned theater later on. Abby finds Ellie, Dina, Jesse, and Tommy there, where she kills Jesse and shoots Tommy, causing him to lose his eye. After a violent confrontation with Ellie and Dina, she decides to spare them after learning that Dina is pregnant.

On her own journey, Abby came across a violent cult known as the Seraphites. She meets two kids Yara and Lev, which cause her to become an entirely different person, mirroring Ellie and Joel in the first The Last of Us, which is likely why she spares Dina and Ellie.

Ellie’s group decides to head back to Jackson after the showdown. Ellie and Dina move into a farm house together, raising Dina’s child. But eventually, Ellie is overcome with rage again. She tracks Abby to California, where she learns they were captured by a group known as the Rattlers. Ellie saves Abby and Lev, but forces Abby to fight her. During the fight, Ellie loses two of her fingers, but ultimately spares Abby’s life.

After their final fight, Ellie and Abby decide to go their separate ways. Abby and Lev continue their search for the Fireflies, getting on a boat and heading to Catalina Island.

Ellie then heads back home to Jackson. When she gets to her house, she finds that Dina has left her already after pleading for Ellie not to go on her vengeance mission. Ellie tries to play Joel’s guitar with her injured hand, ending the game on a somber note.

We already know that The Last of Us is getting a third season, so don’t expect the full events of the second game to play out in Season 2.

Plus, there are indications from the trailers that a big flashback sequence involving Joel is still coming up, so you will likely be seeing Pedro pop up again.