Warning: Spoilers for The Last of Us season 2, episode 5 and the video game ahead.
Fans who wanted to see more of Pedro Pascal in season two of The Last of Us can rest easy — because he will be making a comeback in next week’s episode.
After Pascal's character, Joel, was beaten to death by the revenge-fueled Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever, fans who haven’t played the video game thought that would be the last time they would see Joel this season. But at the end of Sunday’s episode, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) splits up from her traveling companions Jesse (Young Manzino) and Dina (Isabella Merced) as they escape from the Seraphites cult. She goes on her own mission to find Abby and avenge Joel’s brutal death. She then finds Nora (Tatit Gabrielle) in the nearby hospital run by the paramilitary organization WLF and chases her into a spore-filled basement, cornering her as Nora chokes on the spores.
This confrontation brings out a rage in Ellie that viewers haven’t seen this season as she tries to torture Abby’s location out of Nora. She also reveals to the audience that she knows about Joel killed a physician to save her life — and in fact, the doctor performing the procedure was Abby’s dad. Until this most recent episode, viewers thought Ellie was in the dark about this secret of Joel's.
Right before the episode ends, the scene cuts to a flashback of Ellie waking up in bed as Joel comes into her room. Those who have played the video game know that this is the start of a flashback sequence with Ellie and Joel, where he surprises her on her birthday. In the game, players watch as the two explore an abandoned children’s museum. During their adventure, they share a tender moment that reminds the audience of how much Joel saw Ellie as his daughter.
The show veers from and expands on the events from the game, so viewers may or may not learn how Ellie came to find out what Joel did to save her life. But whether or not she agreed with Joel’s decision, she feels she must avenge his death because of how much she knew he loved him, and fans are excited to get more of Pascal on screen.
Pascal is no stranger to dying in his TV shows and movies. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he reveals that he knows he has a reputation for dying on camera. “I get killed a lot. I like to die,” he told the entertainment outlet with a laugh.
This season has also been notable for the budding queer relationship between Ellie and Dina (as well as some unfortunate homophobic backlash to the storyline).
