Neil Druckmann Explains Why THE LAST OF US Season 2 Needed a Longer Goodbye for Joel

Fans seem to have mixed feelings on The Last of Us Season 2’s third episode as it’s a slower, more reflective chapter that takes its time dealing with Joel’s death instead of charging full-speed ahead like the game did. According to co-showrunner and Naughty Dog director Neil Druckmann, that longer mourning period was very much the point.“I love episode three," Druckmann said during The Last of Us' Inside Episode 3 aftershow. "It does something that we just couldn't do in the game."In The Last of Us Part II, Joel’s death is brutal, sudden, and the game barely gives players a moment to breathe before throwing them into the chaos of Seattle. It had to, Druckmann explains, because of how games are built. “In the game after Joel dies, because the mechanics of the game are very action-oriented, the mourning period is relatively short. Here, we can take almost an entire episode and really feel the loss of this character,” he said, specifically highlighting “this really beautiful scene where Tommy has to come in and he has to clean up his brother’s body.”In the show, the third episode does mirror the game in some ways, like when Ellie goes back to Joel’s house, sifts through his belongings, but it also broadens the story to show how his death ripples across Jackson. It’s not just Ellie who’s devastated; the entire town feels it.“The entire town of Jackson suffered,” said co-creator Craig Mazin. “I have a problem sometimes in television shows where a character we care about loses someone in a battle where a lot of people lose people. Those people matter too.”It’s a different approach from the source material, but not one that changes the destination. As Mazin pointed out in a previous interview, “We get our way to the same goal, but we travel a different path to get there.”In the end, The Last of Us Season 2 chooses to sit with the grief instead of rushing past it, which is a creative choice that makes sense to me, and Druckmann and Mazin clearly believe it helps makes Joel’s loss hit even harder.

Apr 30, 2025 - 17:44

Neil Druckmann Explains Why THE LAST OF US Season 2 Needed a Longer Goodbye for Joel

Fans seem to have mixed feelings on The Last of Us Season 2’s third episode as it’s a slower, more reflective chapter that takes its time dealing with Joel’s death instead of charging full-speed ahead like the game did.

According to co-showrunner and Naughty Dog director Neil Druckmann, that longer mourning period was very much the point.

“I love episode three," Druckmann said during The Last of Us' Inside Episode 3 aftershow. "It does something that we just couldn't do in the game."

In The Last of Us Part II, Joel’s death is brutal, sudden, and the game barely gives players a moment to breathe before throwing them into the chaos of Seattle. It had to, Druckmann explains, because of how games are built.

“In the game after Joel dies, because the mechanics of the game are very action-oriented, the mourning period is relatively short. Here, we can take almost an entire episode and really feel the loss of this character,” he said, specifically highlighting “this really beautiful scene where Tommy has to come in and he has to clean up his brother’s body.”

In the show, the third episode does mirror the game in some ways, like when Ellie goes back to Joel’s house, sifts through his belongings, but it also broadens the story to show how his death ripples across Jackson. It’s not just Ellie who’s devastated; the entire town feels it.

“The entire town of Jackson suffered,” said co-creator Craig Mazin. “I have a problem sometimes in television shows where a character we care about loses someone in a battle where a lot of people lose people. Those people matter too.”

It’s a different approach from the source material, but not one that changes the destination. As Mazin pointed out in a previous interview, “We get our way to the same goal, but we travel a different path to get there.”

In the end, The Last of Us Season 2 chooses to sit with the grief instead of rushing past it, which is a creative choice that makes sense to me, and Druckmann and Mazin clearly believe it helps makes Joel’s loss hit even harder.