The Last of Us ripped off the Band-aid

If you’ve played both The Last of Us games and are watching along with the show, there’s a pretty strong chance you’ve been waiting to see how the HBO series approaches a very particular moment — and wondering if that moment has been changed at all for TV. Well, it didn’t take too long to find out.

The second episode of season 2 just aired, and The Last of Us’ creators made sure to rip the bandage right off. And not only did they not tone things down, they somehow made things even more intense, while also using the moment as a chance to further expand this post-apocalyptic world.

Obviously, there will be spoilers to follow for The Last of Us, which cover both the second game and the show up through episode 2 of the second season. To make sure you don’t see this pivotal spoiler, here is another photo of Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller in the show. Don’t scroll past him if you don’t want to be spoiled on a major development.

OK, so, yes, that happened. The inciting incident in The Last of Us’ second chapter, the one that sends Ellie on a ceaseless and questionable quest for revenge, is Joel’s death at the hands (and golf club, and shotgun) of Abby. In the game, …

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