HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation crossed a threshold this season that many fans of the video game have been awaiting – and dreading.
Back when Season 2 Episode 2 (“Through The Valley”) aired in mid-April, Joel (Pedro Pascal) unknowingly rescuing the girl who secretly set out to kill him after he murdered her father in the Season 1 finale. Ellie (Bella Ramsey) was forced to witness the entire thing, setting the 19-year-old on a vengeful quest of her own for the rest of the season.
To make matters worse, Joel and Ellie were not on good terms by the time he passed away. But Ellie vows to avenge his death, no matter what it takes.
Though many fans knew Joel was going to die at some point in Season 2, some may argue that it happened unexpectedly early in the season. Even Decider’s Sean T. Collins noted it in a recap of this week’s episode, “That’s problem number one with The Last of Us’s choice to kill Joel: Charisma collapse. The departure of Pedro Pascal leaves a black hole where his star power used to be… You can feel the show’s center of gravity dissipate without the guy. It’s just not the same.”
Of course, there is still plenty to explore with the characters Joel leaves behind in his wake. So, what else will happen in Season 2? And how many episodes are left in The Last Of Us Season 2? Here’s everything we know so far about what to expect on the hit HBO series.
Season 2 comprises seven episodes. The Last Of Us Season 2 launched on Sunday, April 13, 2025, and the Season 2 finale will air on HBO on Sunday, May 25.
New episodes of The Last of Us air on Sunday evenings on HBO at 9/8c. They also release on Max at the same time.
The Last of Us Season 2 introduces many new faces, but its beloved lead stars deliver grounding performances as Joel and Ellie, who are desperate to survive this zombie apocalypse.
Gabriel Luna also returns as Joel’s brother, Tommy, and Rutina Wesley returns as Maria.
Season 2’s new cast includes Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Tati Gabrielle, Danny Ramirez, Jeffrey Wright, and Catherine O’Hara.
The Last of Us was already renewed for a third season ahead of the Season 2 premiere, which means HBO has a lot of hope for what’s to come from co-creators and executive producers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.
And there’s apparently a lot more to come. The EPs have clarified that they do not plan on continuing past the storyline of the second game, as Game of Thrones famously did. But Mazin previously told Deadline the story may take more than just two more seasons to tell.
“We don’t think that we’re going to be able to tell the story even within two seasons [2 and 3] because we’re taking our time and go down interesting pathways which we did a little bit in Season 1 too,” he said. ”We feel like it’s almost assuredly going to be the case that — as long as people keep watching and we can keep making more television — Season 3 will be significantly larger. And indeed, the story may require Season 4.”