The Last Of Us Season 2, Episode 2's Heartbreaking Ending Reminded Me Of A Key Walking Dead Episode (But Not The One You'd Think)

SPOILER WARNING: This article discusses the end of the second episode of The Last of Us Season 2. If you are not caught up on what has been happening in the story so far, please proceed with caution as you read on.

I am not much of a gamer and have never played The Last of Us franchise, so watching HBO’s video game adaptation has been a unique experience for me. So, you can probably imagine how surprised I was to see one of the show’s central protagonists, Joel, tragically pass away, and in only the second episode of its sophomore season.

The death of Pedro Pascal’s survivalist character called to mind one of the most heartbreaking moments from a show quite similar to The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, and you might assume you know what episode I am referring to. I’ll start by taking a second to acknowledge how Joel’s passing compares to a certain fan-favorite TWD character’s death first, before I get into which scene I was actually reminded of.

Abby's Brutal Actions Drew A Lot Of Comparisons To Negan Killing Glenn

To avenge her father, who was a doctor killed by Joel in the Last of Us Season 1 finale, Abby (Kaitlyn Dever in her most sinister and powerful role yet), takes advantage of a chance to lead him, along with Dina (Isabela Merced), to her group’s sanctuary. After revealing her true intentions, she proceeds to mercilessly beat him to death with a golf driver until it breaks before slowly stabbing him in the neck with the remaining handle, while Joel’s surrogate daughter, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), watches.

You could easily compare this harrowing scene to what many believe is the most heartbreaking death from The Walking Dead: Glenn (Steven Yeun). In the Season 7 premiere, the former pizza deliverer is murdered – not out of vengeance, but to set an example – by the cruel Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) with his barbed baseball bat, Lucille, right in front of Glenn’s wife, Maggie (Lauren Cohan). The similarities are clear. However, I admittedly had to be reminded of that scene after the fact, because the TWD moment that Joel’s death first brought to mind for me might be a controversial choice.

The Details Surrounding Joel's Death Actually Reminded Me Of Lori's Death In The Walking Dead

I realize that Lori Grimes is one of the least beloved Walking Dead characters (something actor Sarah Wayne Callies told IGN never bothered her, actually), but I was never part of that camp. So, when she passed away while delivering her daughter, Judith, I was pretty shaken up and still regard it as one of TWD’s most shocking deaths, considering that such an important character was being killed off in only the fourth episode of the show’s third season.

I experienced that same shock from seeing Joel pass away even sooner into his series’ run. However, the similarities do not even stop there, since both Joel and Lori’s demises take place while their respective communities are attacked by hordes of what The Last of Us characters call “The Infected” and are referred to as “Walkers” on TWD. Of course, there is one other shared detail that is especially heartbreaking to me.

Both Lori And Joel Died While On Bad Terms With Those They Loved Most

It is never explicitly stated why Ellie refuses to speak to Joel in the early episodes of The Last of Us Season 2, but we know that something happened in the five-year gap between seasons to dismantle their once-strong bond. Unfortunately, the 19-year-old never had the chance to formally reconcile with her father figure.

The same goes for Lori’s husband, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln, who led the Walking Dead cast before leaving the show in Season 9). His relationship with his wife was also rocky at the beginning of Season 3 due to a combination of issues, including Lori’s affair with Shane (Jon Bernthal) while he was assumed dead, and the ways she manipulated her husband’s actions. There were hints they could have been able to make things work between them at the beginning of the episode in which Lori’s dies, which makes Rick’s breakdown after discovering her passing even more disheartening.

I imagine that this is not exactly a moment from The Walking Dead that anyone would like to revisit, but you could right now with a Netflix subscription. Plus, there are five more episodes of The Last of Us Season 2, which air on HBO Sunday nights and are concurrently available to stream with a Max subscription.