Given the massive amount of hysteria and controversy surrounding The Last of Us Part 2 at the time of its release in 2020, and the first season of The Last of Us HBO adaptation sticking close to the first game, fans have questioned what this will mean for Joel Miller. As fans will be aware at the beginning of Part 2, Joel is killed at the hands of Abby ultimately starting off the entire story of Ellie's pursuit of revenge.
While The Last of Us HBO has somewhat been confirmed to be sticking towards its source material in regard to its most pivotal plot points, fans could still be in for a surprise in the same manner as season one, which introduced never seen before scenes based on the first game and even changed some moments fans are familiar with.
5 Mental Presence For Ellie
In the aftermath of Joel's heartbreaking demise in The Last of Us Part 2, many players' first thoughts were how much of a role Troy Baker's Joel would have throughout the rest of the game. While Joel is present in multiple sequences during flashbacks, some fans felt as though Ellie's journey toward revenge against Abby and hunting down the rest of the WLF members would have been much more impactful if Joel was a presence appearing in Ellie's mind, adding more horror and grief.
This was one of the theories after The Last of Us Part 2's first-ever reveal at E3 2016, with many fans assuming Joel's fate with how his face was not shown whatsoever, and Ellie's mention of "killing every last one of them". If season 2 of the HBO adaptation is to stick with Abby killing Joel, implementing something along these lines could heavily change the narrative's impact, and keep the Joel and Ellie dynamic for the journey ahead.
4 Joel Handicapped
Before succumbing to being tortured by Abby and bludgeoned to death by a golf club, Joel's presence as a playable character in Part 2 was gone the moment he took a shotgun to his leg. Many fans may have assumed that this would be led by a rescue from Ellie, Dina, and Jesse, but it spelled the tragic end of Joel's journey.
Leading with the assumption that the narrative of The Last of Us HBO season 2 will implement some surprises and changes to what most fans are familiar with and expecting, a massive change to Joel's role could come from his survival but left unable to walk on the verge of inevitable death or function the way he once used to. While incredibly unlikely, since this could ruin the emotional vendetta of Ellie's quest to Seattle, it would serve as a way to give Joel a bigger role.
3 Part 2's Flashbacks
One of the pleasing aspects of the second installment of The Last of Us franchise, were the inclusion of Joel and Ellie's flashback sequences, which uncovered some of the moments the pair shared together within the duration of the first game's aftermath. Whilst players may have been upset about Joel's death, these sequences were enough to appreciate the relationship between the two characters even more as a father and daughter.
As the events of Part 2 are set five years after the first game, The Last of Us HBO has the opportunity to include the memorable flashback sequences from the game, and even expand on these. Considering the discussion of season two not covering all the events of Part 2 and rather being split into another season, this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce new story elements that fans of the games have not experienced yet, adding more depth to Joel and Ellie's relationship, before it all comes crashing down.
2 Better Explanation To Ellie
Among the many gripes fans had in regard to the story of Part 2, one was the manner in which Joel had finally revealed the truth of what manifested in the hospital to Ellie. Joel never mentioned to Ellie the lack of guarantees behind a cure coming from Ellie's death via surgery, and the fact that the Fireflies gave neither Ellie nor Joel himself a choice whether they wanted to go through with the procedure or not.
While it does not mean that Ellie may have forgiven or understood Joel's decision, it would have allowed Joel's fight for his surrogate daughter to come full circle. With season two confirmed to be on the way, Craig Maizin and Neil Druckmann would be doing a great service to have Joel appear to be more vocal and open about his actions, and put up a greater fight for Ellie to have a better understanding, rather than just painting him as selfish and evil for loving Ellie like a daughter.
1 Death By Sacrifice
With most assumptions among fans that Joel would not live to see the end of Part 2, it was an expectation that he would have died at some point in the story especially after the characters he wronged in Part 1. Aside from the reasoning of Joel and Tommy becoming much softer and less alert living in Jackson, fans felt as though the giveaway of Joel's name to Abby felt a little out of place and out of character.
As Joel's death is almost a guarantee for season two, it would be interesting to see the scene of his demise adjusted to a scenario that leads to him having to sacrifice his life in order to save Ellie, ultimately changing his role, despite it being short-lived, much more impactful. This would not only make Joel's death fulfilling, but it would reinforce his final words to Ellie and the idea of how much Joel loves her, as he puts his own life at risk to save her yet again.
The Last of Us HBO's second season is set to begin production.