Joel’s gone. We saw it, we ugly-cried, and immediately started arguing on Twitter. But you can feel fans buzzing, humming like power lines after a storm, because The Last of Us (thanks to Pedro Pascal’s grounded performance and Craig Mazin’s brainchild storytelling) refuses to let Joel just… evaporate. The talk is everywhere: Reddit threads blaze, TikTok video essays multiply, and even Mazin himself loves to stoke the fire. One huge question hangs over us all — how will Joel’s shadow stretch into Season 3?
Joel: Not Just a Memory, but a Specter
Season 2 hit us with a seismic shock. Joel’s death was more “narrative nuclear bomb” than plot twist, as Mazin called it in interviews (and yes, he really used those words). But nuclear fallout lingers. While Pedro Pascal’s Joel physically exited the story, his impact radiates through everyone left behind — especially Ellie, and, looming in Season 3, Abby. Some fans are convinced Joel isn’t finished, not really.
Here’s the pulse of Internet hope, speculation, and outright wishing:
- Ellie’s flashbacks could bring back Joel for tender, wrenching scenes.
- We might see new perspectives — Joel from Abby’s haunted dreams, maybe?
- Or, brace yourself, entire memory montages to remind us how much we lost.
And who can blame us for putting on these rose-tinted goggles? Pascal’s performance fused warmth, pain, and Dad Energy™ in a way that sticks.
Mazin Drops Hints — and Drools Over Flashbacks
If you poke around enough, you’ll spot showrunner Craig Mazin prodding this conversation along, grinning like a man who KNOWS things. Mazin, alongside Neil Druckmann, crafted that gut-punch moment for a reason. He’s explained in press chats that Joel’s “narrative nuclear bomb” wasn’t just for shock value. It forces everything that comes after into a new orbit.
But Mazin isn’t a total sadist. He’s acknowledged that flashbacks or memory sequences could, and probably should, exist. The guy literally said in a Variety interview, “I think memory plays such an important part in aging and grief. It’s not just, oh that person died, now we go forward. You go back as much as you go forward.”
So no, Joel probably won’t pop up alive — but he’s far from erased.
Pascal’s Take: Mourning and Mischief
Pedro Pascal went deep-dish with the press after THAT episode. The guy joked about “living in active denial,” refusing to let go of Joel even after filming wrapped. This wasn’t just actorly nonsense — Pascal talked about checking with Mazin to see if there’d be room for him in Season 3 flashbacks. He didn’t outright confirm anything (these HBO NDAs, we know!), but his hope radiates through every answer.
And fans hear him. Pascal, always mischievous with fans, knows the power he holds. He even winked, telling Entertainment Weekly, “There’s always the past. And the past never really stays put, does it?”
Dreams, Guilt, and the Unfinished Business of Abby
The plot twist this time: we’re not just following Ellie. Abby enters the ring. And with her, a whole Olympic swimming pool full of guilt, resentment, and unresolved grief.
Here’s where things get really chewy. Gamers know how The Last of Us: Part II uses fragmented memories and disquieting dreams to expand the narrative. Mazin and Druckmann have both referenced how Season 3 plans to split its emotional focus, deepening Abby’s inner world — so Joel’s influence on Abby is absolute canon territory.
- We might see Joel stalk Abby’s dreams like a ghost she can’t exorcise.
- Flashback scenes could reveal new nuances — her pain, her anger, her regrets.
- And, if the show follows the game’s DNA, expect memories to fuel major plot pivots for both Ellie and Abby.
The Fandom Roars — and Writes Its Own Canon
No surprise: fans aren’t sitting quietly. Online, you’ll stumble over essays, art, and more than a few “fix-it” fics. TikToks re-cut scenes to add “what if” hugs, while Twitter talks up Joel reappearing in every flavor possible. People want closure. People want catharsis. And, let’s be real, people want more sassy, sarcastic, guitar-strumming Joel.
A few fan points that keep trending:
- Flashbacks could deliver those missed “first and last” moments — maybe even new stories we haven’t heard.
- Ellie’s guilt and heartbreak almost demand Joel’s voice in her head, guiding (or judging) her.
- If Abby faces down her darkest memories, Joel’s the monster and the victim in those.
Part of this fever comes from the showrunners themselves, who tease but never spoil. Neil Druckmann confessed in a 2024 interview, “Memory is how we stitch together identity in trauma. Joel made Ellie who she is — even if he’s not physically there.” So, needle and thread ready: S3 is primed to stitch some emotional wounds. Or rip them open again.
How Might Season 3 Actually Do It? Let’s Game It Out
Here’s the meat — and potatoes. What might Season 3 show us? The writers, Mazin included, drop hints but dodge details, so we have to connect the dots.
- First, prepare for Ellie’s worst days. After the Season 2 horror, flashbacks to happier times with Joel could be brief but heart-wrenching.
- Second, dream logic. The show loves visual symbolism — expect a poetic use of Joel’s image in both Ellie’s and Abby’s subconscious.
- Third, maybe a memory motif. Think Lost-style: moment-to-moment triggers that send Ellie, or Abby, moonwalking back to their Joel trauma.
And if HBO likes giving viewers hope? Don’t count out the power of a well-chosen hallucination. After all, this is The Last of Us. We’re always one head injury or fever away from a soulful, symbolic Joel cameo.
The Joel Shaped Hole That Won’t Heal
So what does all this mean for the characters? Ellie’s journey into darkness is fueled by her loss. Abby’s hatred, then regret, orbits around her own Joel-shaped wound. The echoes of his choices and mistakes bounce between them, shaping their decisions. This isn’t just “fan service.” It’s emotional realism, raw as a skinned knee.
And audiences never forget. Polls and comment boards make it clear: even those who hated Joel’s end still want him around, if only to feel the ache. The show may ration that ache in flashbacks, but it knows we’re hooked.
One Last Ride With Joel?
Endings matter. For Season 3, The Last of Us faces a choice: lean into Joel’s ghost, or let him fade quietly. All evidence suggests a middle path. Mazin and Druckmann get what fans crave — lingering pain and reluctant closure. The odds seem pretty spicy that Joel will show up, not alive, but alive enough to drop some wisdom or heartbreak, whether in memory, dream, or whispered advice.
So keep your tissues handy, and maybe your “Joel Lives” memes closer. Because even post-apocalypse, dads don’t just disappear. They haunt, help, hurt, and heal. And if Season 3 delivers even one more heartbreaking, beautiful Joel moment, every single ache will be worth it.
Ellie, Abby, fans — we’re not done with Joel. And, honestly? We don’t ever want to be.
