How did The Last of Us season 2 episode 2 change that major death from the game?

Pedro Pascal's Joel was brutally killed off at the hands of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), who tortured him before stabbing him through the neck with a spike in front of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as revenge for Joel killing her father at the end of season 1.

"I'm in active denial," Pascal told EW of the brutal twist. "I realise this more and more as I get older, I find myself slipping into denial that anything is over.

"I know that I'm forever bonded to so many members of the experience and just have to see them under different circumstances, but never will under the circumstances of playing Joel on The Last of Us.

"And, no, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it because it makes me sad."

You and us both, Pedro! Thankfully, Joel is expected to rock up again in season 2 in the form of flashbacks - hopefully providing all of us some closure.

Until then, here's everything you need to know about how Joel's death was different in season 2 compared to the game.

How did The Last of Us season 2 change Joel's death from the game?

In The Last of Us Part II, less is given away about Abby's motivations. Speeding this up is a positive change, as waiting weekly to understand who she is and why we should care would be painful.

This measure might be to lessen any hate Dever receives online, with Abby’s motion capture artist and voice actress, Laura Bailey, being hounded for years for the simple crime of portraying a complex and dynamic woman.

In the game, there is also no focus on an infected horde breaching the walls of Jackson.

Speaking about that inclusion in the show, Neil Druckmann said on the official The Last of Us podcast: "I really enjoyed doing this deeper dive. One of the things we couldn’t do in the game, and it was one of our earliest conversations of how we would achieve this moment, in the game, we talk about how things happen to Jackson.

"There are certain attacks, whether it’s infected or raiders, but we never get to see it. Here, because we’re not playing any particular character, you could jump between this attack on Jackson and this situation that Joel’s found himself in, showing the kind of loss you can experience in this world on a personal intimate level and on a community level. That’s something we’ll visit again in this season."

In the game, the patrols are slightly different too. Joel is paired with Tommy on his final patrol, and the two of them come across Abby. In the show, Joel is accompanied by Dina, leaving Tommy and Maria to defend Jackson, and Ellie is paired with Jesse, in lieu of Dina.

The broad strokes remain the same, down to the set dressing, shot to the knee and brutality with a golf club.

However, Abby’s killing blow in the game is another hit from the golf club, rather than a menagerie of fists and the point of the broken club through the neck.

Thematically, it seems like we’ll be taken on the same journey, and judging by shots of Joel in the trailers for this season yet unused, we’re going to have a lot of emotional flashbacks of him and Ellie in the years between season 1 and 2.

The Last of Us airs on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK and on HBO in the US.

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