The Last of Us: Throughout the season, Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) were on a dangerous road trip across a ruined, post-apocalyptic America. Their goal? Reach a special hospital run by a group called the Fireflies, who believed Ellie’s rare immunity to the deadly cordyceps infection could help them develop a cure. The Fireflies, led by Marlene (played by Merle Dandridge), were hoping that Ellie could be the key to saving humanity.
But when Joel discovered that creating the cure would kill Ellie, because it required brain surgery that she wouldn’t survive, he couldn’t let that happen. Instead of losing the one person he’d come to care for like a daughter, Joel went on a rampage. He wiped out the Fireflies in the hospital and took Ellie away, telling her a lie to protect her: that there were others like her, and the cure wasn’t possible.
That decision didn’t just end Season 1 with a bang, it had serious consequences. In Season 2, we see that Joel’s lie puts a strain on his bond with Ellie, who starts to question everything. And five years later, that single choice ultimately comes back to haunt him… and costs him his life.
Why did Joel kill the surgeon doctor in The Last of Us (and practically everyone in the hospital)?
Marlene broke the news: the doctors planned to cut into Ellie’s brain to try and make a vaccine from her immunity to the cordyceps virus, and yeah, that would’ve killed her instantly. By the time Joel found out, Ellie was already being prepped for surgery. So, in full-on protector mode, Joel tore through the Fireflies at the hospital, leaving a trail of bodies behind. Among them was the lead surgeon, Jerry Anderson, who, by the way, is Abby’s dad, but Joel had no idea who he was. He just knew that nothing was going to stop him from saving Ellie.
Bella Ramsey (who plays Ellie) has even defended Joel’s controversial choice, saying there really was no choice, not for him. In her words:
“He didn’t just save the world — he saved his world.”
A little cheesy? Sure. But it perfectly sums up Joel’s mindset. He couldn’t bear to lose Ellie the way he lost his daughter years ago.
After rescuing her, Joel took an unconscious Ellie back to Jackson, where he hoped they could finally have a peaceful life. But there was a catch, he lied. He didn’t tell her what really happened in Salt Lake City, and that lie hung between them for years.
Fast forward five years to The Last of Us Season 2, and it’s clear Ellie eventually found out the truth, her tense exchange with Nora in Episode 5 proves that. That revelation seriously strained her relationship with Joel. And tragically, they only began to heal that rift right before Joel met his end.
Abby isn’t just any new face; she’s Jerry Anderson’s daughter, the very doctor Joel shot at point-blank in the hospital to save Ellie. Since then, Abby has spent five long years with one thing on her mind: revenge. She and a group of former Fireflies, now part of a militant group called the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), have been hunting Joel down.
And in Episode 2, she does the unthinkable, she brutally kills Joel in front of Ellie and an unconscious Dina, bringing her personal vendetta full circle.
But here’s the twist: Joel’s decision to save Ellie by killing the Fireflies didn’t just rescue one life, it unintentionally set off a chain reaction of loss and revenge. Abby’s pain leads her to violence, which now fuels Ellie’s own need to retaliate. It’s a vicious loop where one act of violence breeds another, a never-ending cycle of hurt.
So how does it end? That all depends on Ellie. She now faces a crucial choice: continue down the same bloody road, or find a way to stop the cycle and start healing. But choosing peace when you’re drowning in anger and grief? That’s way easier said than done, and right now, Ellie’s getting dangerously close to the point where there’s no turning back.