Neil Druckmann says The Last of Us season 2's divisive episode 3 does something they "couldn't do" in the game after Joel's death: "The mourning period is relatively short"

A cursory glance around the internet would suggest fans are less than enthused with The Last of Us season 2's third episode – a more measured, slower response to Joel's death than the gung-ho ride to Seattle that players were met with in 2020's The Last of Us Part 2.

Co-showrunner and game director Neil Druckmann, however, was pleased to give the shocking demise of Pedro Pascal's Joel the love, care, and attention it deserved.

"I love episode three," Druckmann said on The Last of Us' Inside Episode 3 aftershow. "It does something that we just couldn't do in the game."

"In the game after Joel dies, because the mechanics of the game are very action-oriented, the mourning period is relatively short. Here, we can take almost an entire episode and really feel the loss of this character," Druckmann said, also making sure to pay particular mention of "this really beautiful scene where Tommy has to come in and he has to clean up his brother's body."

While the third episode follows similar beats to the game – including Ellie (Bella Ramsey) heading back to Joel's house and rifling through some of his belongings – it mostly deals with the trauma of the community and the disruptive effect it has on the people who cared most for him in Jackson.

"The entire town of Jackson suffered," co-creator Craig Mazin added. "I have a problem sometimes in television shows where a character we care about loses someone in a battle where a lot of people lose people. Those people matter too."

So, The Last of Us season 2 deals with Joel's death in a different, no less powerful way. It echoes quotes from GamesRadar+'s own interview with Mazin, one where he was at pains to say that while the route from A to B could be different in the adaptation of the hit PlayStation series, but would get there in the end.

"We get our way to the same goal, but we travel a different path to get there," Mazin told us.

The Last of Us season 2 is now streaming. For more, check out The Last of Us season 2 release schedule and The Last of Us season 2, episode 3 game differences.