If you're still upset about Joel in The Last of Us season 2, the co-creator wants you to remember that Pedro Pascal is actually "alive" and he's "in literally everything else"

If you've seen The Last of Us season 2, you're probably still sad about one moment in particular.

In episode 2, Pedro Pascal's Joel is brutally killed by Kaitlyn Dever's Abby, just as he is in the game. It's certainly a harrowing scene, but, for those of us still upset, co-creator Craig Mazin wants you to remember one key thing.

"He did a thing. Everyone lost their shit, and then I had to do that same thing, because he did the thing. I loved doing the thing, I thought it was great," Mazin said at a Variety panel of Joel's death, referring to Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann and the game's decision to kill the character off. "The big complaint that I've gotten is, 'Why did you kill Pedro Pascal?' And I keep explaining, we didn't kill him! He's a man, he's alive. He's fine. And he's in literally everything else. So I don't know what the problem is!"

Mazin isn't wrong about Pascal being a busy man. He's starring as Reed Richards in this summer's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and he's also in Celine Song's Materialists.

Plus, you can see him in Game of Thrones (though that one might not cheer you up…) as well as other hit shows like Narcos, and, of course, you can scratch the itch of watching Pascal take care of a young charge with The Mandalorian. In fact, he's returning as the Beskar-clad papa in The Mandalorian & Grogu, which releases next year.

The Last of Us season 2 is available to stream on HBO Max now. While you wait for the show to return with The Last of Us season 3, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming shows of 2025 to fill out your watchlist.