How The Last Of Us Season 2 Episode 2 Changes The Game's Most Controversial Scene

Major spoilers follow.

The final moments of Joel Miller's (Pedro Pascal) life were easier to watch for some, simply because it had been burned into "The Last of Us" fans' minds since 2020. This pivotal scene in which Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever) finally gets her revenge on her father's killer played out almost identically to how it was originally shown in "The Last of Us Part II," transforming this new character into someone to hate more than every type of infected running rabid. One key element that differs from what we've seen this week, however, is just who else is present during Joel's death.

With Dina (Isabela Merced) out cold from being injected with anesthetic, the only person left to see Joel shuffle off this mortal coil was Bella Ramsey's Ellie. It's a torturous scene, not simply because of the journey we've been on with these two characters but the tension that has seemingly been built between them for reasons we're not aware of just yet. What sets it apart from the sequence in the game, however, is that Joel's brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna), isn't present.

In "The Last of Us Part II," Abby is rescued by both Millers and directed up to the cabin where the rest of the former Firefly's team is holding up. Before they realize that they've walked into a trap, Joel takes one in the knee, and Tommy is beaten unconscious, leaving his big brother's fate sealed. So why the change, and just what could it mean for the rest of season 2 going forward?

While Joel was taking it like a champ in this week's heart-pounding episode of "The Last of Us," Tommy had problems of his own to deal with thanks to an invasion of infected tearing through Jacksonville. Splitting the drama across two locations and building up the tension in very different ways left well-versed fans and the uninitiated on an equal footing. Moving Tommy from one tense location to another duped audiences into thinking that we might lose not just one Miller brother but both at the same time. Giving us twice the tragedy might have been a bit much, particularly given the major story difference of Tommy being an a father in this version. Even so, it wouldn't be an impossibility.

These are the carefully placed alterations that could benefit the show, deviating in small but impactful ways, unlike the broader ventures off the beaten path that season 1 had, simply because season 2 doesn't have the time to. This is Ellie's story we're telling now, and it's a far more streamlined one than the journey she went on with Joel last time around. There's no time for creating all-new ruthless leaders like Melanie Lynskey's Kathleen or expanding on doomed romances involving Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), this season feels fitting to be as focused on Ellie's mission as she is. It's now just a question of how different Tommy's part will be in it given the pivotal moment he was absent from this time around.

With Tommy getting in on the action at Jacksonville rather than out of action at the cabin, it does beg the question of how recent events will impact the last remaining Miller brother. In the game, Tommy is driven to avenge his brother's death after being present for it (albeit not fully), but still not as much as Ellie. He contributes to her preparation for the warpath she's set on for Abby and only gets more involved in things nearer the tail end of "The Last of Us Part II."

However, in the show, it would be understandable to guess if Tommy is left with a heavier weight of guilt in this iteration than in the original version. Is there the chance of Joel's younger brother being haunted by what-ifs, wondering if he could have made a difference when Abby revealed herself and did as she was told by Joel to "just get on with it?" Could this be what pushes him to be more present for Ellie's approaching venture out past the gates of Jacksonville and on the hunt for the stranger who took a golf club to their world? For now, all we can do is wait to see how Tommy, Ellie, and the rest of our heroes pick up the broken pieces of recent events and if they use them as a makeshift shiv on anyone that gets in their way when "The Last of Us" continues next week.