Neil Druckmann comments on mourning in episode three of The Last of Us

Spoilers for those of you who haven't played The Last of Us, watched the latest episodes of the series or lived under a rock for the past few years. So proceed at your own risk.

For the rest of you, who of course knew what was coming in the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, Joel's death (well, he was murdered) was something that still felt quite different from how it happens in the game. In The Last of Us Part II, the scene is brutal and happens quickly. It leaves little time to process what actually happened before you are forced to move on, and this is exactly what Druckman and Mazin wanted to change in the series.

"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,"

They wanted to give Joel a more dignified and emotional ending and in an interview Druckman explained how the format allows for a different approach compared to the game, and its more action-focused nature. Joel's death affects far more than just Ellie and this is allowed more space in the third episode, which is more or less entirely dedicated to showing the aftermath. Including how Joel's brother Tommy deals with the body.

Mazin mentioned how they felt it was important to show how the whole community is affected by Joel's death, not just the main characters.

"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."