why did they kill off joel in last of us

Joel was killed off in The Last of Us to serve as the critical inciting incident for the story's second season. His death was orchestrated by Abby, who sought revenge because Joel had killed her father, a Firefly doctor, at the end of the first season. Joel's drastic action to save Ellie from being sacrificed to find a cure ignited Abby's vendetta. The showrunners chose to depict Joel's death early to avoid prolonged torment for fans anticipating the moment and to drive the narrative forward by setting up the complex moral conflicts of the new season. This brutal and shocking death also visually and emotionally underscored the harshness of the world and the high stakes involved, affecting many characters' trajectories, especially Ellie, who witnesses his death firsthand.