The Last of Us season 2 couldn’t get any more heartbreaking after Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) death, right? Apparently fans spoke too soon because its surviving main character, Ellie, (Bella Ramsey) could have met the same fate as her late surrogate father. So, is it true – does Ellie die in the season 2 finale of The Last of Us?
Hollywood Life breaks down that insane season 2 finale and Ellie’s fate below. (Warning: spoilers for The Last of Us season 2 finale are ahead)
Is There a Season 3 of The Last of Us?
Yes, HBO confirmed that The Last of Us was renewed for a season 3. The series will focus on Kaitlyn Dever‘s character, Abby. As fans know by now, Abby viciously beats and stabs Joel to death in season 2 out of revenge for him killing her father in season 1. At the time, he was trying to protect Ellie from being operated on for the Fireflies to use her to create a vaccine against the Cordyceps brain infection.
During a May 2025 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kaitlyn said she was “terrified” to film her brutal first scene as Abby, when she kills Joel in front of Ellie. In reality, Kaitlyn was grieving the loss of her late mother, Kathy, who died from breast cancer in February 2024.
“I had spent so much time contemplating my mom’s death before she died, thinking about how I wouldn’t be able to go on. I couldn’t imagine,” the actress said. “And then, it’s a heartbreaking thing to think about, how life moves on. And you have the choice to keep going or not go to Vancouver and do the show that she was so excited about me doing. And then, after she passed, I realized there’s no part of me that couldn’t not do this. I had to do it for her.”
Does Ellie Die in The Last of Us Season 2?
It certainly looks like Ellie was shot by Abby in the final few minutes of the season 2 finale. As Abby and Ellie meet face to face, the ex-Fireflies member ambushes Ellie and says, “I let you live, and you wasted it.” Then, a gunshot sound is heard before the screen goes black.
Next, viewers see Abby in a different environment — seemingly in the past — where she walks out to a balcony in Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, which is a base for the Washington Liberation Front. On screen, the words, “Seattle Day One,” appear, reminiscent of a time frame that fans recognize from Ellie’s point of view.
Despite how bleak things may look for Ellie, it’s unlikely that she’s dead. Since the show has followed the original video game closely, Ellie lives in the game, as does Abby.
When Does The Last of Us Season 3 Come Out?
HBO has not confirmed a release date for The Last of Us season 3, and production has not begun yet.
