Across The Last of Us games and HBO series, Joel commits several lethal actions, with the most narratively significant being his killing of a soldier in the Boston quarantine zone to save Ellie and later his murder of Marlene at the hospital. These moments define Joel’s protective brutality and set up the ethical conflict that drives the story. This evergreen breakdown details each confirmed kill linked to Joel, separates game and series timelines, and explains why these decisions matter to the overall narrative.
Joel’s Confirmed Lethal Actions in the Main Story
In The Last of Us Part I and Part II, Joel’s kills are limited in number but pivotal. The opening incident in the quarantine zone establishes his willingness to kill to ensure Ellie’s survival. The hospital murder of Marlene is the only direct, narratively explicit kill shown and discussed in the games. Other deaths tied to Joel are either offscreen, implied, or consequences of broader combat rather than personal executions by him. Below is a concise verification of key events and narrative function.
| Event or Action | Verified Detail | Source Context |
|---|---|---|
| Quarantine zone soldier killed to save Ellie | Joel shoots a soldier in the Boston zone | The Last of Us opening sequence (game) |
| Marlene is killed by Joel at the hospital | Joel shoots Marlene after she refuses to hand over Ellie | The Last of Us Part I (game) and HBO series Episode 2 |
| Fireflies killed in surgery room confrontation | Joel kills multiple Fireflies during the escape; some could be nonlethal takedowns in the gameplay | The Last of Us Part I (game); ambiguous on-screen kills vs. offscreen outcomes |
| Deaths caused indirectly by Joel’s choices | Fireflies and soldiers die as a result of the hospital raid and aftermath | The Last of Us Part II and HBO series references consequences |
Key Moments in The Last of Us Part I (2013)
The 2013 game establishes Joel’s character through survival pacing and moral trade-offs rather than a long list of kills. Players experience the quarantine zone encounter as a visceral tutorial moment and later face the hospital sequence, where the choice to save Ellie directly results in Joel shooting Marlene. Other combat situations involve fighting soldiers and Fireflies, with narrative focus on protecting Ellie over tallying kills. The encounter in the hospital is explicitly shown, while earlier and later firefights remain impressionistic or offscreen.
Contextual Role of the Hospital Kill
By killing Marlene, Joel violates the Fireflies’ terms and triggers the escape sequence. This single decision echoes through The Last of Us Part II, where Abby’s quest for closure intersects with Joel’s legacy of violence. The game frames the act as one of desperate protection, underscoring how Joel’s love for Ellie overrides ethical restraint or political consequence.
The Last of Us HBO Series Expansion
The HBO series dramatizes the quarantine zone shooting and the hospital murder, giving them emotional weight through performance and dialogue. Marlene’s death on screen in Episode 2 closely mirrors the game’s pivotal moment, while the earlier quarantine zone scene expands the context around Joel’s readiness to kill under pressure. These adaptations do not add new canonical kills for Joel beyond what the games present, but they sharpen the focus on his willingness to cross lines for family.
Joel’s Actions in The Last of Us Part II
In The Last of Us Part II, Joel is deceased for most of the story, yet his choices continue to drive the plot. Abby’s revenge mission is a direct response to the consequences of Joel’s hospital kill, and flashbacks reveal more of his mindset during the initial rescue. The game does not introduce additional onscreen kills by Joel; instead, it examines how his singular act ripples outward, affecting Abby, Ellie, and the broader conflict. This narrative strategy shifts focus from body count to moral accountability.
Thematic and Narrative Impact of Joel’s Violence
Across both games and the series, Joel’s kills function less as gameplay metrics and more as catalysts for exploring love, trauma, and moral compromise. The quarantine zone incident showcases immediate protective violence, while the hospital murder represents a calculated betrayal of trust with lifelong repercussions. These moments anchor the story’s examination of how far a parent will go for a child and what such choices cost others. The series consistently returns to these incidents to interrogate whether ends ever justify extreme means.
Distinguishing Onscreen Kills from Broader Conflict
- Onscreen, canonical kills by Joel: the quarantine zone soldier and Marlene are directly shown in pivotal scenes.
- Offscreen or implied deaths: soldiers and Fireflies encountered in combat, with outcomes left to player interpretation or referenced in dialogue.
- Consequential deaths: characters who die as a direct result of Joel’s decisions, such as Marlene and indirectly the Fireflies targeted in the hospital.
- Narrative framing: The Last of Us Part II treats Joel’s legacy through aftermath rather than additional kills, focusing on accountability and cycles of violence.
- The HBO series largely aligns with these distinctions, dramatizing key kills without adding new canonical executions by Joel.
Why These Details Matter for Longterm Understanding
Clarifying who Joel killed and when establishes a factual baseline for discussing themes, character arcs, and player agency. The quarantine zone scene sets the template for Joel’s readiness to kill under duress, while the hospital sequence remains the moral fulcrum of the entire narrative. Subsequent games and adaptations reference these events as fixed points, making accurate details essential for coherent analysis. By separating shown violence from offscreen consequences, this overview supports deeper engagement with the story’s ethical questions.
Tags: the-last-of-us, the-last-of-us-part-i, the-last-of-us-part-ii