"This Is A Chance For All Of Us To Say Goodbye": The Last Of Us S2 E3's Subtle Change To Joel's Grave Visit Explained By Creators

Warning: The following contains major spoilers for The Last of Us season 2.The Last of Us' showrunners address the subtle change the series made to Ellie's (Bella Ramsey) visit to Joel's (Pedro Pascal) grave in season 2, episode 3. In the aftermath of Joel's death, the third episode of the new season saw Ellie leave for Seattle with Dina (Isabela Merced) to hunt down Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and her team, but not without saying goodbye to her surrogate father. In the scene, Ellie sprinkled coffee beans on Joel's grave.

On HBO's official The Last of Us podcast (via Radio Times), the show's co-creators, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, unpack the added detail in the scene. Mazin explained that in the game, Ellie connected to Joel by touching the earth, but her leaving the coffee beans in the show was Ellie "quietly and calmly saying goodbye" and honoring him on her way to vengeance, while the smile on her face suggested the "next level of grief." Read Mazin's comment below:

In the game, [Ellie] kneels by the grave and she picks up the dirt and she touches the earth as if the dirt is some connection to him. She leaves him this gift [in the show], these coffee beans, because coffee meant so much to Joel, it became this rare thing, after the outbreak, to find. We see this little smile on her face. It's a really beautiful moment.

This is a chance for all of us to say goodbye. I think, as viewers, we are pretty much where Ellie is. I think people have been, hopefully, looking forward to this episode, but it's been a rough week since what happened. And when it begins, we're all in that space of being ripped up.

By this point, my hope is that everyone can kind of be where Ellie is, which is to say, heartbroken, but quietly and calmly saying goodbye on our way to avenging him. And I loved the idea of coffee beans because she didn't like coffee. She thinks it tastes like burnt sh*t, and she never got it.

This was for him. This was a him thing. The smile that Bella does there that turns into this... it's different, it's not screaming, it's not crying anymore, there are tears in her eyes but they're not rolling. This is the next level of grief. This is the long pain, the long ache, not the acute misery. She does still put her hand on that dirt because I thought it's so beautiful. And then we all get to say goodbye to him, and I thought that was important to honor him.

What This Means For Ellie In The Last Of Us Season 2

Season 2, Episode 3 Includes A Very Important Time Jump

The Last of Us season 2, episode 3 captures Ellie's change in the months after Joel's death. The beginning of the episode saw Ellie screaming in acute pain, much like her reaction to witnessing Joel's death. However, time has passed, and Ellie has managed to recover both physically and mentally. Mazin's perspective highlights Ellie's state of mind at the beginning of her journey west, pointing out that what motivates her is a much deeper pain than an impulsive need for revenge.

The coffee beans referred to an inside joke between Ellie and Joel during their journey in The Last of Us season 1. In the podcast, the showrunner also reminded fans that even though Joel met his demise in season 2, episode 2, he'll "always be there," and coffee beans represented the bond between Joel and Ellie. It also offered viewers a proper chance to say goodbye as they continue on this journey alongside Ellie.

Our Take On Joel's Tombstone Scene In The Last Of Us

It's A Brilliant Addition To The Show

The coffee beans are a brilliant detail added to the show, and so was Ellie's watery smile. After a very shocking and emotionally heavy second episode, the grave scene in The Last of Us season 2, episode 3 felt very refreshing and genuine. Even though Ellie's loss is heartbreaking and tragic, the moment is about honoring Joel's memories and the journey they embarked on together.

There are still four more episodes to go in The Last of Us season 2, but it's safe to assume that they will be packed. Ellie and Dina have arrived in Seattle at the end of episode 3. Unaware of the danger ahead, they venture into the city. So far, this season has been full of surprises and interesting changes, and based on the addition to Joel's grave, it seems that many have been rooted in character and emotion. This bodes well for the rest of the season, which will surely keep Ellie and Joel's relationship at the forefront despite the latter's death.