Ranking The Last of Us Part II Deaths

Get ready, because nothing splits The Last of Us fandom like its character deaths in Part II. These moments weren’t just sad—they ignited online wars, rewrote expectations, and still have players arguing about what was justified and what was just plain cruel. Today I’m ranking the top five most controversial character deaths in The Last of Us Part II. There’s no way you’ll agree with every pick, but that’s the point.

At number 5: Nora’s death. Nora was a member of the Washington Liberation Front, and she becomes a key target during Ellie’s revenge quest. When Ellie tracks her down in the hospital, their confrontation is brutal. Ellie forces Nora, who’s already been exposed to deadly spores, to reveal Abby’s location. The fight escalates when Ellie beats Nora to death with a metal pipe. Players still debate Nora’s fate because the game makes you carry out the violence yourself, not just watch it. Some felt it was essential for showing Ellie’s moral line breaking, while others hated how the game forced the player’s hand, making them complicit in a death they didn’t want. The controversy here comes from the lack of agency: the game won’t let you look away or choose mercy, raising questions about player control versus narrative impact.

Number 4: Jesse’s death. Jesse, a close friend to both Ellie and Dina, is killed with no warning. In the middle of a tense standoff, Abby bursts in and shoots Jesse in the face. The moment is over in seconds. Fans argue about Jesse’s sudden death because it breaks the unwritten rule of narrative foreshadowing. Most major deaths get buildup or emotional preparation, but Jesse is just gone. Some say this mirrors the harsh randomness of real violence, but for others it felt like a waste of a well-liked character and a cheap shock. The debate boils down to whether surprise can ever replace meaning in storytelling, and if this death undercut player investment in Jesse himself.

At number 3: Yara’s death. Yara is a member of the Seraphites and the twin sister of Lev. After being rescued and nursed back to health by Abby, Yara sacrifices herself during an ambush to save Lev. She shoots and kills Isaac, the leader of the WLF, but is immediately gunned down by his forces. The argument here centers on whether Yara’s death was necessary at all. Some defend it as a way to push Lev’s story forward and underscore the tragic cost of violence. Others argue it was manipulative and undercut the significance of her survival earlier in the game. Yara’s death is especially heated because it involves both a moment of empowerment and immediate, abrupt removal from the narrative. The tension is about whether this was a powerful narrative shock or just another example of a character sacrificed for someone else’s arc.

Number 2: Owen and Mel’s deaths. These two are killed together by Ellie during her rampage in Seattle. Owen is shot during a scuffle; Mel dies in the chaos, and Ellie discovers too late that Mel was pregnant. This is the moment when Ellie visibly recoils, horrified at what she’s done. Players argue about these deaths because the game spends hours developing Owen and Mel’s relationship with Abby, showing them as more than just “the enemy.” Some players say these deaths are necessary to push Ellie to the edge, finally forcing her to confront the reality of her violence. Others call it emotionally manipulative, since the game creates empathy for these characters only to kill them at Ellie’s hands. The discovery of Mel’s pregnancy is the most debated part: for some, it’s a gut punch that tests the limits of empathy; for others, it’s gratuitous, a twist designed to shock rather than serve the story.

That brings us to number 1: Joel Miller’s death. Joel’s murder by Abby at the end of the game’s opening hours is, without question, the most controversial character death in The Last of Us Part II. Joel is brutally beaten to death with a golf club, while Ellie is forced to watch. This moment triggered thousands of online petitions, review bombs, and endless forum threads. The reason this death tops the list is simple: it’s the moment that redefined the entire franchise’s direction and split the fanbase like nothing else. Some defend Joel’s fate as the logical consequence of his choices at the end of the first game, when he killed Abby’s father, Jerry Anderson, in the Firefly hospital. Others argue that the manner of his death was excessively cruel, that it undermined his character growth, and that it robbed players of closure. The controversy runs so deep that some fans called for a rewrite of the story, while others praised it as bold, uncompromising storytelling. The debate is about more than just the act itself—it’s about legacy, justice, and whether a story should ever risk alienating its audience at the cost of narrative honesty.

So that’s my ranking of the five most controversial character deaths in The Last of Us Part II: Nora at 5, Jesse at 4, Yara at 3, Owen and Mel at 2, and Joel Miller at the top spot. Think I got it wrong? Do you rank Mel’s death above Joel’s, or is Jesse’s sudden exit your number one? Let me know—because if there’s one thing this community will never agree on, it’s what these deaths really meant for The Last of Us.