Significant plot developments take place in The Last of Us Season 2 finale.
This includes the deaths of several important characters, including Young Mazino’s Jesse, who is shot in the face by Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby. Introduced in Season 2, Jesse quickly became a fan favorite character. In a recent interview, series co-creators and co-showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann explained why Jesse needed to die in the Season 2 finale.
Why Jesse was killed off in The Last of Us Season 2’s ending explained
Mazin and Druckmann revealed in a press conference that Jesse’s death was always supposed to happen. Druckmann explained, “I don’t think we ever entertained an alternative. His fate was always sealed.” (via The Direct)
In the video game The Last of Us Part II (2020), which Season 2 partially adapts, Jesse suffers the same fate. Druckmann, who co-created the games, referenced this with his aforementioned comment. Further, as it happens in the game, it’s safe to assume that Jesse’s death will deeply impact various other characters, including Bella Ramsey’s Ellie. “I mean, how could it not have a drastic impact, especially when he’s the father of this baby, but also a very close friend, a former romantic partner. Yeah, it’s going to mean a whole lot,” Druckmann explained, underscoring the fact that Jesse was the biological father of the unborn child of Isabela Merced’s Dina.
During the same press conference, Mazin correctly pointed out that Ellie was partly responsible for what happened to Jesse. “It’s an interesting situation, because Jesse dies in part because of Ellie. But Ellie doesn’t pull the trigger, Abby does,” he said.
Mazin teased that Jesse’s death would affect the relationship that Ellie shared with Dina. The latter accompanied Ellie in her pursuit of revenge “out of a sense of justice” for what happened to Joel. Mazin wondered who Dina would blame for Jesse’s death, especially in the context of Ellie knowing exactly why Abby killed Joel. “Jesse’s death is going to change things for her. But how we play that out? We have to wait and see,” Mazin added.
The Last of Us Seasons 1 and 2 are available on Max.
Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on SuperHeroHype.
