"The Last of Us" has killed an unkillable character. What's next?

What happens when a drama takes out a character that seems crucial to the story?

WARNING: This column discusses a key twist in Sunday’s episode!

Years ago, I saw Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof talk about the concept of “unkillable” characters on TV shows. These were individuals so central to the show’s storylines – or beloved by fans – that removing them from the series might also kill the show. Even for series seemingly centered on the idea that any character could die anytime.

In particular, post-apocalyptic adventure dramas like The Walking Dead play with this concept – pushing audiences to bond with some characters who might seem unkillable, only to take them out for the emotional gut punch. Or making it seem as if a beloved character has died, only to find a way to bring them back, savoring both the horror of loss and relief from fans (remember that time Walking Dead made it look like Glenn was eaten by a horde of zombies, only to reveal he'd crawled under a dumpster?)

Still, last night’s episode of The Last of Us presented a moment which would seem unfathomable to anyone who didn’t know the videogame the series is based on. Pedro Pascal’s Joel Miller, the intrepid, badass hero who escorted Bella Ramsey’s Ellie across a zombie-filled wasteland in the show’s first season – and launched a thousand sexy Daddy/Zaddy memes on social media – seemed the ultimate example of an unkillable character.

And he was murdered in Sunday’s episode.

Beaten and stabbed in the neck by the daughter of a man he murdered at the end of the first season, Joel died as an embodiment of the show’s meditation on the toxic consequences of terrible actions. And, likely, as a bold way of introducing another possibly unkillable character, Kaitlyn Dever’s driven, skilled soldier Abby – whose lust for vengeance led her to track down Joel and end his life.

Though I have enjoyed this second season of The Last of Us – and yes, one of the perks of being a TV critic is that you get to see a lot of these episodes in advance – one bit of it has bothered me. Too much of this season’s storylines feels like moments we have seen before in other zombie dramas.

Stuff like: New types of zombies emerging – in this case, Ellie noting that some of them seem smarter. A plucky community or survivors making their way in the world until a gigantic calamity knocks them on their ass, like the attack from a horde of inflected zombies in Sunday’s episode.

And the quest to revenge a beloved figure unjustly murdered, as will surely result from Joel’s killing by Abby. All these plotlines have been seen in similar shows, like The Walking Dead. And their inclusion in The Last of Us often makes the show feel a little less special than the first season.

Yes, the devil is in the details, so the way Ellie’s revenge quest unfolds will be key. Still, for a series which debuted with a season that seemed to defy all previous tropes in the genre, this second edition is breaking far less ground, which can be disappointing.

A friend who has played the videogame told me this plot twist also divided gamers, who didn’t appreciate being forced to see a fair amount of the game’s second edition through the eyes of Abby, the character who killed Joel. I haven’t seen enough of the new season’s episodes to know if something similar happens on the HBO show, but if it does, I expect a similar reaction from fans of the series.

What I have liked so far is the expansion of the world, including Jeffrey Wright’s militia leader Isaac Dixon. Dever’s Abby and her world offers lots of opportunities for new settings and storylines. And forcing Ellie to face a dangerous world without the protective mentor she had come to take for granted is a bold move, even if they did it in the video game first.

What did you think when you saw it? Feel free to dish in the comments or by direct message, if you’re sheepish. As someone who watches A LOT of TV every week, I tend to like big swings a bit more than viewers with more settled tastes.