Warning: This article contains spoilers from The Last of Us season 2, episode 6, "The Price." The exploration of Joel and Ellie's relationship led the writers of The Last of Us to new questions. How did Joel get his programming?

Joel's appearance on the latest episode of "The Last of Us" was an emotional one. On the May 18 episode, Pedro Pascal returns as Joel after his character's heartbreaking death in the second episode.

Turns out Ellie was actually more pissed at Joel over the whole Eugene situation than, you know, the mass murder.

Ellie's survivor's guilt finally took hold of her anger at Joel in The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 6, titled The Price, which was released on May 18, 2025.

Sunday night’s episode of The Last of Us Season 2 hit pause on Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) increasingly dangerous mission to find Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) to help explain how she really got to this point in the first place.

In an interview with Collider, The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin revealed that the show would ideally run for four seasons, with plenty more of the game's story still to be adapted onto the screen.

When you follow that through, it seems pretty clear that the flashback at the end of episode 5 is building up to something. The Last of Us is well known for breaking the mould with its standout episodes, some of which — think episodes 3 and episodes 7 in Season 1 — take us on journeys into the past.