This story contains minor spoilers for The Last of Us season 2, episode 6. It's no secret that fatherhood is a major theme in The Last of Us. But while Joel exists as Ellie's surrogate father figure in both the original video games and the HBO television adaptation,

Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us co-creator, on directing Episode Six, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey's chemistry, and making hard choices in Season Two

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.

Episode 6 introduces new scenes between Joel and Ellie to tell a gentler story than the game — recalling the first season’s famously tender Bill and Frank 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.

Just when we thought the wound of episode 2 might be healing, The Last of Us picks at the scab with episode 6. A flashback episode shows Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) in happier times, specifically, with a series of Ellie's birthdays in Jackson.

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.

The next episode of HBO's "The Last of Us" will see the return of Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller in a flashback episode set before the Season 2 premiere.

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.

The Price,' the penultimate episode of season two, brought back Pedro Pascal for a stunning series of flashbacks.