Joel is not dead in The Last of Us TV show, despite being stabbed in the stomach with a broken baseball bat by a raider at the end of episode 6.

Instead, he is badly wounded and falls into a comatose state. During that time, Ellie is left to fend for herself while attempting to protect him.

You may also want to find out if Joel’s brother, Tommy, dies in The Last of Us.

Joel and Ellie are unfortunately attacked while searching for the Fireflies in the University of Eastern Colorado.

While they manage to escape on horseback, the wound caused by the splintered baseball bat causes Joel to fall unconscious. Ellie, desperate not to be alone, begs him to stay awake while trying to apply pressure to his wound.

Joel with a broken baseball bat stabbed into his stomach in The Last of Us episode 6
Credit – HBO
The rest of this article contains major spoilers for The Last of Us, The Last of Us Part 2 and possible events in The Last of Us TV Show.

While in his comatose state, Ellie tends to his wound and cares for him. She luckily finds medical supplies in an abandoned mall which help him recover.

She regularly goes hunting for deer so she can feed Joel. This is how she meets David, a seemingly benign hunter who helps her survive a deadly Infected attack.

Unfortunately, David turns out to be a cannibalistic murderer who kidnaps Ellie. During this time, Joel wakes up, having mostly healed from his wounds, to find Ellie is missing.

Fans eager to discover Joel’s fate may want to check out when episode 7 is airing, as it will likely cover what his future has in store for him.

Read More: The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 6 Cast – Every Actor & Their Role

Ellie kneeling over Joel's body in The Last of Us Episode 6
Credit – HBO

What Happens to Joel in The Last of Us Game?

After surviving his deadly wound, Joel gets Ellie to the Fireflies in Salt Lake City. However, upon realizing that she will have to die for the cure to work, he kills all the Fireflies, including Marlene, and takes Ellie to Jackson.

Unfortunately, Joel is later murdered by Abby, one of the main characters in The Last of Us Part 2.

Abby is seeking vengeance for her father’s death, who was one of the Fireflies Joel killed. Her father is one of the doctors performing surgery on Ellie that would extract the cure from her.

Of course, Joel isn’t the only one who ends up dead in The Last of Us. In fact, multiple characters throughout The Last of Us meet a grisly end.

You can see the scene in which Joel dies at the beginning of The Last of Us Part 2 below:

Tom Wilson
Former Staff Writer
Whether it's an indie platformer or a 100-hour JRPG, Tom loves talking about games. So much so, he made it his career. Since starting in 2020, he's covered a wide range of topics at sites including TheGamer and The Game Crater.