Joel's life and death become a mystery in "The Last of Us"? The main creator season 3 may be hidden in the foreshadowing.

　　Even if you have never played games or watched HBO series, "Joel's Death" has become the most popular plot point in the universe of "The Last of Us". But the creative team recently dropped a bombshell: the screen story of this legendary tough guy may be far from over.

In the creative conversation last weekend, screenwriters two heroes Neil Drakman and Craig McSinn launched an "extreme pull" against Joel's fate. When asked whether it would fill the gap in time between Joel's daughter Sarah's death and her encounter with Ellie, Neil said meaningfully: "Leaving blank is an art, but when the past becomes the only way to advance the plot, we will unveil the veil - never say it to death."

Craig's response is even more ambiguous. He bluntly stated that the focus of the narrative in the second season cannot deviate from the main line of "Joel's Death": "This turning point carries the impact of changing the world. We must focus on showing its causal chain, and any branch line may dilute the core tension." But before he finished speaking, he suddenly threw out the imagination space of season 3: "Maybe one day it will flash back to the years when Joel and Tommy waste the wilderness? After all, even Season 2 is in a state of silence, Joel's childhood memories are inserted."

This open thinking is confirmed by Neil. He took the example of the sudden cut into Joel's childhood experience in episode 6 of S2, emphasizing that the plot is always full of variables. Craig even revealed the inside story of his creation: "In my experience, the existing outline may be overturned in two weeks. The only thing that is certain is that the stories of core actors such as Caitlyn Dever and Bella Ramsey are far from over, even if the characters are 'dead'."

The clues at the realistic level are more subtle. Although Pedro Pascal's final party video went viral on the Internet, the crew can completely imitate the second season to launch a new actor to perform a young version of Joel. After all, under the doomsday worldview, time jumping and perspective transformation are narrative tools.

　　It is foreseeable that the third season will continue the game's classic narrative structure and turn the spotlight to the storyline of Abby - the scene of her standing above the ruins of Seattle at the end of season 2 has already indicated that a new storm is coming. This game about life and death, memory and redemption may have just begun.