Jesse’s abrupt death in the season-two finale of HBO’s “The Last of Us” was never up for debate, co-creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin said in a new interview, calling the moment “always sealed” and essential to Ellie and Dina’s fragile bond moving forward.
The fatal shot anchors “Convergence,” the seventh episode that aired on 25 May, closing a 50-minute installment filmed last summer in downtown Vancouver and marking the season’s pivot toward Abby’s perspective. In the scene Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) guns down Jesse (Young Mazino) as he and Ellie rush through a deserted Seattle theater, mirroring the video game’s split-second shock.
Druckmann said keeping the blow intact preserved “the emotional math” of the source material, while Mazin argued that softening it would blunt the risk already taken when Joel died earlier in the year. Both writers acknowledged the decision will send “drastic” ripples through Ellie’s future choices and the Jackson community, where Jesse had been groomed for leadership.
Mazino, who completed Jesse’s arc in the PlayStation sequel before filming, told Vulture he viewed the character as a “burdened protector” whose sacrifice reveals the cost of responsibility; he later told Entertainment Weekly he embraced multiple retakes of the headshot after Bella Ramsey split her lip, lying “face-down in a clay prosthetic” to keep the scene authentic. Asked if he ever hoped Jesse might survive, the actor told Men’s Health that Mazin was “pretty specific about me getting my head blown off,” a reminder that no character is safe.
Critics praised director Nina Lopez-Corrado’s kinetic staging and Ramsey’s bruised vulnerability, though some reviewers found the cliffhanger abrupt; Polygon reported that alternative endings were weighed before fidelity won out.
HBO green-lit a third season in April, and People notes the unresolved standoff positions Abby as the likely focal point when the series returns, with Druckmann and Mazin hinting the adaptation may require extra episodes to complete the game’s story.
