A shocking twist during the latest episode of “The Last of Us” left some fans uncertain about Pedro Pascal’s future on the show. Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead for season 2 of “The Last of Us.” You have been warned. Pascal’s character, Joel, died during the Sunday, April 20, episode of “The Last of Us.” While fans of the video game series that inspired the show knew Joel’s death was coming, other viewers were shocked to see the protagonist killed off during the second episode of season 2. Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) beats Joel to death with a golf club to get revenge for her father’s murder. During the season 1 finale, Joel killed Abby’s Dad, who was a surgeon, while rescuing Ellie (Bella Ramsey) from the Fireflies militia group. The Fireflies planned to surgically remove Ellie’s brain to create a vaccine for the Cordyceps brain infection, a fungal disease that turns humans into zombie-like creatures. Ellie is immune to the disease. Joel is definitely dead, but “The Last of Us” cocreator Craig Mazin teased that Pascal will continue to appear on the show in flashbacks. “There’s a good amount of Pedro and Bella together [in season 2], because we all want it,” Mazin told TVLine during an interview published on Sunday. “We do get to see them quite a bit together this season. … So, on behalf of all the Bella and Pedro stans out there, I’m here to say, ‘Yes. A good amount is heading your way.’” While fans may take some comfort in knowing that they haven’t seen the last of Pascal as Joel, his death is still a tough pill to swallow. Pascal is in “active denial” about his character’s fate, he told Entertainment Weekly. READ MORE: ‘The Last of Us’ season 1 recap — what you need to remember before season 2 “I realize this more and more as I get older, I find myself slipping into denial that anything is over,” he said. “I know that I’m forever bonded to so many members of the experience and just have to see them under different circumstances, but [I] never will [again] under the circumstances of playing Joel on ‘The Last of Us.’ And, no, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it, because it makes me sad.” Ramsey, whose character Ellie developed a father-daughter-like bond with Joel during season 1, said that filming the show “definitely felt heavier” after Joel’s death. “I’ve felt the weight of the responsibility of it more,” Ramsey told EW. “I did feel at times I was carrying the whole thing on my back, which obviously isn’t true. So many people are contributing. Within how dark the story gets this season, it definitely felt heavy, but I was supported the whole time.” After the heart-wrenching episode aired, Pascal shared an Instagram photo of himself and Dever, proving that the onscreen enemies are pals in real life. “Thank you, scene partner. You little miracle,” he captioned the sweet selfie. Dever’s character might be a killer, but she’s just as devastated by Joel’s death as any other fan of “The Last of Us.” “I watched you guys in season 1, and your relationship was so beautiful,” she told Pascal and Ramsey during a joint Entertainment Weekly interview. “And watching the end of you guys was really, really hard for me, as a viewer.” “The Last of Us” airs on HBO and Max on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips/.