Part of the reason Naughty Dog's The Last of Us games are so popular is thanks to the incredibly emotional journeys the characters go through. Over the course of The Last of Usm fans found themselves very attached to Joel and Ellie and their growing bond throughout the story. When The Last of Us 2 came around, five years had passed since the ending of the first part, and while the game had a few flashbacks to fill players in on what they'd missed, there were still plenty of developments that were never shown.

Joel developed as a character immensely during the first game, going from a ruthless survivor to a protective father figure. While Joel doesn’t feature as much in the second game due to his premature death, The Last of Us Part 2 shows that Joel continued to change as a person during the five years in between games.

RELATED: Exploring Joel's Fate in The Last of Us 2

A Father Figure

ellie and joel hug

One of the most important changes Joel makes during his journey in the first The Last of Us is his re-connection to his role as a father. After the death of his daughter Sarah in the prologue of the first game, Joel chose to put up walls and distance himself from making any emotional connections to others. At first, Ellie was just a job that would get him the guns he needed, but after the two bonded during a year of traveling across the U.S., Joel started to act as a parent towards Ellie. This led to his most controversial decision in The Last of Us: killing anyone to protect her.

Joel really settles into his father figure role in the time between games. The Last of Us Part 2 provides a wholesome flashback where Joel surprises Ellie on her birthday by taking her to an abandoned museum. He even goes to extreme lengths to find a cassette recording of the space shuttle launch so that Ellie can simulate her dreams of being an astronaut.

As Joel becomes more attached to Ellie, his over-protective nature doesn't go away. When Ellie goes missing after finding the Firefly tapes at the hospital, Joel rides as fast as he can to find her and make sure she is safe. Even when Joel and Ellie have fallen out after she learns the truth about her immunity, he still instinctively protects her. When Seth verbally abused Ellie and Dina for kissing at the dance, Joel immediately jumped in to protect her, ready to fight Seth if necessary.

Joel also followed through on his promise of teaching Ellie how to play guitar, building her a custom Taylor in his workshop. Joel and Ellie’s shared love of music becomes a theme throughout The Last of Us Part 2, particularly with Joel's rendition of 'Future Days'. To top off Joel's transition to father figure, he even tells a few terrible Dad jokes: “What is the downside to eating a clock? It’s time-consuming.

Trust and Honesty

Last of us part 2 ellie and joel talking

Joel’s openness and honesty with Ellie in The Last of Us Part 2 is one of the biggest changes that can be seen in his character. During the first game, any mention of his daughter Sarah would cause Joel to shut down. But in The Last of Us 2, Joel discusses Sarah freely with Ellie, even reminiscing with her about how much Sarah loved visiting museums.

Although it took an ultimatum for Joel to admit to Ellie the truth about her immunity, he proved later on that he had learned somewhat from his mistake. When Ellie confronts Joel on his porch towards the end of the game, Joel is honest with her and says he would still choose to save her life if he had to do it again. This show of honesty led to Ellie's attempts to forgive Joel, which re-establishes just how much trust the two share.

Joel’s level of comfortability extends to his relationship with his brother Tommy. For the majority of the first Last of Us, Joel and Tommy had a rift between them due to Tommy leaving Joel to join the Fireflies. By the time The Last of Us 2 picks up, Joel and Tommy’s brotherly bond has been well re-established. They often patrol together and Joel even trusts Tommy with his most closely guarded secret - that he killed the Fireflies to save Ellie.

Some fans even think that Joel became too trusting in The Last of Us 2 as he didn’t hesitate to trust Abby, a complete stranger to him. Joel couldn't have known that Abby's group had come to Jackson to kill him, but for someone who spent years as a hardened survivor, Joel's lack of wariness resulted in his death. However, it's hard to say that Joel would have had the renewed relationship with his brotherhood and the emotional connection to Ellie had he not underwent these changes.

RELATED: The Last of Us 2: Joel And Ellie's Relationship Explained

Joel Settles Down

joel singing to ellie pearl jam

There is an entire gameplay segment during The Last of Us 2 that involves Ellie looking around Joel’s house in Jackson. There are tiny details all around the house that prove just how much Joel has become settled in Jackson County. He starts a wood shop which provides supplies to all the residents of Jackson, and his regular patrol schedule shows his commitment to keeping his new home safe from threats.

This is a long way from the Joel players first meet in The Last of Us who lived his life as a smuggler in Boston and was always on the move without making any personal connections. It was clear in the first game that Joel purposely kept everyone at arm's length in order to avoid another Sarah situation, including his smuggling partner Tess. But creative director of The Last of Us 2, Neil Druckmann, has revealed that in early iterations of game's story, Joel even had a girlfriend in Jackson, which proves just how willing Joel was to settle down.

Because players can see firsthand all of the ways Joel has changed since The Last of Us, it makes his death all the more difficult to process. From beginning to end Joel went from being a hardened smuggler in Boston to a devoted father figure, all thanks to his relationship with Ellie. Joel's time in Jackson and his relationship with Ellie helps Joel to become human again, leaving behind his ruthless survivor days.

It remains to be seen if any more of Joel’s timeline between games will be filled in, but with a The Last of Us TV show in development, there’s a good chance Joel’s story isn’t over.

The Last of Us 2 is available now on PS4.

MORE: The Last of Us 2: 10 Important Things You Didn't Know About Joel