Spoilers from The Last of Us games may point to what will happen to Young Mazino's Jesse in The Last of Us Season 2. Jesse was first introduced in the second season of the hit HBO drama as the on-again-off-again boyfriend of Isabela Meced's Dina and a fellow member of the Jackson Hole community that Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) belong to.
Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us has proven that no one is safe, which has left fans wondering what will become of Jesse and whether the 'built like an ox' survivor will die at some point over the course of the season. Thankfully, fans can look to the events of the games the show is based on to potentially predict the fate of this new Season 2 character.
Does Jesse Die In Last of Us 2? Here's What Happens to Him
After the shocking death of Pedro Pascal's Joel Miller to kick off The Last of Us Season 2 (read more about why Joel had to die in The Last of Us here), the fate of nearly every one of the show's main characters has come into question, including the handsome and headstrong Jesse.
Jesse (played by Young Mazino) debuted as one of the new additions to the Season 2 cast, being one of the community leaders in Jackson Hole—the small community Joel and Ellie join at the end of the first season.
In The Last of Us Part II video game (on which Season 2 of the hit HBO series is based), Jesse plays a key role, serving as a voice of reason for some of Ellie and her new friend Dina's more hair-brained schemes.
While in the series, it may look like Jesse's story is over, as Ellie and Dina left Jackson behind in pursuit of Abby and her Seattle-based crew, who murdered Joel. However, that is not necessarily the case.
Even though Ellie and Dina are now hundreds of miles away from Jackson, Jesse still manages to play a significant role in The Last of Us story from this point on.
In fact, it likely will not be long in the series before he is back in Ellie and Dina's lives as he, too, makes his way to the Emerald City. That is right, in the games, after discovering that Ellie and Dina have flown the coop, he chases after them, crossing paths with the pair one day after they arrive on the West Coast.
Jesse's return comes, conveniently, moments after it is revealed to Ellie that Dina is secretly pregnant (something The Last of Us TV series seems to be hinting at), and it is Jesse's kid.
While Dina has seemingly left Jesse in the rear-view, having turned over her heart to Ellie at this point in the story, that does not make Jesse's return any less conflicting for both Ellie and Dina.
If anything, his coming to Seattle gives Ellie a new partner to venture through the flooded city with after she tells Dina (now that she knows she is pregnant) that she cannot risk the baby by coming with her.
Jesse's story does not last long, though. As Ellie hunts down and kills various people associated with Abby across the city, the former Firefly takes notice. This sends her on a warpath back to Ellie.
All of this culminates in a confrontation between the two in the theater where Ellie, Dina, and Jesse had hunkered down.
After Joel's brother Tommy also comes back into the narrative, trying to help Ellie track down Joel's killers, the four Jackson residents lock themselves in this Seattle safehouse, thinking nothing can harm them from within its walls.
That all comes crashing down, though, as Abby tracks Ellie back to the theater. During a heart-to-heart with Jesse about everything that has gone on to that point in the story, Ellie and Jesse hear a commotion in the theater lobby.
They both run through the doors, and before Ellie can even understand what is going on, Jesse is shot square in the head by Abby, killing him on the spot.
Abby also takes Tommy hostage, telling Ellie that she gave her a chance to live and that she wasted it. She eventually lets them all go, and the story picks up several months later with Jesse's baby, JJ, now born and being raised by Ellie and Dina in Jackson.
Will Jesse Die In Last of Us Season 2?
Thus far, in adapting The Last of Us video games, the HBO Last of Us TV series has remained faithful to the source material. While it has made changes (some quite sizable) here and there, ultimately, it has managed to hit every main story beat from the games so far.
That means that Jesse fans should not get too attached to the TV version of the character, as he, too, is likely not long for this world. It is just a matter of time before his death happens in Season 2 or the already-announced Season 3.
Based on the pace of Season 2 so far, it seems likely that Jesse's death will end up closing out the show's second season, with Abby and Ellie's first confrontation in the theater being the season's final action scene.
This would then set up the timeline break fans see in the games for Season 3, jumping back in time and following Abby's perspective of the three days that Ellie and Dina were in Seattle, leading once again back to Jesse's death in the downtown theater.
The Last of Us Season 2 picks up the franchise's post-apocalyptic story five years after the events of Season 1. It sees Bella Ramsey's teenage survivor, Ellie, sent on a hate-fuelled revenge quest after a group of new characters, led by the dangerous Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), takes something that Ellie is never going to get back.
The series, yet again, is showrunner by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and with the help of The Last of Us video game director Neil Druckmann, and stars Ramsey alongside A-list talents like Isabela Merced, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O'Hara, and Gabriel Luna.
