The Last of Us Season 2 has already shattered hearts into a million little pieces, but it’s those tiny, tender moments that hit the hardest.
In Episode 3, just before Ellie and Dina set off on their vengeance-fueled journey, Ellie leaves something small but deeply meaningful at Joel’s grave: a handful of coffee beans.
It’s a quiet, beautiful gesture – and it says more than words ever could. Here’s what it means.
What Made Coffee So Special to Joel in The Last of Us?
To understand Ellie’s choice, you have to know Joel like she did. Before the world collapsed under the weight of the Cordyceps outbreak, Joel was just another guy with simple joys: action movies, music, and a serious love affair with coffee.
Remember that early glimpse of Joel’s old life back in Season 1? Coffee wasn’t just a beverage to him – it was a ritual, a reminder of normalcy in a world that had lost all sense of it.
After the apocalypse, coffee became rare, practically treasure, and Joel never stopped chasing after it. He even bartered valuable supplies just to get his hands on some beans.
That devotion to something so basic and human made Joel feel real – and made Ellie’s tribute even more heartbreaking.
How Does Ellie’s Gesture Reflect Their Complicated Relationship?
Ellie and Joel’s bond wasn’t always easy. The five years between Seasons 1 and 2 saw layers of tension, regret, love, and unspoken truths build between them. Still, no matter how messy it got, Joel was Ellie’s anchor.
Her adoptive father, her protector, her stubborn, coffee-loving safe place. Leaving the coffee beans at his grave was Ellie’s way of saying everything she couldn’t say aloud. She didn’t just love Joel; she knew him.
His quirks, his cravings, his stubbornness – it all mattered. And despite the bitterness she sometimes felt (and the bitterness she joked about when tasting coffee), she chose to remember the sweet parts. She chose to honor what made him him.
Was Joel’s Coffee Addiction More Than Just a Running Gag?
Oh, absolutely. Joel’s obsession with coffee wasn’t just there for comic relief (although Sarah and Ellie’s endless teasing was hilarious). It became a symbol. In the games and the show, coffee stood for Joel’s refusal to let go of his humanity.
It was a thread connecting him to a world that once made sense. Even when everything around him crumbled, Joel clung to small joys – coffee being one of the most important.
Trading hard-earned supplies for a bag of beans might seem ridiculous to some survivors, but for Joel, it was an act of defiance against despair.
That made his love for coffee almost sacred. It made Ellie’s tribute at his grave feel like a holy offering, a way of keeping his memory alive as she stepped into the darkness to seek justice.
How Did This Moment Set the Tone for Ellie’s Journey in Season 2?
When Ellie dropped those beans on Joel’s grave, it wasn’t just a goodbye. It was a promise. A quiet vow that she would carry his memory with her into whatever hell awaited them in Seattle.
That tiny, bittersweet moment outside Jackson set the emotional tone for everything that followed. Ellie’s not fighting just for revenge – she’s fighting to preserve the part of her that Joel nurtured.
The part that believes in loyalty, in love, in honoring the ones who matter. It’s a small moment, almost easy to miss, but it’s the heartbeat of the story.
By choosing to remember Joel’s love for something as humble as coffee, Ellie anchors herself to hope. In a world where cruelty often reigns supreme, that simple handful of beans says: You mattered. You still matter. I will remember you.
Final Thoughts: A Bittersweet Cup of Memories
Ellie’s act of leaving coffee beans on Joel’s grave isn’t just a nod to a long-running joke; it’s a soul-crushing farewell wrapped in love and bittersweet memories.
It’s proof that even in a broken world, humanity clings to the small things that make life worth living. As Ellie and Dina head into the wild unknown, it’s those small acts of love that will keep their hearts from hardening completely.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s what Joel would have wanted all along.
About The Last of Us 2
The second season of The Last of Us, premiering on HBO on April 13, 2025, continues the post-apocalyptic story based on Naughty Dog’s video game franchise.
Set five years after the first season, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) now live in Jackson, Wyoming, alongside Tommy (Gabriel Luna), Dina (Isabela Merced), and Jesse (Young Mazino).
Renewed shortly after its January 2023 debut, the season adapts The Last of Us Part II, with co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann joined by writers Halley Gross and Bo Shim. Filmed in British Columbia (February–August 2024), the seven-episode season features directing by Druckmann, Mazin, Peter Hoar, Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams. Gustavo Santaolalla returns as composer.
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