Will The Last of Us Season 2 explain the significance of Ellie leaving coffee beans on Joel's grave? Speculation explored

The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 3, "The Path", was more of a calm episode. Except for a dead one in the opening frame, viewers did not see any infected people this week. After the opening credits, the episode jumps three months after Joel's death. In this episode, Ellie begins her quest for revenge after being denied permission to avenge Joel's death.

She leaves Jackson behind to head for Seattle, and on her way, she visits Joel's grave as she promised Tommy she would earlier in the episode. Ellie kneels at Joel's grave and, surprisingly, places some coffee beans on it. This moment had some viewers confused about the significance of the coffee bean and whether this moment will be explained in a future The Last of Us Season 2 episode.

The simple answer is no. Ellie placing coffee beans was just a simple homage and a parting gift.

Turns out the coffee beans from The Last of Us Season 2 function as an homage to Joel's favorite beverage:

Ellie leaving coffee beans on Joel's grave is just a touching tribute, nothing more. But this is why this The Last of Us Season 2 moment was particularly touching, because it serves as a callback to the last time we saw Joel with coffee in the show, the fourth episode of the first season, "Please Hold to My Hand". In that episode, Ellie and Joel have a rather amusing conversation in which Ellie doesn't seem to understand the appeal of coffee.

In the show's timeline, that happened five years ago, and it is unknown if Ellie's feelings towards coffee changed or not. Regardless of her feelings, it was touching to see Joel's adopted daughter place the source of his favorite beverage on his grave. This little moment might also be the last time we, as viewers, might find Ellie to be likable, as she will surely commit some morally questionable actions in the upcoming episodes of The Last of Us Season 2.

Ellie is going to kill all of Abby's friends in the upcoming episodes of The Last of Us Season 2:

The Last of Us Season 2 will be adapting the second entry in the video game franchise, The Last of Us Part II, which was released back in 2020. Much like in the HBO series, Joel is killed by Abby and her crew very early in the game. In revenge, Ellie kills all of Abby's friends, including Mel, who is pregnant at the time of her death.

Thus, if the series is going to follow the game, it will be exploring Ellie's dark side, ultimately driving home the point that real life is more morally gray. The Last of Us Season 2 co-showrunner Craig Mazin said this in The Hollywood Reporter interview published on April 22, 2025:

“The point of this story is that the entire concept of protagonist is flawed. The entire concept of villain is flawed. Our way of processing the world through heroes and villains is a mistake. It ends up creating these barriers between people that shouldn’t be there.”

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As of now, three episodes of The Last of Us Season 2 are available to stream on Max, with the fourth episode set to release on May 4, 2025.

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