Joel's death wasn't an issue. It's how it was done. It was the laziest solution to getting rid of a male lead so we can focus on wahmen kissing wahmen. Which they really don't shut up about. Yes Ellie kisses girls PLEASE stop mentioning it every 10-15 minutes. Then forcing you to play a character you don't care about at all... Why? There is no insentive. Get her killed and technically you've done what Ellie set out to do...
So much potential wasted on pointless decisions.