All that remains is what belongs to Ellie, including the guitar Joel gave her. Naughty Dog's sequel doesn't wrap everything up in a tidy bow. Below, we're going to hit all the key parts leading up to the end, and then explain what we think the ending means. She tries to sneak off in the night but Dina catches her and pleads for her to stay. And that's when The Last of Us Part 2 flips the script. But perhaps, as she grows into her place in Jackson (and specifically finds the beginnings of a future with Dina), she's starting to let go of her former purpose and identity and adopt a new one. Terms of Use and This fan theory began gaining traction online on June 5, and it claims that Naughty Dog left out a large chunk of time between when Ellie left Santa Barbara and when she returned to the farmhouse that she and Dina had been living. They're a family. We just didnât see it. Read at your own discretion. She may also have seen a glimpse of her old relationship with Joel in the bond between Abby and Lev. And Ellie's time in Seattle is riveting. A one-stop shop for all things video games. Ellie is overcome with emotion at Joel's decision and it causes a huge rift between the two. There are heavy, heavy spoilers about the main plot of The Last of Us Part 2, and this is not a story you want to experience second-hand. When Ellie goes to get a stray sheep in the barn, the little critter knocks over a shovel, and the clang instantly sends some terrible thoughts rushing back to her head. Like Abby before, Ellie lets her enemy go. Ellie, however, manages to get the upper hand, and is in a position to drown Abby. In the final moments, Ellie returns to Dina's farmhouse, but finds she and JJ are gone, along with all of their possessions. Tommy talks her out of it, asking her to wait a day for him to talk to his wife, Maria, and make sure Jackson is still protected while they're gone. Of course, that's one interpretation of the ending of The Last of Us Part 2. Let this be a warning: This is probably not something you should read if you haven't beaten the game and want to play it at some point in the future. The Last of Us Part 2 is finally out, and it's just as heartwrenching as the original. The Last of Us Part 2 then hands the story to Abby, who the player controls. Ellie and Abby battle back and forth for quite a while, both weak and tired. Tommy was spared, as well. Or we could see more of her journey out to California in a DLC. Ellie tries to play the guitar for comfort, but she can't, since Abby maimed Ellie's hand during their final fight. Jesse ends up joining Ellie for part of the mission but eventually breaks off to find Tommy who is seemingly nearby. She knew if she ever saw Joel, she would kill him. Abby breaks in, pulls a gun on Tommy, and has him captive when Ellie and Jesse burst through the door. Ellie agrees to wait, only to discover the next day that Tommy left without her, presumably to keep her out of danger. At this point, we see the final flashback between Ellie and Joel from the night before his death. The two help a girl named Abby escape some infected, and Abby offers to take them back to the lodge her and her group are staying in. But Ellie can't shake visions of Joel or the trauma she still carries. The Last of Us Part 2 is available now exclusively for PS4. In fact, when she goes to check on one friend who's gone AWOL, she's captured by another faction in the game — the Seraphites — and is nearly executed. She made being immune and potentially helping others a big part of her identity. She tries to play the guitar but her missing fingers prevent her from plucking perfect notes. Abby eventually gains the upper hand and viciously beats Ellie before Dina intervenes. It takes place on Joel's porch as he and Ellie talk. Why did Ellie let Abby live? The one key detail that has made fans believe this rumor is the bracelet Dina gave Ellie. It's also assumed that Ellie never knew about what happened in Salt Lake City, and therefore doesn't know what Joel did to the Fireflies or why Abby and her friends would be after him. She fights her way through the Rattlers before finding Abby and Lev hanging on the beach. If you're a little bewildered about how the story played out, or you're the kind of person who always flips to the last page of a novel, here's what happened at the end of TLOU 2 and where the series could possibly go from here. She rushes in to try and help, but is disarmed. This causes her to let up. Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss. What do the Fireflies plan to do now that they are over 200 people strong? The implication in the final flashback is that being immune gave Ellie purpose. The final flashback gives us more insight into what's going on with Ellie. It's here that the song makes it past the "If I ever were to lose you" part and finally hits "I'd surely lose myself." Abby's journey is a little different but it attempts to humanize the character beyond a basic villain. Let us know what you think Naughty Dog wants us to take away from Ellie's journey and its aftermath in the comments below. Abby wins the fight, but is attacked by Dina before she has a chance to kill Ellie. Revealing which people know what information and at what time changes a lot about how players see and interpret the story and characters throughout The Last of Us Part 2. But while developer Naughty Dog could have easily played it safe with this sequel, the studio instead tried to deliver something even more challenging than its predecessor. Even if you don't read the note, it makes sense that Dina would return to Jackson with baby JJ rather than try to live along at the isolated farmhouse, especially when she had family back in Jackson. It's likely that Ellie saw a bit of herself in Abby, someone driven to horrific violence to protect her found family. In the final moments, though, Ellie doesn't kill Abby. Ellie even seems to have taken up art, as one room in the house is full of her drawings. Ultimately, Ellie's lust for revenge leads her to lose that family, and a few fingers, which means she can no longer play the guitar, one of the few connections she still had to Joel. She has a crew of friends, who she is far more loyal to than the Washington Liberation Front they're all members of. At first, we think she's purely looking to avenge her surrogate father, about whom she cared deeply. If Ellie was willing to forgive Joel, perhaps Dina will be willing to forgive Ellie. Before you know it, Ellie is back to her old ways again. Some people love it. Nowhere does that become more apparent than when Ellie reaches the Seattle aquarium where Abby is supposed to be hiding out but instead finds Abby's ex-boyfriend Owen and his girlfriend, Mel. She nearly kills Ellie and Dina, but is stopped by Lev before she can. It also gives players a closer look at Abby herself. Instead of showing the boat floating in fog as we see it in Santa Barbara, we see it on a brighter shore with the Catalina Casino visible in the distance. Yes, Ellie cared deeply for Joel, in spite of her anger for him, but that's only part of what's going on with her. And that flashback seems to suggest that Ellie's obsession with revenge might not even be about Joel so much. She watched Yara get gunned down by the WLF. But Ellie has become so obsessed with finding and killing Abby that she loses sight of almost everything else. Gone are the decorations. It's not clear where she's headed, but it's very clear what she's leaving behind. Gone are Dina and the baby, and all of their things. Just like that, the main character of The Last of Us is gone. Since that time, Abby had been training and preparing. They’ve surely done horrible things, but by the end of The Last of Us Part 2, they’ve found closure. In the years following, she seems somewhat listless and despondent. An embittered Tommy convinces Ellie to track down Abby once and for all in Santa Barbara. Ellie finds and saves the pair, with Abby guiding her to nearby boats where they can escape--one of which is the boat we've been seeing on the main menu screen this whole time. Ellie finds at the farmhouse that she's haunted by all that unresolved trauma. Now, let's get to it. She has a run-in with some Rattlers and is badly wounded. With an upcoming HBO series and Neil Druckmann revealing that he's considering a The Last of Us Part 3, there is potential for the story to continue. © 2020 GAMESPOT, A RED VENTURES COMPANY. And wow, does that other perspective help paint a very different picture of what's happening in the game. And while you're here, check out our review of The Last of Us Part 2, spoilers and all. The Last of Us Part II is now available on PlayStation 4. But the shot also replaces the darkened image of the boat immersed in fog in Santa Barbara, and in the background, you can see storm clouds clearing away. Then she has a memory of Joel playing his guitar on his porch. Trying to find a way to deal with both costs Ellie literally everything. Abby has a favorite dog at the kennel. Many believed — based on Naughty Dog's few reveals — that Ellie's latest outing would have her either rescuing or perhaps avenging her romantic interest, Dina. Ellie, on the other hand, was someone whose death could have helped others. Ellie and Dina — her now-girlfriend — head to Seattle to find Tommy and, more importantly, to find Abby. Through her playable actions, Naughty Dog shows that there are similarities between Abby and Ellie and she is equally as conflicted about her decisions.