The flashbacks we get to Abby’s past are eerily similar to those we get of Ellie’s, and to her own story in the first game. Indeed, as you spend half the game’s length playing as Abby, The Last of Us Part II repeatedly argues that Abby and Ellie are two sides of the same coin. In a few minutes, the game re-contextualizes the “villain” to make them not that different from the “hero.”Ībby, as seen in The Last of Us Part II. One of the doctors was Abby’s father, as you learn when the game has you replay a flashback to Abby’s childhood. The original ended with Joel killing the doctors that could develop a cure to the infection that’s turning people into zombies, but one that would cost Ellie’s life. Turns out, Abby killing Joel is a direct consequence of the events of the first Last of Us game. It cuts to black, and then goes back in time to show you the events of the game from Abby’s perspective. But when Ellie finally finds and confronts Abby, the game pulls the biggest ace from under its sleeve. We experience Ellie’s pain and loss through her eyes, so we feel the anger she aims at Abby. Like any revenge story, it doesn’t matter how much violence and death Ellie leaves behind, we still sympathize with Ellie because we spent the entire first game getting to know both her and Joel. This horrific act of violence leads Joel’s surrogate daughter, Ellie, to torture and murder her way across Seattle, hunting down those involved in Joel’s death to find Abby. Within the first couple of hours of the game we see Joel, the protagonist of the first game, getting beat to a pulp and then killed by a woman named Abby. This is the point of no return if you haven’t yet played The Last of Us Part II. note: OK, seriously, spoilers are coming. Pick up my sci-fi novels Herokiller and Herokiller 2, and read my first series, The Earthborn Trilogy, which is also on audiobook. Still, cool to see the thought process here.įollow me on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. And the game is better for it, though that will be debated until The Last of Us Part 3 in 2025, I’m guessing. Ellie not killing her prevents her from becoming a true monster in my eyes and starting on the road to healing, and it felt like the right decision.Īnd yet of course many wished that this was simply more of a traditional revenge tale and Ellie killed Abby as “justice” for Joel. At that point, Abby has suffered unbelievably for months at the hands of the California gang, her friends are already dead and now she has a surrogate son/little brother to take care of. I have repeatedly said that my own personal view is that the ending is perfect, and that it would have been a way worse finish had Ellie actually killed Abby. The theme what we're trying to say shifted a little bit, but our top priority always is are we being honest to the character? There's certain things we are trying to hit but they can only work if we're consistent with the character we're writing." "But at the end of the day, it felt more honest for the character. "Letting Abby live felt wrong thematically initially," Druckmann said. So, who made the call? That was game director Neil Druckmann who apparently “shocked” Gross with the reversal, the idea that Ellie should let her live: