So, you’ve reached the end—or you’re about to—and the tension is basically vibrating off the screen. It’s the question that launched a thousand Reddit threads and caused some of the most heated debates in gaming history: Does Ellie kill Abby in the game?
Honestly, if you were expecting a simple "yes" or "no" to satisfy the bloodlust the game spends 20+ hours building up, the answer is going to hit you like a brick. No. She doesn't. Ellie does not kill Abby at the end of The Last of Us Part II.
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But man, she gets close. Like, "fingers-lost-and-lungs-filling-with-saltwater" close.
The Brutal Shore of Santa Barbara
By the time we get to the final confrontation in Santa Barbara, both of these women are absolute husks of themselves. Abby has been through hell, literally. She was captured by a group called the Rattlers, tortured, and left to rot on a wooden pillar in the sun. When Ellie finds her, Abby isn't the "Swole" powerhouse who could bench press a Bloater. She’s emaciated, her hair is gone, and she’s just trying to save a kid named Lev.
Ellie, on the other hand, is arguably in a worse spot mentally. She left a perfectly good life—a farm, a sunset, a girlfriend who loved her, and a baby—just to finish this. She’s driven by a level of PTSD that basically makes it feel like she has to do this to breathe again.
Why the fight even happens
What’s wild is that Abby doesn't even want to fight. She just wants to get Lev to a boat and get the heck out of there. But Ellie? She can't let it go. She threatens to kill a literal child (Lev) just to force Abby into a knife fight in the surf.
It’s a nasty, clumsy, desperate scuffle. It’s not a cool "boss fight." It’s two people who have lost everything just tearing pieces out of each other. In the middle of it, Abby actually bites off two of Ellie’s fingers.
The Moment Everything Changed
So, Ellie gets the upper hand. She’s got Abby underwater, drowning her. This is it. This is what the player has been "working toward" for dozens of hours. But then, a flash.
It’s not a flash of Joel getting hit with a golf club. It’s not the blood or the screaming. It’s a memory of Joel sitting on his porch, playing a guitar, looking at peace.
That one image makes Ellie realize that killing Abby won't fix the hole in her heart. She lets go. She literally just sits there in the water and tells Abby to "Just take him."
Why Most People Get the Ending Wrong
People often scream about how "Ellie killed hundreds of people to get to Abby, so why stop now?"
It’s a fair point. Kinda. But it misses the actual emotional arc. Ellie wasn't really hunting Abby by the end; she was hunting for a way to stop the nightmares. She thought Abby’s death was the key to the lock. When she finally had her hands around Abby's throat, she realized the key didn't fit.
- The Cycle of Violence: If Ellie kills Abby, she leaves Lev to die or to become the next "Ellie," coming for her in five years. Sparing Abby is the only way to actually break the loop.
- The Forgiveness Factor: That final flashback we see later reveals Ellie told Joel she’d "like to try" to forgive him for what he did at the hospital in the first game. Sparing Abby is her first real step toward that forgiveness.
- Loss of Self: By the time she returns to the farm, Ellie has lost the ability to play Joel’s guitar because of her missing fingers. She lost her family. She lost her "purpose."
What This Means for the Future
A lot of fans were genuinely pissed. They wanted the "catharsis" of seeing the antagonist die. But The Last of Us has never been about giving you what feels good; it’s about what feels real in a world that’s gone to rot.
If you're looking for closure, it’s not in a grave. It’s in the fact that Abby and Lev actually made it to the Fireflies (confirmed by the new title screen you get after beating the game). They found hope.
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As for Ellie? She’s a blank slate now. She left Joel’s guitar behind, which is basically a massive metaphorical way of saying she’s finally stopped carrying his ghost around. She’s walking off into the woods, alone, but finally free of the weight of Santa Barbara.
Next time you play, watch the way Ellie looks at her hands in the final scene. It’s not just regret; it’s the realization that the cost of revenge is always higher than the price of walking away.
To really get the full weight of the story, you should probably look back at the conversation on the porch one more time—it recontextualizes every single kill Ellie made across Seattle. Even the ones that felt "justified" at the time.
Actionable Insights for Players:
- Check the Title Screen: Once you finish, notice the boat on the beach change to a boat at a different location (Catalina Island). That’s your proof that Abby survived and found the Fireflies.
- Re-read the Journal: Ellie’s journal entries in the final chapter show her mental state deteriorating. It’s the best way to understand her "why" before the final beach scene.
- Pay Attention to the Fingers: The loss of her pinky and ring finger means she can no longer play the chords Joel taught her, signifying a permanent break from her past life.
Stop looking for a "good" or "bad" ending. This was just an ending. A messy, human, heartbreaking ending that left both characters alive but forever changed.