It was the splash heard 'round the gaming world. That final, agonizing struggle in the shallow, gray waters of Santa Barbara wasn't just a boss fight; it was a literal breaking point for the medium of digital storytelling. When Naughty Dog released the game in 2020, the internet didn't just discuss it—it exploded. People were angry. They were sobbing. Some felt betrayed. Honestly, even years later, the Last of Us 2 game ending remains one of the most polarizing sequences in entertainment history. It’s not a "happily ever after." It’s a "how do I live with myself now?" kind of moment.
Ellie lets her go.
That’s the core of it. After trekking across a devastated California, losing fingers, and bleeding out in the sand, Ellie Cottle—the girl we've watched grow from a foul-mouthed kid into a killing machine—decides not to drown Abby Anderson. It felt like a slap in the face to players who spent thirty hours fueling their own desire for revenge. But if you look closer at the narrative crumbs Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross left behind, the ending isn't about forgiveness. It’s about the exhausting, soul-crushing realization that killing Abby wouldn't bring Joel back or fix the hole in Ellie’s chest.
The Beach at Santa Barbara and the Cost of Obsession
The final act is brutal. Ellie leaves a literal paradise—the farm with Dina and baby JJ—because her PTSD won't let her sleep. She’s seeing Joel’s blood on the floor every time she closes her eyes. She thinks killing the person responsible is the only way to "fix" her brain. It’s a classic tragic flaw.
When she finally finds Abby, the "monster" from the start of the game is unrecognizable. Abby has been crucified, essentially, by the Rattlers. She’s emaciated, her iconic muscles are gone, and she’s only focused on saving Lev. This isn't the formidable warrior who swung the golf club. This is a person who has already been through her own version of hell.
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The fight is pathetic. Not "bad" pathetic, but "deeply sad" pathetic. Two broken women hacking at each other in the surf. When Ellie has Abby under the water, she gets a flash—a memory of Joel. But it’s not his mangled face. It’s him on the porch, playing guitar. That’s the moment the Last of Us 2 game ending shifts from a revenge flick to a character study. She realizes that her connection to Joel is being poisoned by this cycle. If she kills Abby, she loses the last shred of the humanity Joel died to protect.
What happened to the fingers?
Let’s talk about the physical cost. Ellie loses two fingers to Abby’s teeth. It seems like a minor detail in a game where people get their heads blown off, but it’s the most significant injury in the game. Why? Because Ellie can no longer play the guitar properly.
The guitar was her last tether to Joel. Every time she played it, she was talking to him. By the time she returns to the empty farmhouse, she tries to play "Future Days" by Pearl Jam. It’s discordant. It’s messy. She literally cannot finish the song. She has sacrificed her ability to connect with Joel’s memory in order to pursue the person who killed him. It’s a poetic, if incredibly cruel, irony.
Understanding why the Last of Us 2 game ending split the fanbase
Most people hated it because they felt it "invalidated" their journey. If I’m not going to kill the bad guy, why did I just spend 25 hours murdering hundreds of WLF soldiers and Seraphites?
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- The Abby Perspective Shift: Halfway through, the game forces you to play as Abby. This was a massive gamble. Naughty Dog wanted you to see that Ellie was the villain in someone else’s story.
- Joel’s Legacy: Many players felt the game disrespected Joel. However, the ending argues that honoring Joel means living, not just killing.
- The Lack of Catharsis: We are conditioned by movies to expect a "win." This game offers a "loss-loss" scenario.
Gaming critics like Gene Park of the Washington Post have noted that the game’s brilliance lies in its discomfort. It forces you to sit with the consequences of violence rather than just enjoying the adrenaline of it. It’s meant to feel bad. If you felt gross during that final fight, the developers succeeded.
The Farmhouse and the "Missing" Ending
A lot of fans missed a huge detail in the final scene. When Ellie walks away from the farmhouse into the woods, she’s wearing a bracelet. It’s the one Dina gave her. When Ellie left the farm earlier in the game to find Abby, she wasn't wearing it.
There’s a very strong theory, supported by the way Ellie is dressed and the lack of fresh wounds, that she had actually already returned to Jackson and reunited with Dina before coming back to the farmhouse to get her things. She’s not wandering off to die. She’s putting the past to rest. She leaves the guitar behind because she doesn't need the physical object to remember Joel anymore. She’s finally "found the light," as the Fireflies would say.
Was it actually about the Fireflies?
Throughout the game, we see Abby looking for the reformed Fireflies at 2425 Constance. The ending confirms they are real. The radio contact she makes wasn't a trick by the Rattlers; the Fireflies are regrouping at Catalina Island. This gives the Last of Us 2 game ending a glimmer of hope.
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Abby and Lev make it. The title screen changes after you beat the game to show a boat on a foggy shore near a large building. That building is the Avalon Casino on Catalina Island. They found their people. In a weird way, Abby gets the "good" ending while Ellie is left to rebuild from zero. It’s a bitter pill for fans of the first game, but it fits the brutal world Naughty Dog built.
The Nuance of Forgiveness vs. Exhaustion
Is it forgiveness? Probably not. It’s more like Ellie finally realized that killing Abby wouldn't make the flashbacks stop. It’s a moment of clarity born from sheer, total exhaustion. You can only carry that much hate for so long before it collapses under its own weight.
Moving forward after the credits roll
If you've just finished the game and feel like you need a shower and a hug, you aren't alone. The narrative is designed to be a gauntlet. To truly process what happened, you should look into the "Ground Truth" documentary released by Naughty Dog, which details the grueling creative process behind these choices.
- Re-watch the porch scene: It’s the most important scene in the game. It recontextualizes Ellie's anger. She wasn't just mad that Joel died; she was mad that he was taken away just as she was starting to forgive him for the hospital incident in the first game.
- Check Ellie’s Journal: Throughout the Santa Barbara chapter, Ellie writes and draws. Her entries show a descent into madness and a slow clawing back toward sanity.
- Analyze the title screen: Notice the change. The boat on the beach is the proof that Abby and Lev survived and reached the Fireflies.
The story of the Last of Us 2 game ending isn't about who won or who lost. It’s about the fact that revenge is a cycle that only ends when someone chooses to let go of the rope. Ellie let go. It cost her everything—her fingers, her home, her relationship—but she saved her soul.
To dig deeper into the lore, compare the game's finale to the HBO series' pacing, as the upcoming seasons are expected to adapt these exact events. Pay close attention to how the show handles the "Abby half" of the story, as that will likely be the most debated television event of the decade.