It’s been years. Yet, if you bring up the ending of The Last of Us Part II at a bar or in a Discord server, the room still gets weirdly tense. People don't just "like" or "dislike" this game. They carry it. For many, the experience of reaching the last of last narrative beats in Naughty Dog's polarizing sequel felt less like finishing a video game and more like surviving a car wreck. You’re glad it’s over, but you can’t stop looking at the debris.
Neil Druckmann and the team at Naughty Dog didn’t set out to make people happy. Honestly, that’s the first thing you have to understand. They set out to make people feel the weight of a cycle that doesn't want to end. When we talk about the last of last moments—the final confrontation on the beach in Santa Barbara—we aren't just talking about a boss fight. We’re talking about the systematic deconstruction of a hero.
What Actually Happens at the End of The Last of Us Part II?
Let's skip the fluff. By the time Ellie reaches Santa Barbara, she’s a ghost. She has a happy life with Dina and JJ on the farm. She has the sunset. She has the sheep. But she doesn't have peace. This is the "last of last" chance for her to find some version of closure, even if it’s a toxic, bloody version of it.
The final fight isn't grand. It’s pathetic.
Abby is emaciated, tied to a pillar, her strength stripped away by the Rattlers. Ellie is bleeding out from a side wound. They are two shadows of people slapping at each other in knee-deep water. When Ellie finally gets her hands around Abby’s throat, and we see that flash of Joel playing the guitar—that’s the pivot.
People argue about why she let go. Some say it was forgiveness. I don’t think so. It was exhaustion. It was the realization that killing this broken woman wouldn’t bring back the man who taught her how to play those chords. It’s the last of last shred of her humanity winning a tug-of-war against a mountain of trauma.
The Guitar and the Cost of Revenge
When Ellie returns to the farmhouse, it’s empty. Dina is gone. The house is stripped. Ellie picks up Joel’s guitar, but there’s a problem. She lost two fingers in the fight with Abby.
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She literally cannot play the song Joel taught her.
This is the most brutal metaphor in modern gaming. To get her "justice," she sacrificed the only physical connection she had left to her father figure. She can no longer produce the music he gave her. She leaves the guitar behind and walks into the woods. That’s it. No credits scene. No teaser for Part III. Just a girl walking into a gray horizon.
Why the Ending Still Divides the Fanbase
You can't talk about The Last of Us without talking about the backlash. It was massive. Some fans felt betrayed because they wanted a "hero's journey" and got a "victim's cycle" instead.
- The Joel Factor: Many players never got past the first two hours. Seeing a beloved character like Joel Miller killed so brutally was a non-starter.
- Perspective Shifting: Forcing players to play as Abby for ten hours was a massive gamble. For some, it worked—they saw the "last of last" remnants of Abby’s own soul. For others, it was an annoying chore they had to finish just to get back to Ellie.
- The Lack of Catharsis: Video games are usually about winning. This game is about losing. You lose your friends, your health, your fingers, and your home.
The last of last thing most players expected was to feel bad for the person they spent 20 hours trying to kill. But that’s the point. Narrative lead Halley Gross has mentioned in interviews that the ending changed during development. Originally, Ellie was going to kill Abby. But the team realized that felt "too dark," which is saying something for a game where you can hit people with bricks. They felt that for Ellie to have any future, she had to choose to stop.
The Technical Mastery Behind the Last of Last Scenes
Whatever you think of the story, you can't deny the tech. The facial animation in those final scenes is staggering. When Ellie is holding Abby underwater, you can see the conflict in her eyes. It’s not just a "death stare." It’s a mix of rage, grief, and a sudden, sharp realization of "what am I doing?"
Naughty Dog used a system called "Motion Matching" to ensure that the movement felt heavy. In the Santa Barbara sequence, Ellie moves differently. She’s slower. Her breathing is labored. The developers wanted the player to feel the physical toll of the journey. Every slash of the knife feels like it costs Ellie something.
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Is Part III Coming?
This is the question everyone asks. Is that final shot the last of last we will see of Ellie?
Neil Druckmann has confirmed that a story outline for a third game exists. He hasn't said it’s in production, but he hasn't ruled it out. The ending of Part II leaves Ellie in a vacuum. She is finally free of the burden of Joel’s death, but she is also completely alone. A third game would likely have to be about rebuilding—if such a thing is even possible in that world.
Real-World Impact and Awards
Despite the controversy, the game swept the 2020 awards season. It holds the record for one of the most awarded games in history. Why? Because it moved the needle on what "entertainment" can be. It proved that a triple-A title could be deeply uncomfortable and still find a massive audience. It pushed the boundaries of accessibility, too, allowing players with visual or motor impairments to experience the last of last moments of the story just like everyone else.
How to Process the Ending (Actionable Insights)
If you just finished the game and feel like you need a therapist, you aren't alone. Here is how to actually digest what you just watched:
Look at the Journal. Ellie’s journal changes throughout the game. In the final chapter, her drawings of Joel change. They go from being traumatic images of his death to sketches of him sitting on the porch. This shows her internal healing, even if the world around her is falling apart. Pay attention to the poems. They explain her state of mind better than the dialogue does.
Understand the "Neutral" Ending.
The game doesn't tell you if Ellie finds Dina. It doesn't tell you if Abby finds the Fireflies (though the post-credits title screen suggests she does reach Catalina Island). Accept the ambiguity. The game is asking you to decide if these characters deserve a second chance.
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Play it Again (On Grounded).
It sounds crazy, but playing the game on the hardest difficulty changes your perspective. You become so desperate for resources that you start to understand the "survival at any cost" mentality that drove Joel and later Ellie. It makes the last of last confrontation feel even more earned because you, as the player, are as exhausted as the characters.
Separate the Art from the Hype.
Forget the Twitter threads. Forget the review bombs. Look at the story for what it is: a tragedy about two women who are mirrors of each other. Once you stop rooting for a "winner," the ending becomes much more profound.
The legacy of The Last of Us Part II isn't found in its sales numbers or its graphics. It’s found in the fact that we are still talking about those final seconds on the beach. It’s the last of last word on the cost of hate, and whether we like it or not, it changed the landscape of gaming forever.
If you're looking for more, go back and watch the "Finding Joel" scene one more time. Notice the lighting. Notice how Ellie’s face softens. That’s where the real story ends. Everything after that was just the world catching up.
Stay with the feeling. Don't rush into another game immediately. Let the weight of that final farmhouse scene sit for a day or two. That's the only way to truly appreciate what Naughty Dog pulled off.
Key Takeaways for Fans:
- Ellie's loss of fingers symbolizes the loss of her final connection to Joel.
- The ending was changed during development to allow Ellie a path toward "redemption" or at least a halt in the violence.
- The title screen changes after completion, showing Abby's boat at the Firefly base, providing a hint of hope for her character arc.
- Part III is a possibility, but Part II functions as a complete, albeit grim, narrative circle.
Whatever comes next, the journey of Ellie and Abby remains a benchmark for narrative ambition. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s unapologetically human. That is why it sticks.