It was the swing heard 'round the digital world. You know the one. If you’ve played The Last of Us Part II, that specific scene in the snowy basement of a Jackson outskirts lodge is probably seared into your brain. But here is the thing about the question of who killed Abby—it is a trick question. Depending on how you look at it, the answer is either "everyone" or "absolutely no one."
The game doesn't just hand you a body. It hands you a mirror.
Most people coming to this topic are looking for a name. They want to know if Ellie finally did it. They want to know if the revenge quest that cost two fingers, a dozen friends, and a shot at a quiet life on a farm actually resulted in a corpse. If you are looking for the literal, physical answer: Ellie did not do it. Abby Anderson is still alive when the credits roll. But that is only the surface level of a narrative that basically spent thirty hours trying to deconstruct why we even want her dead in the first place.
The Moment the Fandom Fractured
When Naughty Dog released the sequel to their 2013 masterpiece, they didn't just make a game; they started a war. We spent years loving Joel Miller. He was the grumpy dad we all adopted. Then, within the first few hours of the sequel, this girl named Abby shows up and turns his head into a golf ball.
It was visceral. It was cruel. Honestly, it was one of the balliest moves in gaming history.
For the first half of the game, every player's singular goal is to find out who killed Abby’s friends so they can eventually get to her. You play as Ellie, fueled by a rage that feels totally justified. You’re hunting down the Salt Lake Crew. You’re killing Nora in a basement full of spores. You’re killing Owen and a pregnant Mel. You are convinced that Abby is the villain of the story.
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Then, the game flips.
Suddenly, you are forced to walk in her boots. You see that Abby wasn't just some random psychopath. She was a daughter. Her father, Jerry Anderson, was the surgeon Joel killed at the end of the first game to save Ellie. This is where the "who killed who" logic gets messy. Joel killed Abby’s father. Abby killed Ellie’s father figure. It’s a circle. A terrible, bloody circle that won't stop spinning.
Why Ellie Let Her Go
The climax at Santa Barbara is hard to watch. Truly. By this point, Abby has been captured by the Rattlers. She’s been emaciated, tortured, and left to die on a pillar in the sun. She isn't the hulking, muscular soldier we met in Seattle. She is a shell.
When Ellie cuts her down, she doesn't immediately kill her. She actually helps her. She follows her to the boats. It’s only when the "ghost" of Joel flashes in Ellie’s mind—not a happy memory, but his bloody face—that she forces a fight. They scramble in the shallow water. It’s pathetic. It’s not an epic boss battle; it’s two broken people drowning each other.
Ellie has her fingers in Abby’s mouth. Abby bites two of them off. Ellie is drowning Abby. She has her under. This is it. This is the moment everyone thought they wanted.
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But Ellie stops.
She lets go because she realizes that killing Abby won't bring Joel back. More importantly, she realizes that by killing Abby, she is effectively killing the last shred of humanity Joel wanted her to have. If you’re asking who killed Abby, you have to look at the metaphorical death of her spirit, but physically? She sails away with Lev. She survives to find the remaining Fireflies at Catalina Island.
The Misconception of the "Hidden" Ending
There are some weird theories floating around the internet. You’ve probably seen them on Reddit or some obscure YouTube lore channels. Some people claim there’s a secret ending where Ellie actually finishes the job.
There isn't.
Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross, the writers, have been very clear about this choice. In early drafts of the script, Ellie actually did kill Abby. But during development, they felt it didn't fit Ellie’s character arc. If she killed Abby, she’d be irredeemable. By letting her live, Ellie finally breaks the cycle of violence. She loses her ability to play the guitar—her last physical connection to Joel—but she gains her soul back. Sorta.
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Key Players in the "Death" of Abby's World
While Abby survives, almost everything she loved is destroyed throughout the game. If we look at who "killed" the life Abby knew, the list is long:
- Joel Miller: He killed her father and the hope for a cure. This started her descent into obsession.
- Ellie Williams: She killed Owen, Mel, Nora, Jordan, and Nick. She stripped Abby of her entire support system.
- Isaac Dixon: The leader of the WLF who turned Abby into a "top scar killer," essentially killing her innocence and turning her into a weapon.
- The Rattlers: They physically broke her body and spirit in the months leading up to the finale.
It is a grim list.
Abby’s transformation from a revenge-driven soldier to a protector for Lev mirrors Joel’s journey with Ellie. That is the irony that half the players hated and the other half loved. You end up playing as the person you hated, only to realize she’s just another version of the hero you loved.
What This Means for The Last of Us Part III
Since we know Abby and Lev made it to the Fireflies (confirmed by the post-game title screen showing a boat beached near a large domed building, which is the Avalon Casino on Catalina Island), the story isn't over.
If there is a third game, the question won't be who killed Abby, but rather what Abby does with her second chance. She is one of the few people left who knows that a cure was once possible. She knows Ellie is out there.
How to Process the Ending
If you’re still feeling frustrated that Abby lived, you’re not alone. The game wants you to feel that conflict. It’s designed to make you uncomfortable with your own bloodlust. To really understand the narrative weight of Abby's survival, you should look at the following "next steps" in your own analysis of the lore:
- Re-examine the Surgeon's Recording: Listen to the collectibles in the hospital during Abby's Seattle Day 1. It puts Jerry's decision in a much more human context.
- Watch the "Grounded II" Documentary: This provides a lot of insight into why the creators chose life over death for Abby.
- Analyze the Loading Screen: Notice how it changes after you beat the game. That beach is in Santa Barbara, and the boat belongs to Abby. It is the only "happy" hint we get.
- Compare the Boss Fights: Think about the difference between the fight in the theater (where you play as Abby) and the fight on the beach (where you play as Ellie). The power dynamics tell the whole story.
Abby Anderson is a survivor. Whether she deserved to be is something fans will be arguing about for the next decade. But for now, the canon is clear: she’s alive, she’s with Lev, and the cycle of revenge finally, painfully, hit a dead end in the waters of California.