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Abby, Joel & Ellie - A Thread on The Last of Us 2’s missunderstood brilliance
This entire thread is coming off of a reddit post as seen. In summary, there is a common comparison between Abby and Ellie and why Abby is such a bad character in comparison to Ellie.
This is the natural comparison as these are the two characters that the players use in TLOU 2. However, the real comparison that should be made is between Abby and Joel. There are many more similarities between these two (and for good reason)
One of the most pivotal moments of both of their lives is the loss of a close family member. Joel losing his daughter and Sarah losing her father. Notice how both Joel and Abby mirror each other in this moment (father loses daughter and daughter loses father)
Another clear comparison is the Joel-Ellie and Abby-Lev relationships. Abby and Joel are ultimately broken characters until they have they become this parental figure.
Here are some obvious similarities between the two different relationships to strenghten and highlight the two similarities:
Marlene being injured / Yara being injured close to introduction
Betraying the Fireflies / Betraying the Wolves
And my personal favourite
But what does this similarity have to do with the grand scheme of the story?
The Last of Us 2 has been getting a lot of hate for its story, which I completely understand because I was one of those same people who hated the story. That was until the final act.
It’s the very moment in which Ellie leaves for Abbie once again that seemingly doesn’t make sense in a realism standpoint. Ellie and Dina have lost so much and they finally have something. Why would Ellie go and throw that all away just for vengeance?
It’s because of this very scene and most particularly the line “I don’t think I can ever forgive you for that... But I would like to try.”
It’s unnecessary to explain the anger and hate Ellie has against Joel up to that point. We see it in the flashbacks. Understanding that Abby is an extension of Joel shows that Ellie’s murderous actions throughout the game means she has not yet forgiven Joel.
BUT she finally understands and forgives Joel once she lets Abby live. She sees the innocence of Lev and the vulnerability of Abby and this makes her let Abby go. This makes her forgive Joel. She finally understands why Joel made his choice of saving Ellie.
The Last of Us 2 is not a story of hate, vengeance or revenge. This is a story of going through the journey of forgiving one that you thought you loved and coming to re-love them. Even if they have been taken away from you. This is the misunderstood brilliance of TLOU 2.
