This post contains spoilers from The Last of Us season 2 finale from this point forward.
Just when we thought Ellie had lost everything, The Last of Us season 2 finale took yet another person from her life. The season 2 finale did not disappoint in delivering the heavy reminder of the price for revenge.
As Ellie returns to Dina and Jesse, having tortured Nora into speaking two words about Abby's location, Ellie questions if she should still seek revenge. But once she reveals to Dina what Joel had done to the Fireflies in Salt Lake, which was why Abby murdered him, the answer seemed clear: Let's go back home.
Going home is easier said than done, as they have to find Tommy first. As Jesse and Ellie have their first argument, it becomes clear to Ellie how different they truly are.
But Ellie's quest for revenge comes full force when she realizes where Abby is hiding. Forgoing searching for Tommy and returning home, Ellie takes it upon herself to find Abby.
After enduring rough waters, nearly drowning, and almost getting killed by the Scars, Ellie makes it to the aquarium but finds Owen and Mel instead. After killing Owen in self-defense, which results in accidentally killing Mel, who was pregnant, Ellie is retrieved by Tommy and Jesse.
Killing Mel shakes up Ellie, but she doesn't have time to dwell, nor does she have time to talk to Jesse once they hear Tommy struggling outside the theater. Within a matter of seconds, Jesse is shot dead by Abby before Ellie's eyes.
To save Tommy, Ellie confesses to Abby that she accidentally killed Owen and Mel. One gunshot and a dramatic fade to black later, we see Abby waking up at the sight of the Wolf compound at a football stadium.
Setting up season 3
We are told it is Seattle Day 1, the first day Ellie and Dina spend on their search for Abby. If the show continues to follow the main premise of the video games, then it's pretty apparent that season 3 will follow Abby's story.
For context, when Abby killed Joel in the video game, players did not know why, making his death both surprising and confusing. The show has established why she killed him.
But outside of her reasoning, we do not know much about her, other than her involvement with the Wolves to the point that Isaac deemed her a potential future leader of the group. While we cannot deny the heartbreak and devastation Abby endured knowing her own father was murdered, we can't help but wonder if her opinion would have changed if she knew what he was going to do to Ellie.
How much of season 3 will be Abby's story remains unclear, but the show is following a storytelling formula with season 1 being essentially Joel's story, season 2 Ellie's story, and now season 3 Abby's story. The challenge season 3 will have is convincing the audience to have sympathy for Abby when she killed not only a very likable character but a character played by Pedro Pascal.
Pascal's passionate fandom, combined with his extraordinary and remarkable acting capabilities, has solidified Joel's popularity to the point that he will be remembered for many years to come. Kaitlyn Dever, who plays Abby, will have a lot to prove, but given her performance up until this point, she'll definitely be one to watch for next award season.
Stream The Last of Us season 2 on HBO Max.