Critics have been singing praises of The Last of Us Part 2 since launch, even though The Last of Us 2’s plot leaked months before release. Many fans were up in arms over the game’s narrative, resulting in a huge backlash online, Metacritic review bombs, and death threats tossed at the people who worked on the game. Regardless of the criticism, Naughty Dog feels like the game’s story was the right choice, and now the actor who played Ellie is defending the ending.
This post contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2.
The Last of Us Part 2 changes things up from the first game, letting players assume the role of Ellie for far longer than the first entry did. After Joel is murdered right in front of Ellie, she sets out to get revenge against those who wronged her. The player follows Ellie as she moves through Seattle, Washington, to hunt down members of the WLF who are responsible. The game is dark and brutal up until the final moments, when Ellie decides to make a change.
Speaking on The Last of Us Podcast, Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie, talks about how Ellie’s choice at the end of the game was the correct one. “She [Ellie] knows she made the right choice … Choosing to stop the hate and the decision to keep hurting people.” Johnson is referring to Ellie seemingly deciding to break a circle of violence, one of the main themes of the game. At the end of The Last of Us Part 2, Ellie decides to stop her revenge mission short and let another polarizing character, Abby, leave the scene. Realizing that killing Abby won’t bring Joel back and that it will just continue a cycle of hate, Ellie backs off.
Johnson continues, “She at least realized that killing Abby wasn’t necessarily going to heal the hurt that she has from losing Joel and now she has to figure out how to heal from there.” Johnson also added that “the whole point of the video game” is about “when does the cycle end?” speaking to the point of serving justice and justifying one’s actions.
Fans have been critical about the decisions in The Last of Us Part 2, primarily the actions of Abby. Some fans have taken things too far by sending death threats to the actor who voiced Abby. Laura Bailey, the voice of Abby, shared a tweet to showcase the awful things players have been sending her since the release of the game. Neil Druckmann, director of The Last of Us Part 2, defended Bailey, saying she “didn’t deserve any of this [harassment]” and that those sending harassing messages should, “get the mental help they so clearly need.”
Despite the online harassment, backlash, and other controversies, The Last of Us Part 2 still managed to be the top-selling game of June, the month it released. The game went onto be PlayStation’s fastest-selling, first-party PlayStation 4 exclusive by selling more than 4 million copies right after launch. It has also enjoyed an incredibly high Metacritic Critics score, despite user scores being review bombed.
The Last of Us Part 2 is now available for PlayStation 4.
Source: The Last of Us Podcast
