Symmetric Storytelling: The Last of Us Part 2

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 is a story that pits two major characters against each other, Abby VS Ellie. It masterfully shows us the contrast and the similarities between both of those characters’ journeys.

A Quick Comparison between The Last of Us & The Last of Us Part 2

The first game was about loss, sadness and anger. Once I reached the credits at the end of Part two, I realized that the second game also shares the same themes. By dissecting the plot points of both games, we can see that they’re much more alike than one would think at a first glance.

The prologues of both games imitate each other.

Both games start with Joel interacting with his daughter. In the first game, Sarah bought him a watch. In the second game, he bought Ellie a guitar.

Joel loses Sarah, in the first hours of the first game. Ellie loses Joel, in the second game, during the first few hours as well. The only difference is that we don’t get to see Joel mowing down a thousand soldiers in his journey of avenging Sarah’s death. The cause of which is simply that the game fast forwards 20 years at the end of the prologue.

Joel’s Demise

After Joel’s head becomes a Jackson Pollock painting by the golf club wielding Abby, Part 2 skips a few days, and we see Ellie processing her sadness. In a heart touching moment, she smells Joel’s jacket, a scene that truly stuck with me. She lost someone very important to her. Yet unlike Joel, she has a target, a chance at vengeance, and understandably, she’s going to seek it. Any of us would do the same if we were put in her shoes.

Ellie sets out on her quest for revenge by murdering, one by one, Abby’s entourage. Many people criticized Ashley Johnson’s voice acting, blaming her for the fact that Ellie isn’t the same rebellious spirit she used to be in the first game. That criticism can easily be debunked by the fact that during the flashbacks, Ellie acts and speak in a manner that’s identical to the first game. This is just one of the many ways her sadness over Joel’s death manifests in the game.

Why Naughty Dog accomplished what they set out to do

Naughty Dog wanted to make us cry in the first game, and they succeeded. In the sequel, they wanted us to be angry, and they succeeded at that as well. People were angry at this game, they were angry at Neil Druckmann and at Naughty Dog. Their anger was the same anger that fueled Ellie, Joel was loved by us just the same. The community painted Abby as the enemy similar to how Ellie did so.

Yet the game subverts our expectations by making us experience Abby’s journey, which plays out similarly to Joel and Ellie’s adventures in the first game.

Joel does everything in his power to protect Ellie, just as Abby does the same for Lev.

Abby’s Side of The Story

For the first 10 hours of the lengthy campaign, the game shows us nothing but Abby’s violent side. That absolutely fuels our hatred and anger towards her. By the time we get to play her, it’s understandable that many players were furious downright even refused to experience her side of the story. Yet, they didn’t bat an eye at all the atrocities that Joel committed in the first game, which Ellie herself continued to do. As evidenced by her trying to imitate Joel’s technique of interrogation when she encounters Mel and Owen.

Naughty Dog were even accused of emotionally manipulating the players by making Abby’s and Lev’s interactions memorable, but wasn’t that the whole point of the first game? That even if Joel was the scum of the earth and a villain, he loved Ellie with all his heart. Abby loved Lev as well, the fans felt betrayed simply because they refused to listen to Abby’s side of the story.

By the time we reach the end, we’re exhausted. We don’t want to kill Abby anymore, yet Ellie is determined and there’s not stopping her. Abby has lost her muscles, lost her hair; she’s defeated, hungry and weary. Ellie’s fight with Abby causes her to lose a few fingers as well. Rendering her incapable of playing the guitar, the only connection to Joel that she had left.

All of these characters share the same journey and the same perspective towards the world they inhabit. Joel hates the fireflies, Ellie hates the WLF and Abby hates the Seraphites. Each of them fail to see things from the other perspective. A luxury they probably can’t afford in a zombie-infested post-apocalyptic world.

A Lesson Well Learned

However, Ellie’s journey taught her, and me, a valuable life lesson. To let go of the anger and the hate that brings nothing but destruction and to try and see things from the other person’s perspective. A life lesson that I believe Naughty Dog were trying to teach us through the dog eat dog world of The Last of Us.

Finishing this game feels like stepping out of a roller coaster. You’re dizzy, confused and sick. Yet when you step away from it for a few days, you realize why you enjoyed the ride the way you did.

The last of us Part II absolutely cements Naughty Dog as the masters of storytelling that they are. There’s no doubting that the game has its flaws at times, but overall, it was an experience unlike any I ever had while playing a videogame.

Did you hate Abby? Did you feel her actions were justified? Were you angry that Ellie didn’t kill her? What do you think of the game overall? Share with us your thoughts in the comments below.

Read our review of the comic book tie-in, The Last of Us: American Dreams.

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