Does Ellie get revenge on Abby in The Last of Us? Details from the games, explored

Episode 2 of HBO's The Last of Us Season 2, titled Through the Valley, shocked audiences with the brutal death of a major character. However, viewers who were aware of the plot of the video game The Last of Us Part II had an idea about the upcoming tragedy.

Disclaimer: Major spoilers ahead.

In The Last Of Us Season 2 Episode 2, Abby took revenge on Joel by killing him, right in front of his adoptive daughter Ellie. Cruel, right? Abby tricked Joel, took him to the chalet, and shot him in his leg with a shotgun, hit him violently with a golf club, and stabbed him to death. Abby's revenge stems from the fact that Joel had previously killed her father and some firefly rebels who were hell bent on operating a life-threatening operation on Ellie, to find a cure for the Cordyceps infection.

In Episode 2, when Ellie was searching for Joel, reached the chalet, where Abby's gang pinned her to the floor. As she lay helpless, screaming for Joel to fight back, and pleading, Abby stabbed and killed him. Out of rage, trauma, and most importantly, after losing the biggest support of her life, Ellie fearlessly threatened Abby,

"I'm gonna kill you. You're gonna die. You're all gonna f----ng die"

The episode ends on a rather sad note, but it also teases a burning fire of revenge that would further shape Ellie's character in the upcoming episodes. But what happens in the popular Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II video game? Does Ellie get her revenge on Abby?

Ellie does get successful in killing Abby's teammates, but spares her life at the end. Here's what we know from The Last of Us Part II.

Does Ellie get revenge on Abby in The Last of Us game?

In The Last of Us Part II, Ellie's quest for vengeance against Abby, Joel's killer, drives the narrative, but the outcome isn't similar to basic revenge plots. While Ellie hunts down Abby across Seattle, she learns that Abby took refuge in an aquarium. When she reaches the aquarium, she does not find Abby, but her friends Owen and Mel. Out of vengeance, Ellie brutally kills Owen and Mel, who was pregnant at that time. Abby, who tracks them using a map they left in the aquarium, shoots Tommy and kills Jesse, right in front of Ellie. The revenge-driven duo breaks into a brutal fight when Abby overpowers Ellie and is on the verge of killing her. However, Lev, a runaway and Abby's new teammate, stops Abby from repeating the same mistake as killing Joel.

Ellie returns to Jackson and tries to live a normal life with Dina, however, her traumatic past haunts her. She thus plans to challenge Abby to a battle in Santa Barbara. Ellie overpowers Abby, but as she was on the verge of killing her and finally seeking revenge, she lets her go, thus sparing Abby's life.

What stopped Ellie from killing Abby? Was it her conscience or something else?

The reason why Ellie did not kill Abby in The Last of Us Part II

Previously, the game players saw that Abby spared Ellie's life, however, this was not the reason why Ellie did not kill her. If that were the case, she would not have challenged her to the battle. So, why did Ellie save Abby?

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When she was on the verge of drowning, Abby, in the ocean, had a flashback of Joel smiling at her. This moment underscores the game's central theme: Revenge cannot heal trauma. By letting go of Abby, Ellie breaks the cycle, acknowledging that killing her would only increase her suffering. This hints at a path forward, free from vengeance, and that is what Joel would have wanted for her.

Also read: How will the big death in The Last of Us affect the future? Details revealed

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