This The Last of Us Part II Fan Theory Hints At A Very Different Ending

A new The Last of Us Part II fan theory suggests that audiences missed a few very important clues about the game's ending that hints at a different outcome for Ellie.

[TheKingKratos]

😮😮😮
OMG How did i missed that

[Sunny12345]

Its a theory like many others. Nothing is concrete. Only way to know for certain is at the start of last of us 3. Cant imagine what they would do with lou3

[Sunny_D]

Interesting. That could be a possible reason. But I think she may have just put the bracelet back on after her mission ended. She had a change of clothes and saw it and put it back on. The reason she didn’t call out for Dina is because she already had a feeling Dina was gone. You can kind of tell when a home has been abandoned before you enter it.

[rainslacker]

Was pretty obvious no one was living there. Livestock was gone, shutters were falling off the house. No clothes on the clothes line. So on and so forth. She had obviously been gone for some time.

More interesting question would be is if she went to look for her in Jackson after the last scene.

[sourOG]

Makes sense. Plus she was missing a few digits so that could explain why she left it for closure.

[Germaximus]

That's a dumb theory. Just cuz she got the bracelet does not mean she's back with Dina.

And nobody should be surprised Ellie returned to an abandoned home when Dina straight up told her that if she left, she was done with her. How do people come up with this nonsense? If Dina was gonna stay with her and meet her later, she wouldn't have left Ellie's belongings in the abandoned home to be collected. Holy hell

[DangerousDAN]

The need to make the writing seem more profound than it is (it isn't).

[Spicyram]

The writing was excellent, actually.

[sampsonon]

Keep trying. The game is a massive success.

[sushimama]

The writing was top level

[DangerousDAN]

To all of you: no it wasn't. Dialogue was fun, but overall plot ...no

[franwex]

Just finished the game like 2 hours ago.

Kinda dragged at the end there...

Interesting theory, I guess we will find out if there is ever a Part 3 which includes Ellie-which may due to her being immune and the Fireflies being around and now knowing where she is due to Abby.

[sampsonon]

Abby wouldn't rat her out. But i could see it where Abby learns that the FF know where Ellie is and she and Lev get to Ellie to warn her. Just a thought.

[DrDeath]

No dina was long gone. She took only her belongings and left ellies. She broke up with her and left with the kid. But she told ellie she would and she did. Ellie is alone now.

[ajax17]

Exactly. Why anyone would think otherwise is pretty dumb.

[rainslacker]

I actually thought that was pretty obvious. It wasnt even hidden with the details, and seems like the loss of everything was the point of the conclusion. Leaving the possibility of a happy reunion, or chance of reconciliation kind of defeats the point.

She probably returned to the house maybe hoping dina would still be there. Or it was just the only place she felt she could still go. It was her home after all

[DaGR8JIBRALTAR]

Nah...she came back for some type of closure. The end.

[mkis007]

It's left to interpretation just like the ending of the first one was. No one is right or wrong until they answer it in the part 3 if it ever exists.

[zahdab]

Spoiler Alert ... they will Kill Off Ellie and you will play as the baby ....
Or maybe a Clicker will kill Ellie, Dina and the Baby and you will get to see the story from the clicker's perspective

[TheEnigma313]

Another butthurt person mad the game didn’t go their way.

[JEECE]

Most of the "lol TLoU2 sux cuz some YouTubers said so" kind of died off about a week ago, man. You missed the train.

[zahdab]

@theEnigma not butthurt at all! i loved the game and i am doing a second playthrough :) was just a joke ... chill

[sampsonon]

Tissue?

[RandomPolishGuy]

Some of you are "butthurt" because of an obvious joke.

[rainslacker]

Cool. Maybe by then, people will grow up

[Bismarn]

Using the Veil of the Force you find out that Last of Us II is just one possible universe, restoring canon.

[V3geta]

One of the writers said during an interview she's alone now.

[dmonee]

In a weird twist of events, Ellie leaves Dina to go live with Tommy, and Tommy ends up dating Abby. Lev and Ellie end up together. Who knew???!!!! 🤷‍♂️

[gameboyz_manifesto]

The theory doesn't really pan out from a storytelling perspective. It doesn't quite line up with the themes of the game, and there's no real emotional payoff to burying something like this. At that point in the game, folks are suffering because we're seeing what Ellie had to lose in order to see this thing to its end. The idea of walking through an empty home that reminds you of your decisions and the price that you paid for them is devastating.

It feels much less impactful if you're just 'going to get your stuff so you can move in with Dina into a nice little place in Jackson.'

ND told an unapologetic story about grief, revenge, and the cycle of violence-- Ellie's lesson is a hard, and torturous one and this type of theory would really undermine the weight of her decision to leave Dina and the baby to get a semblance of closure for what she lost.

The end isn't as bleak as people perhaps think to begin with. When she lets Abby & Lev go, she ends the cycle of violence and embraces the human aspect of her so-called-enemies.

It's a brutal and beautiful story and somehow ends up making the experience of grief, righteous (and not-so-righteous) anger manifest itself within the player.

[Shezgear]

I hope part 3 is about Tommy. Maybe Ellie convincing Tommy to join her to make a cure. They have to find a cure somehow.. or else the story will probably never end

[rainslacker]

I dont really find Tommy that interesting of a character to be honest.

I wouldnt mind seeing bill from the first game though. Maybe even a prequel of sorts. Could also feature joel because he knew bill from before the events in the first game.

Either that, or maybe have the game take place in another country...perhaps with it's own strain of the mutation which allows for new types of enemies.

There are a lot of ways they could go with the world, but the games themselves have high expectations from a story perspective, and they've already tackled two rather large emotional story tropes.

[sampsonon]

I knew from the start that her leaving the guitar was her leaving the anger for both Joel and Abby. When you see her walking away when the camera is looking out the window with the guitar neck in the shot it showed she had moved on.

Her going back to Dina and JJ isn't right though imo, because Dina said basically if Ellie left it was over for good.

[Dirtnapstor]

Joel's death removed the opportunity for her to forgive him. I think that's one of the reasons why Ellie was so miserable in the game...her abrupt disconnect was haunting her throughout.
That guitar was Ellie's primary connection to Joel. She leaves that guitar behind because she can no longer play. Her missing fingers represent the official severance from Joel. Serendipity forces her to let go, and now she can finally start over.
TLOU3, the journey to regroup with Dina, JJ, and Tommy begins. They are her only real connection to anything at this point. Dina and Tommy will have been removed somehow. Abby and Lev will have been training JJ to be the youngest bow warrior west of the Mississippi, and rescuing JJ from the Fire Flies will be Ellie's catalyst for the next rampage romp.

[rainslacker]

I think she forgave joel posthumously. But, that wanting to forgive was I think why she also forgave abby. Part of her anger was because she felt that abby took the chance to try and forgive away from her. But by the end, she saw abby was a lot like joel. Abby lost her father like joel lost Sarah. Abby lost her perspective on her own humanity just like joel did. Joel never went on a revenge quest, but he spent most of his years after the death doing a lot of bad things, just like abby did in her quest. Joel flet remorse for what he did and had backed off since before meeting ellie, just like abby felt remorse, and started backing off. Joel found a reason to live through ellie, like abby did with lev.

She realized that forgiveness was something people do for their own benefit, and her anger was all within her.

[Dirtnapstor]

Tell you what, there is a lot to think about when it comes to the narrative. So many just flat out panned this game because you really have to weigh through much of comprehensive character behaviors/emotions. Unfortunately, too many are just not capable because of the mere fact that it's not so cut and dry. I think the game could have been streamlined more so, but overall, I'm not going to complain. As I've stated before, to me this felt like a M Night narrative.... the more you reflect, the better it gets.

[rainslacker]

I think they're probably capable, they just didn't care to. It'll be fun in the future when I see these people post about what games they think have a good story, because I think most games stories really aren't all that great. Many are good, most are serviceable.

I don't even think TLOU2 was really overly complex in it's narrative, it was just more subtle in it's themes. It didn't spoon feed you what to think, and left a lot open for interpretation. For all intents and purposes, there are multiple interpretations to many things in the game, and many of those things overlap, and to those that try and really think about it, I think many of them are wrong in their interpretation. The haters....that's a different matter.

[ajax17]

Dumb theory

[Sarcasm]

I'm clearly in the minority that would have been happy if the game ended with Ellie and the baby at the farm.

[franwex]

No. The “Hollywood Happy Ending” is nice due to the payoff of all that you did and endured was worth it. There’s nothing wrong with happy endings.

But for a story like The Last Of Us the audience kinda wants more realistic endings. Or endings that are more subjective to debate.

[anast]

I agree.