Five years later and we are still arguing about it. Honestly, it’s wild. You can go into any gaming forum today and find a massive thread about The Last of Us Part 2 characters that looks like a digital war zone. Some people think it’s a masterpiece of character writing. Others think Naughty Dog ruined their favorite people.
Both sides are kinda right. That’s the point.
The game doesn't want you to be comfortable. It wants you to feel that heavy, sinking pit in your stomach when you realize the person you're controlling just did something unforgivable. Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross didn't write a "hero's journey." They wrote a messy, blood-soaked tragedy about how grief turns good people into monsters. If you’re looking for a simple breakdown of who these people are and why they did what they did—without the usual marketing fluff—you’re in the right place.
Ellie and the Cost of Not Letting Go
Ellie is the heart of the story, but she’s a broken heart. In the first game, she was this foul-mouthed ray of sunshine in a dead world. By the time we see her in Part 2, that light is basically flickering out. She’s nineteen, she’s in love with Dina, and she’s carrying a weight no teenager should have to deal with: the fact that her life was supposed to "matter" in a biological sense, and Joel took that away.
Her descent into Seattle isn't just a revenge quest. It’s a self-destruction mission. When you play as Ellie, you feel her desperation. Every time she kills someone, she loses a little more of herself. It’s not like other games where the protagonist cracks a joke after a headshot. Ellie sounds pained. She sounds tired.
The biggest misconception? That Ellie is the "hero" of this story. She isn't. By the time she reaches that beach in Santa Barbara, she’s lost her fingers, her family, and her ability to play the guitar—the last physical connection she had to Joel. She’s a cautionary tale about what happens when you prioritize the dead over the living.
Abby Anderson: The Character Nobody Wanted to Like
Then there’s Abby. Talk about a polarizing figure. When Naughty Dog forces you to switch perspectives halfway through the game, it’s a massive gamble. Most players hated it. I hated it at first, too. You just spent ten hours hunting this woman down, and now you have to play as her?
But Abby is the mirror image of Ellie.
She already got her revenge. She killed Joel in the first hour. And the kicker? It didn’t make her feel better. It didn’t bring her dad back. It just gave her nightmares and ruined her relationship with Owen. Abby’s journey is actually the opposite of Ellie’s—while Ellie is descending into darkness, Abby is trying to climb out of it by helping Yara and Lev.
She’s physically imposing, sure. Those arms are legendary. But mentally, she’s fragile. She’s terrified of heights. She’s desperate for validation from her peers in the WLF (Washington Liberation Front). Seeing the world through her eyes doesn't make what she did to Joel "right," but it makes it understandable. Her father, Jerry Anderson, wasn't just some random NPC to her; he was the man who was going to save the world. From her perspective, Joel is the villain who murdered the planet's only hope and her dad in one go.
The Supporting Cast: More Than Just Cannon Fodder
We need to talk about Dina and Jesse. Often, in these types of games, the sidekicks are just there to give the player ammo or open doors. Here, they represent the life Ellie could have had if she wasn't so obsessed with blood.
Dina is incredibly patient. Like, saint-level patient. She follows Ellie into a literal war zone while pregnant because she loves her. But she has limits. When she finally tells Ellie, "I'm not doing this again," it’s one of the most grounded moments in the game. It’s a reminder that the world keeps moving even when you’re stuck in the past.
Then you have Lev and Yara. These two are essential because they humanize the Seraphites (the "Scars"). Before meeting them, the Scars are just creepy fanatics who whistle in the woods. Through Lev, we see the internal politics of their cult—the struggle between faith and identity. Lev is a trans character written with actual nuance; his conflict isn't just about his identity, but about his devotion to a mother who can't accept him. His bond with Abby is the only thing that keeps her from completely losing her humanity.
Joel Miller and the Ghost of Choice
Joel’s presence looms over the entire game, even though he’s barely in it. This is where a lot of the "fact vs. fiction" debate happens. Some fans claim Joel "got soft" in Jackson, which is why he let his guard down with Abby’s group.
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Is that true? Not really.
If you look at the environmental storytelling in Jackson, you see that Joel has spent four years living in a community. He’s been patrolling, helping strangers, and trying to be the man Sarah would have wanted him to be. He didn't get soft; he got human. He traded his survivalist paranoia for a bit of peace. And in a world like The Last of Us, peace is what kills you.
His choice at the end of the first game—saving Ellie at the cost of the cure—is the "Original Sin" of this universe. Every death in Part 2 can be traced back to that moment in the Salt Lake City hospital. Whether you think he was a hero or a monster, his impact on the The Last of Us Part 2 characters is undeniable. He is the gravity that pulls everyone else into the abyss.
The Wolves vs. The Seraphites: A Cycle of Violence
The factions in Seattle aren't just background noise. Isaac, the leader of the WLF (played by the incredible Jeffrey Wright), represents the cold, calculated end of the spectrum. He’s a man who has replaced emotion with efficiency. On the other side, the Prophet of the Seraphites represents the danger of fundamentalism.
Neither side is "good."
The game goes to great lengths to show that the rank-and-file soldiers on both sides have names, dogs they love, and friends they joke with. When Ellie kills a WLF member and their friend screams "Nora!" or "Bear!", it’s a gut-punch. It forces the player to acknowledge that these aren't just "enemies"—they are characters in their own right, with their own versions of Ellie’s story happening off-screen.
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Why the Ending Still Stings
The final confrontation between Ellie and Abby is messy. It’s not a cool boss fight. It’s two exhausted, starving, mutilated women rolling around in the mud. There’s no glory in it.
When Ellie finally lets Abby go, it’s not because she "forgives" her. It’s because she realizes that killing Abby won’t fix her head. She sees a flash of Joel—not the bloody version of him from the chalet, but the version of him playing the guitar. She realizes that her memory of him has been poisoned by the violence, and the only way to get the "real" Joel back in her mind is to stop the killing.
It’s a bleak ending. Ellie returns to an empty house. She can’t even play the song Joel taught her because she lost her fingers. But there’s a tiny bit of hope there. She leaves the guitar behind. She walks away into the trees. She’s finally, for the first time in years, not carrying a weapon or a grudge.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Playthrough
If you’re planning on diving back into the game or experiencing it for the first time, keep these specific things in mind to get the most out of the character arcs:
- Read the Journal: Ellie’s journal updates constantly. It contains poems, drawings, and thoughts that she never says out loud. It’s the only way to see her true mental state as she gets deeper into Seattle.
- Listen to the Enemy Dialogue: Don't just rush through combat. If you stealth around, you’ll hear the WLF and Seraphites talking about their lives, their rations, and their fears. It changes how you feel about pulling the trigger.
- Watch the Flashbacks Closely: The flashbacks aren't just filler. They are placed specifically to contrast with the current moment. For example, the museum flashback happens right when Ellie is at her most violent, reminding us of what she lost.
- Observe Abby's Vertigo: When playing as Abby, her vision actually blurs and the camera shakes when she’s near ledges. It’s a subtle touch that makes her feel more vulnerable despite her physical strength.
- Check the Workbench Details: You can see the wear and tear on the weapons and the characters' hands. By the end of the game, both Ellie and Abby are physically falling apart, which reflects their internal state.
The characters in this game aren't meant to be liked in the traditional sense. They are meant to be understood. Whether you love them or hate them, they represent some of the most complex writing in the history of the medium. They remind us that in the real world, nobody thinks they're the villain. Everyone is just the hero of their own, very sad story.