Opinion — The Last of Us Part II Reinforces Duality Through Poetic Causality

Opinion — The Last of Us Part II Reinforces Duality Through Poetic Causality

Jul 2, 2020 0
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WARNING: This article contains MAJOR spoilers for The Last of Us Part II. Upon your first completion of The Last of Us Part II, you may have some difficulty understanding what the narrative is about. While at face value, the story tells a tale of love, loss, and revenge, however upon further consideration, it seems Naughty Dog has crafted a different narrative; one that is just as familiar as it is different. The Last of Us Part II explores a multitude of themes and symbolisms throughout its 20-30-hour story. Seeking to address the hollowness of revenge and the loneliness that lies in its wake, the title tells a story of duality through poetic causality. By utilizing characters, events, and actions, The Last of Us Part II redefines how a story can be told through the medium, relying heavily on the audience to think beyond what is being shown to them. Whether you love or hate the story of The Last of Us Part II, there is no denying how the title has become one of the most divisive games in recent memory. Neil Druckmann did not set out to tell a story that would make everyone happy, rather one that the characters deserved. There are few games that remain as grounded (infected zombies notwithstanding) as The Last of Us Part II with its narrative and those involved. As the player, you do not have to wait long before the game reintroduces characters that are loved by all, reminding us of how precious life truly is. Joel’s death at the start of the game serves as more than just the catalyst for Ellie’s revenge, and acts as an awakening of the player’s humanity.  When watching the brutal murder and torture of Joel, players—along with Ellie—are immediately overcome by rage towards every person in the room, fixating on Abby in particular as she stands over Joel’s lifeless body. From that point on, not only is Ellie’s crusade personal for her and those close to Joel, but also for the players who have grown to love him as a person and father, no matter how flawed he may be. 
Abby Murdering Joel in The Last of Us Part II

Abby murdering Joel in The Last of Us Part II

Throughout the story, Ellie exhibits the same flaws that Joel did in the previous title. By having no regard for human life and murdering those who stand in her path, Ellie is repeating the same cycle of violence that Joel perpetuated throughout The Last of Us. Driven by rage, Ellie cannot understand that her actions will inevitably encourage the retaliation of those she is hunting. Even after those closest to her have proven their loyalty to this cause, they are among the first to attempt in dialing back her crusade due to the fear of crossing a line that cannot be undone.  Taking revenge on Abby is one thing, but when the outcome is the pain and suffering of everyone you love, maybe it is time to reconsider. 

Duality

The Last of Us Part II features narrative similarities to the first game, even though it may not seem evident at the start. In the previous title, Joel is portrayed as a hardened smuggler who does not shy away from killing when needed. Players are shown the event that robbed him of his humanity, and can therefore sympathize with his pain. Conversely, Ellie represents the innocent party in the beginning, and over time we see her initiate familial affection towards Joel due to their shared experience in surviving this post-pandemic society. In the end, Joel develops the paternal bond with Ellie that was stolen from him with the loss of his own daughter 20 years prior. As the players we felt the genuineness of this relationship at its core, and watched it blossom from its beginning, making the events of The Last of Us Part II even more devastating.  [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gse0LU73G7c[/embedyt] However, the sequel reverses the character traits of Joel and Ellie almost immediately, as players can feel a sense of tension towards the relationship they once had. Now Joel is the more affectionate one, always looking for ways to engage Ellie in conversation and emotion. He has fully embraced her as his own daughter, loving her unconditionally throughout their four years at Jackson. Ellie, on the other hand, has grown apart from him—mostly due to the realization of the true outcome in the Firefly base at the end of the first game. Personality wise, Ellie has adopted Joel’s rugged attitude towards the person they thought to have once loved.  Abby’s story is not that different from Joel and Ellie’s, as we are shown the events that occur during the end of the first game from a different perspective. To save Ellie’s life, players have to kill the doctor standing between her and Joel. Through this act of defiance to save one life, we are condemning countless more to death by setting in motion the events of the second game. In The Last of Us Part II, we are shown that this doctor is Abby’s father, and from that moment on, Abby’s sole purpose in life is to find Joel and make him suffer.  The theme of duality is layered throughout the game in its entirety. Like the first title, the concept of a hero is absent from this world, as those who tried have always met an untimely end. Interestingly, Ellie and Abby are more similar than different, as they share the pain of losing what they had once loved, with each representing a separate moment in time on the same journey. Their individual stories are indicative of the same past and future. Abby’s story in The Last of US Part II represents the possible outcome that awaits Ellie if she is to go through with her desire to get revenge. As players witness the events from Abby’s perspective, it becomes evident that revenge is hollow. Abby is unable to outrun her demons, despite accomplishing the one task that she thought would free her: killing Joel. And similar to Abby, players can only assume that a life of emptiness is all that awaits Ellie if she is to see things through to the end. 

Dina comforting Ellie

Throughout The Last of Us Part II, we see Ellie react to situations exactly as Joel would in the first game, creating more consequences than solutions. Not only did those affiliated with Abby suffer, but also those close to Ellie. Dina is scarred for life both emotionally and physically, and Tommy will never walk the same. Jesse, who pursued Ellie to protect her and bring her home, is now dead due to her ignorance in covering their tracks. What was supposed to be vengeance for one life had now become a graveyard for everyone involved.  The decision to tell the story in a non-linear format by Naughty Dog is purposeful and necessary for the narrative to have its intended impact. We are introduced to a different Joel and Ellie than the first game, and when Joel is abruptly murdered by a new character, the shock is enough to send anyone who played The Last of Us into an equal level of rage that Ellie had experienced. For the first 10 hours we are supposed to allow our hatred for Abby build until the climactic showdown in the Seattle theatre. When time is reversed and players are now controlling Abby only days after killing Joel, we are expected to be equally as upset. Why would we want to play as the person that murdered a beloved character? During the next ten hours we see Abby’s side of the story and realize that neither is she a bad person, nor are any of the people we murdered as Ellie in the previous chapters. It is only by playing the game in this sequence can we understand Abby’s character and the pain she experiences. In doing so, we begin to see the duality between her and Ellie. 

Abby

Abby is just as much a victim of violence than any other character in this story. When Joel, and subsequently the player, killed her father in the first game, Abby only wanted revenge on him and no one else. Ellie, on the other hand, killed everyone in her path to get to Abby without second guessing her actions. Ellie’s drive for revenge brought more death and pain into the world than existed with just the murder of Joel. For Abby, killing Joel was to be the end of her suffering. By letting Ellie and Tommy live that night, Abby proved that her only quarrel was with Joel, and that on principle, no other blood was to be shed. Ellie, on the other hand, had no regard for who was caught in the crossfire. To her, there existed no principle, just punishment. Playing through the first half of the game and feeling extreme hatred towards Abby, only to be thrown into her perspective of the events halfway through, is both bold and poetic. Abby is no longer the villain, but the victim. For some players, an argument can be made that Abby is the main character of The Last of Us Part II. 

Abby fighting for survival

Think of it this way. Abby’s father is killed by Joel, and she spends the next four years training for the moment when she gets to exact her revenge. When the time comes and the deed is done, she finds no relief, and is instead viewed as a monster by her peers for committing such a violent act. Throughout the following days, she finds solace in Yara and Lev, two Saraphites sworn to kill any WLF on sight, including Abby. By witnessing their innocence in a sea of war, Abby takes it upon herself to make sure these children do not become a casualty of the hate that surrounds them. The Last of Us Part II’s narrative is then poetically synergized with the first title, as Abby and Lev foster a bond that flourishes into a mother/son relationship; one where Abby raises Lev by passing on her experiences and lessons of how the world now works. Abby finds her humanity once more in caring for Lev, just as Joel had in the first game with Ellie. An interesting perspective on the game’s events, but nonetheless one I would like to explore some other time.   By the end of The Last of Us Part II players feel sympathy for Abby and the pain she has endured. In the title’s final chapter, we witness Abby’s torture and suffering at the hands of a new enemy faction. Taking control of Ellie, we free Abby and Lev’s malnourished bodies from slavery, but not before Ellie decides to end things once and for all on that beach. In that moment we are forced to participate in a final fight between two beaten and tired individuals. After playing over 20 hours with both Ellie and Abby, we are just as exhausted, and want this feud to end as much as they do.  The poetry in this scene comes from the realization that because of Joel, Abby gets to live. In the beginning of the game, Joel saves Abby’s life, which subsequently leads to his own death. Now in the end, as Ellie is about to drown Abby, a memory of Joel causes Ellie to let go of the hate towards her. In that moment we realize that Joel is more than just the catalyst for Ellie’s revenge and the story at large. Without him, neither Ellie or Abby would have been able to regain their humanity and end the cycle of violence. Abby found her redemption in caring for Lev, while Ellie found it in sparing Abby. 

Ellie

Ellie’s life is completely turned upside down with the death of Joel. Just as she had finally decided it was time to start reconciling their issues, his life is taken from her, forever robbing her of the ability to forgive him. One of the saddest realizations of this game is knowing that Joel and Ellie will never get to express how much they meant to each other. We see in the final flash-back that Ellie had agreed to begin her process of forgiveness, but due to Abby’s actions this is short-lived. 

Joel playing Future Days

The beginning of The Last of Us Part II shows Joel gifting Ellie a guitar he made for her, along with playing a song. For many players, the song Joel sings will feel original to the story. In actuality, it is a song called Future Days by Pearl Jam and serves as a metaphor for the entire game as a whole. The opening lyrics, “If I ever were to lose you, I’d surely lose myself”, resonate with the story at large and foreshadow the events of the entire game. By losing Joel, Ellie becomes driven by anger to avenge him, and in the process, loses herself.  When playing the game as Ellie, we are able to interact with random guitars in the world, allowing her to have a special moment with each of them. Every time Ellie picks one up, the first song she plays is always Future Days to remind her of Joel. Each time the song is played, Ellie will sit in silence for a few moments afterwards and think of him. In those moments we feel the same pain as she does, reminded of the grief we share. The continuous insertion of Future Days within the story makes us more aware of how connected those words are to the characters who sing them.  Throughout her quest for vengeance Ellie falls further into madness, slowly becoming the monster she swore to kill. Each violent act brought her closer to her goal, yet at the cost of losing her humanity. Despite the pleas from those around her to focus on what actually matters in her life, she could not overcome her obsession towards avenging Joel. In the end, her reward was loneliness. She had weaponized her pain and brought devastation to those around her. Due to her actions, no character in The Last of Us Part II experiences a happy ending. 

Ellie in her room with J.J.

The farmhouse chapters near the end are representative of the life Joel had always wanted for Ellie. When Ellie begins to understand the pain she is causing to those around her, she decides that focusing on their safety and well-being is all that should matter, even if that means letting Abby go. At the farmhouse we get a glimpse of what happiness might have looked like for Ellie living together with Dina and their son, J.J. Unfortunately, Ellie’s happiness is a façade, as her PTSD prevents her from forgetting the violent death of Joel. Due to her obsession for revenge, Ellie decides she cannot let things go and proceeds to hunt down Abby once more.  The farmhouse is symbolic of new life and happiness; from the sunset over the horizon, to the livestock and baby J.J. This symbolism is then contrasted by what awaits Ellie when she returns after the final fight with Abby. When coming home, the farmhouse is lifeless and empty of everything except a room full of her belongings. Dina had kept her word to Ellie, and moved on with J.J. and everything they had together.  Ellie’s room was left untouched by Dina, and in it we find the guitar Joel gave her. When interacting with it, Ellie struggles to play Future Days, as her final fight with Abby had left her scarred with the absence of two fingers on her left hand. Players and Ellie experience the sadness together as they come to the realization that she can no longer play the song that is symbolic of her and Joel’s relationship. Along with all of the things destroyed by Ellie’s obsession towards revenge, the inability to play her and Joel’s song is the most significant. Ellie’s final connection to Joel was the guitar, and her ability to keep his memory alive through playing it. Now that she can no longer do that, the weight of the consequences of her actions have become a reality. 

The Grass Isn’t Always Greener

On the surface, The Last of Us Part II tells a story of hatred and revenge, actively showing what awaits those who travel down this dark and lonely path. When taking the time to understand the metaphors and symbolisms laced within the narrative, however, the story then becomes one of love and redemption.

Ellie and Joel’s reconciliation

The first game shows what can happen if we open our hearts to those around us and let love take over. We see this happen throughout the game with the bond that grows between Joel and Ellie. Conversely, The Last of Us Part II shows just how beautiful love can be, while equally as destructive. It is a story of beauty concealed by tragedy. We can see the love Joel and Ellie share for one another, even though it is not expressed, and how that love can take away one’s humanity just as fast as it can give it. With Abby, we see how love takes her down a dark path, only to be redeemed by Lev and the bond they form through adversity. In the end, the love both characters share for those around them are the anchors they needed to ground their humanity and redeem themselves.  Just as the first game ended with ambiguity, so does the sequel. The final shot of the game shows Ellie walking through the fields of her abandoned farmhouse into the forest. It is left for players to decide if she is going after Dina to reconcile and begin to heal, or if she is going off on her own, no longer causing pain to those she cared about most. Given the fact that she left all of her personal belongings in the farmhouse, along with the guitar Joel made for her, I believe that she is going off on her own to live with the consequences of her actions. With that thought, Ellie does not get a happy ending, but can begin the process of earning one. Ellie leaving the guitar behind is symbolic of her letting go of Joel, and finally laying him to rest.  As much as we care about these characters, Ellie’s actions taken throughout the game are neither indicative of a good or bad person—rather someone who is just trying to cope with grief as best as they can. Just as The Last of Us Part II has no heroes; it also has no villains, since life is so rarely black and white. Everyone in the game is suffering in one way or another, and they believe their actions are just. The pain they all endure is enough to justify their wrongdoings, making them the hero of their own story. Regardless of how they view themselves, The Last of Us Part II reminds us that humanity is equally both beautiful and flawed. For more information on The Last of Us Part II, check out our review and opinion on what people are getting wrong about the game.
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About author

Daniel Pereira

From a young age I've loved video games and the power they possess in bringing different kinds of people together. I have forged many good friendships through this medium that would not exist without it. I love experiencing a new genre for the first time and finding out it resonates with me. Also, Conker's Bad Fur Day is one of the greatest games of all time. Fight me.

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