Does Ellie Die in the Last of Us 2? Here’s What Happens to Her

HBO’s The Last of Us is one of the most notable TV series worldwide, and fans are excited for new episodes released weekly. The Last of Us TV show was adapted from the successful action-adventure game of the same name released and developed by Naughty Dog in 2013. The game’s sequel, The Last of Us 2, was released in 2020, and it picks up the story of Joel and Ellie five years after the happenings of the first game. Some people didn’t play The Last of Us 2 and are wondering about the fate of our favorite duo. In this article, we will discuss whether Ellie dies in The Last of Us 2. 

Ellie doesn’t die in The Last of Us 2 game. Ellie tries to avenge Joel’s death in the second game after Abby Anderson kills him. She pursues Abby all over the United States and finally reaches her in Santa Barbara, where she almost murders Joel’s killer. However, Ellie decides to let Abby go and returns to Jackson, the compound where she lived with Joel, after the events of the first Last of Us game. Ellie survives, but she is all alone.

We will discuss Ellie’s and Joel’s characters in the Last of Us 2 and mention their storylines and fates. Moreover, we will explain how Ellie’s life changed after the first game’s happenings and how she survived the post-apocalyptic world of the United States of America. Beware of spoilers for the first and second Last of Us games.

Ellie’s and Joel‘s fate after the first Last of Us

If you played the first Last of Us game, you probably know how the journey of Joel and Ellie went on. From Ellie’s childhood in a quarantine zone in Boston and Joel’s life in Texas to the ultimate meeting and journey of these two characters is what made the games cinematic in ways not many people expected at the time.

We won’t spend the whole article talking about the happenings of the first game that is currently retold by HBO’s show, but we will jump to the end and continue to the second part.

After encountering the grueling terrain of the United States and encountering people that made good and bad, but primarily traumatizing, impressions on Ellie, Joel finally brings Ellie to Salt Lake City and Fireflies. Ellie is noticeably quiet and distracted but predominantly guilt-ridden because her journey was marked by the death and sacrifice of people she liked just for her to reach Utah.

As time passed, Ellie became more resigned to the fact that she would have to sacrifice herself to save the world, and the people like her friend Riley will have the chance to live. On the other hand, Joel started loving Ellie as his daughter, and she filled the void that Sarah’s death left inside of him. Joel even offers Ellie to return to Tommy, Joel’s brother, in Jackson, but Ellie refuses, determined to finish their journey.

Joel and Ellie end up in the hospital, where Marlene and her Fireflies prepare an operation room for Ellie. Marlene tells Joel that the medical team needs to extract the mutated Cordyceps from Ellie’s brain, which will kill her.

Joel refuses, but Marlene orders her guards to kill Joel if he tries to stop the operation. Of course, Joel kills everyone in his way and reaches the operation room, where Ellie was just about operated on. Joel kills all medical team members, including the lead surgeon Jerry Anderson. Joel takes Ellie unconscious outside the hospital, but not before encountering Marlene, who begs Joel to think about what he is doing, and that Ellie will want to sacrifice her life for the cure. Joel kills Marlene and escapes with Ellie.

Ellie wakes up and asks Joel what happened in the hospital. Joel tells Ellie that there are other teenagers with mutated Cordyceps that Fireflies are looking into. Ellie seems suspicious and defeated, and Joel suspects the young girl doesn’t believe him.

The Last of Us 2 sees Joel and Ellie return to Tommy and Jackson’s settlement, where the teenager does her best to help her community. She also hides her scar to conceal her identity. Joel and Ellie’s relationship seems tense after the events in Salt Lake City, which continues until Joel’s death. Yes, Ellie discovers what really happened in Utah – she already feels guilty for not doing what Marlene asked her to do, and the survivor’s guilt increases tenfold after the revelation.

Despite the tension, Ellie and Joel coexist in the same community – Ellie finds a girlfriend while Joel does his best to take care of the girl from the background.

Unfortunately, Joel’s actions catch up to him, and former Fireflies and close people of Marlene and her crew kill Joel. Remember that surgeon, Jerry Anderson? Well, his daughter Abby hunts Joe down, kills him to avenge her father, and makes Ellie watch. This event traumatizes Ellie to the core and makes it her mission to kill Abby and stop the nightmares she’s been experiencing since her only father figure died.

However, does Ellie survive? Let’s find out!

Does Ellie die in the Last of Us 2?

We know Ellie’s motivation in the Last of Us Part 2, and we can reveal what happens to her. The whole game is filled with violence, grief, and the harsh reality the survivors must endure to live normal lives. Ellie decides to hunt down Abby for killing Joel but fails and returns to Jackson defeated and still burdened by trauma. She continues her life with her girlfriend Dina and her baby JJ, but Tommy’s arrival prompts Ellie to try once again and kill Abby.

We will refrain from retelling the whole Last of Us 2 game and fast forward to the main question of this article. Ellie survives in Last of Us 2, despite being beaten nonstop and Abby’s allies’ efforts to stop her. After leaving her family in Jackson, Ellie constantly encounters obstacles/people who try to stop her, but she goes through them like they are nothing.

Eventually, Ellie reaches Abby’s whereabouts in Santa Barbara and actually saves her from the aggressive slaver group called Rattlers. Abby is shocked, but Ellie challenges Abby to a fight when they escape. Ellie almost kills Abby on the spot, but memories of Joel playing the guitar stop her. In tears, Ellie spares Abby’s life and lets them escape. Eventually, Ellie is seen returning to the Jackson farm, but it’s abandoned.

Ellie sits down and tries to play Joel’s guitar but cannot do so because she lost her two fingers in the fight with Abby. Ellie remembers her last conversation with Joel, where he admitted that if God gave him another chance, at that moment in St. Mary’s Hospital, he would do everything all over again, confirming that he would always save Ellie.

With that memory, Ellie leaves Joel’s guitar and farm behind.

Ellie is an incredibly compelling character we glimpse in the first game. Still, the second game truly shows how Ellie is traumatized and troubled individual whose life is worth so much, but her death is invaluable to every person in the world. Her value eats her alive, which is why the relationship with Joel is so tense – she blames him for taking away her life’s main goal and purpose.

Ellie’s whereabouts after the Last of Us 2 are currently unknown, but at least we know she is alive – we’ll have to wait and see what Naughty Dog game studio does next.