[Warning: Spoilers for The Last of Us: Part 2 below]
Throughout revenge-driven rampage through all of Abby's friends is a disturbing venture that often forces the player to engage in unsettling ways. Despite this, it's difficult to not feel sympathy for Ellie and her position. Soon after the events of the first game, she can bond with Joel, the father figure she never had. To see the comfort and reassurance Joel provided taken away in such a brutal manner is immensely heartbreaking.
However, Naughty Dog had no intention of making Ellie's story a one-sided one. Halfway through the game, the player plays as Abby whose main goal leading up to that point was to murder Joel Miller. After she achieves her goal, traumatizing Ellie in the process, she struggles to find what purpose. While Ellies journey is one of revenge, Abby's is more of redemption. She finds meaning in her friendship with Lev and becomes a more open-minded person because of it. In many regards, her story is much like Joel, but much like him, she cannot escape the consequences of what she did.
While Abby's growth is commendable given her past, there is still a stark contrast between her and Ellie in The Last of Us 2, particularly in the way both Ellie and Abby react to the pain and death that they cause. At the beginning of the game, Abby is shown to not only commit to Joel's mutilation, but also somewhat revels in it. She kills him in a disgustingly demeaning manner, one that understandably provides trauma to Ellie forever. Even after this, Abby shows basically no signs of remorse, trauma, or doubt in her actions. Even when invading the theater to ambush Ellie and the party, she has no problem killing Jesse (someone who she has no history with) for seemingly little reason. When she wins the fight against Ellie and Dina she beats down on both of them. When Ellie pleads for her not to kill Dina, stating she is pregnant, Abby responds by saying "good." In fact, the only reason she doesn't murder Ellie and Dina at that moment is due to Lev's obvious hesitation and disgust in Abby's actions.
Why Ellie Seems More Realistic Than Abby
Of course, this attack only comes after Abby has found all of her friends murdered by Ellie. Her anger and rage are justified, but her lack of remorse or regret is also quite apparent. This hardened mindset is in complete contrast with Ellie's. Every time Ellie kills one of Abby's friends, she shows signs of trauma and insecurity. The most potent example is after Ellie tortures Nora to get information out of her. While Ellie has committed a horrible act of violence, after her return to the theater, it becomes clear that she is scarred forever. She looks as if she is on the verge of tears, her breathing isn't steady, and she is distant from Dina. She is recognizing the weight of the atrocity she committed and she is disgusted with herself.
While both Ellie and Abby have changed forever by the end of The Last Of Us Part 2, Ellie is shown to be less comfortable with killing. Abby is valid in her feeling of hatred for Joel, but she doesn't hold any regrets or doubts throughout the process. This is unlike Ellie, who progressively becomes more and more traumatized by the actions she has committed. Ellie's newfound trauma and Abby's unlikely redemption could be explored even further in the future with a new installment.
