WARNING: This content includes spoilers for Part II of the video game and any subsequent seasons of the HBO television show.

In Part I of the game, we were reminded that even in a world filled with monsters, humans can be just as dangerous, if not more so. While Part II includes similar messaging through the human enemy groups, the gameplay primarily focuses on the nuances of grief and anger, and how allowing them to fester can lead one down a path of self-destruction. Importantly, though, Part II does not vilify mental illness and instead highlights the struggle experienced by the individual with mental health issues and the people in their lives.

The Last of Us Part II switches between the playable characters of Abby Anderson, the daughter of one of the doctors Joel murdered while saving Ellie in Part I, and Ellie, both of whom become stuck in a vicious cycle of violence after Abby returns to avenge her father by brutally murdering Joel. This game does a fantastic job of illustrating the devastating effects of grief, including anger and denial, which consume Ellie, leading her to slaughter over half of the survivors in Seattle to avenge her father. 

In the process of tracking down Abby, Ellie isolates herself by pushing away her loved ones and taking her anger out on them, a common effect of grief. She eventually becomes so lost in her plan for revenge that she kills Abby’s entire found family, including a pregnant woman, and subsequently, loses her sense of self. Around this time, Ellie also begins to experience episodes of PTSD, including seeing Joel’s dead body in the carcasses on the street, hearing his voice as she kills people, and having full-blown panic attacks that leave her paralyzed. 

Although the game is set up so that players immediately hate Abby and are just as determined to hunt her down and kill her, when playing as Abby, you see that her story is the same as Ellie’s: a murdered father, a quest for vengeance, PTSD symptoms, including flashbacks and nightmares that leave her gasping for breath. Not to mention, Abby even goes down the same redemption path as Joel, having found an adopted child and learning to trust again in the process. This plotline demonstrates that no matter how different people may appear, mental health affects everyone.

Another aspect of the cycle of violence that this game portrayed excellently is how all-consuming it is. Even when Ellie has a chance to return to a family life with her girlfriend and her step-son, it isn’t long before her need to track down Abby again, foolishly believing it will give her closure, takes over. Similarly, when Abby’s father died, instead of being able to grieve appropriately, she trained for years to be in top physical condition so she could one day kill Joel. Both of these characters became so focused on their mission that it didn’t matter to them how many people died. Ellie even rationalized the deaths of her friends, using them as evidence of her need to continue pursuing revenge.

The game culminates in a second fight between Abby and Ellie, where Ellie lets Abby escape, finally realizing that killing her won’t fix the atrocities she’s committed and the monster she has become. Most importantly, she realizes that none of her actions will bring Joel back. Painstakingly, despite the years of her life lost, her friends’ deaths and her loss of identity, she finally ends the cycle of violence.

The Last of Us Part II is such a beautiful game that truly reflects the nuances of mental illness and despair. With plot lines that include religious fanaticism, forgiveness, losing your sense of self, and accepting one’s sexuality, this game has something for everyone. One of my favourite aspects of this game is the unbridled female rage we see in Ellie Williams. A lot of stories intentionally omit plotlines of psychopathic women or make their anger palatable so that an audience can still find the female lead attractive. This game does not pander to such stereotypes and shows an unfiltered representation of what anger and violence can look like in women.

Contributing author: Sophie Wagner

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Feature Image: Photo by Max Ovcharenko on Unsplash