The Last of Us season 2 episode 7 brings the hit game adaptation to a dramatic end after a season of heartbreaking deaths and new threats. Set back in Seattle, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) faces some huge consequences in the heartbreaking final moments of the show. These are sure to have a lasting impact on The Last of Us season 3 as well, which has already been announced by HBO.
For more on how it might feed into that, as well as details on some loose ends not yet tied up, we've compiled an ultimate guide to The Last of Us season 2 ending. Below we cover everything from a brief recap to the lowdown on your lingering questions. It goes without saying that we'll be getting into serious spoiler territory from here on out so make sure you've seen the finale before reading on.
However, if you're concerned about The Last of Us Part 2 game spoilers as well, we'll flag those separately below before venturing into the source material.
The Last of Us season 2 ending explained
The Last of Us season 2 episode 7 picks up right from the end of episode 5, following on from the flashback episode where we learned what really went down with Joel and Ellie in the years between season 1 and season 2.
Dina and Jesse are back in the theater with Jesse helping fix her, before she refuses any alcohol which gets Jesse a bit suspicious. Ellie then returns after killing Nora in the hospital and goes in to check on Dina and the pair have a heart-to-heart. Dina then checks on her injuries before Ellie reveals what happened with Nora and what she learned about Abby's whereabouts (she is at "whale" and "wheel", which will be important later).
Ellie also tells her the truth about what Joel really did and why Abby and her team wanted him dead. In the previous episode, we saw the moment that Joel revealed the truth about how he saved her to stop her being killed to make a cure. "We need to go home," Dina says in reply, clearly conflicted by the revelation.
Before they can go though, they need to find Tommy. Jesse and Ellie prepare to pack up and go and locate him at their planned book store meeting point. On the way, Jesse says he knows that Dina is pregnant. However, their heart-to-heart is soon interrupted by Wolves. Ellie and Jesse take shelter in a car garage where they see the WLF killing a Seraphite child. Jesse stops her from stopping them, which causes conflict between them. "This is not our war," he tells her.
Meanwhile, back with the WLF, Isaac and the team are preparing for a big mission. They've had no word on Abby and her crew though. Isaac reveals that he was grooming Abby to take over the WLF, calling it her destiny. "She's fucked off Isaac, so maybe it wasn't," his fellow soldier tells him.
In the book store, Ellie and Jesse find some baby books but no Tommy. There is time for more confiding though as Jesse reveals that he was in love with a woman who passed through Jackson once, but he didn't follow her. He also reveals that he doesn't love Dina in the same way that Ellie does.
After getting some more news on Tommy over the radio, the pair head to a building above the city, where they decide to split up. Ellie spots a wheel and an aquarium, working out where Abby is – wheel and whale, remember?
Ellie then gets on a boat, but not before she sees Isaac and his team get on one and head somewhere. Her boat ends up washed up on an island where she encounters more Seraphites. She's at risk of being hanged and gutted but she manages to make an escape when they get distracted by noise elsewhere on the island.
Ellie then heads to the aquarium where she thinks Abby is. After stalking through the corridors, she comes across Abby's friends Owen and Mel talking. She demands to know where Abby is on the map or she tells them that she'll kill them. Owen says she'll do it either way so tries to shoot her, and Ellie fires back, killing him and also fatally wounding Mel.
When Mel is lying on the ground bleeding out, it becomes clear that she's pregnant. She tells Ellie to cut her baby out. "Is it out?" she asks Ellie heartbreakingly but she's not able to do it. Tommy and Jesse find Ellie in the aquarium in the aftermath and take her back to the theater, where she is pretty inconsolable.
She then speaks to them both on the stage about what happened before Tommy goes off and tries to get ready for them to leave. "They made their choices," Tommy tells her. "And Abby gets to live," Ellie says.
However, then Jesse and Ellie hear commotion and run through to the lobby. It all happens very quickly from here. Jesse is seemingly shot dead as Tommy is held at gunpoint by Abby. Abby then aims her gun at Ellie, who tells her that she's the one that she wants. "I let you live and you wasted it," Abby says and points the barrel at Ellie.
The episode – and the season – ends back at 'Seattle Day One' as Abby wakes up and is told that Isaac is waiting for her. She goes outside and we can see she's inside a huge baseball stadium.
Who dies in The Last of Us season 2 finale?
There's a pretty high body count in the season 2 finale, ending the show in the bloody way it kicked off. Some minor background characters die, including a Seraphite child before the big casualties begin. At the aquarium, Ellie shoots dead Abby's WLF friends Owen and Mel. Mel is also pregnant and her unborn child doesn't survive the ordeal. At the very end of the episode, it seems like Abby has also shot and killed Jesse who is lying in a pool of blood on the floor. However, the season ends before we find out whether Tommy and Ellie make it.
What's up with that Seraphite island?
At one point when Ellie is trying to make it across to the aquarium on a boat, she ends up stranded on an island occupied by Seraphites. It's a weird interlude but one that will be familiar to players of The Last of Us Part II game. Here's your spoiler warning for that.
The location is seemingly setting up a major location for the end of this story. In the game it's based on, it's actually Abby's story that leads them back to this island where a Seraphite community have made their home. Abby heads there with Yara to find Lev after they find out the WLF's plans to attack the Serpahites. She ends up in the midst of a fire-ladden battle, which she escapes with Lev.
What are Isaac and his team doing?
It's hinted that Isaac and the WLF are planning an assault on the Seraphites, which explains why they're heading on boat across to their island. In the game, we find out that Isaac wants to stop the fighting between the two factions for good, but it's unlikely that we'll see the actual battle until well into season 3, based on the show's timeline.
Is Jesse dead?
One of the most shocking moments in the finale comes when Abby shoots Jesse in her final confrontation in the theater. It all happens so quickly that it's hard to work out who survives and who doesn't, but it certainly looks like Jesse does not make it. He's not only been shot but is also lying unresponsive in a puddle of his blood. It's not looking good.
Does Ellie die in The Last of Us season 2 finale?
The last we see of Ellie in season 2, she's looking down the barrel of Abby's gun. However, we don't see what happens to her after this moment as the cameras then cut away to a flashback of Abby's story. So the short answer at this point is we don't know, but it would be a pretty big swing for the showrunners to kill their main character, especially so soon after Joel's death.
What happens to Dina?
One of the big mysteries of Ellie and Abby's final confrontation in the theater is where Dina is. We don't see her at all when Ellie returns from the aquarium and she's not involved in the stand-off like Tommy and Jesse are. We'll have to wait and see where she actually is and if she's safe. But our best bet is that she's been resting in one of the changing rooms and wasn't around when Abby broke in.
Where is Abby? How is it Seattle Day One again?
Season 2 ends with a flashback of Abby being woken up by Manny and told that Isaac is waiting for her. As they make their way outside, it's clear they're in a huge baseball stadium as the screen reads "Seattle Day One". Now, given that we were just on Seattle Day Three, this is a bit confusing before you realise that the show is actually heading back in time to tell Abby's story over this timeframe.
Delving a bit into how the game works – and some spoilers for that here – after completing Ellie's side of Seattle, this is exactly what happens. The narrative jumps into Abby's story as you play as her for the second half of the storyline, getting to know her background and friends better. This begins in the same place, which is actually the WLF headquarters.
It was never a given that the show would follow the same structure as the game, especially because showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann kept bringing elements of Abby's story forward in their retelling. For example, at this point in the show we already know why she killed Joel, whereas the game keeps it a mystery until we get into Abby's perspective. However, it seems the next season will feature a whole lot of Abby.
Will there be a The Last of Us season 3?
Speaking of the next season, yes, The Last of Us has already been renewed for season 3. It's not clear when work and filming will begin on that but it is on its way. "We approached season 2 with the goal of creating something we could be proud of. The end results have exceeded even our most ambitious goals, thanks to our continued collaboration with HBO and the impeccable work of our unparalleled cast and crew," co-showrunner Craig Mazin after the news was announced.
For more, check out our guides to The Last of Us release schedule and our The Last of Us season 2 review.
