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Spoilers For Season 2 Of The Last of Us Are Below
Season 2 of the HBO seriesThe Last of Usrevealed a lot about the characters. It delved deeper into the emotional and psychological landscapes of its characters, unraveling the complexities that define their relationships and choices. The season doesn’t shy away from loss, guilt, and the cost of survival, painting a raw and intimate portrait of post-apocalyptic life. The penultimate episode of the second edition saw viewers getting a detailed look at Joel and Ellie’s relationship, and what made it worse. But killing Nora came like a full-circle moment for her, and she knew what Joel had done for her. Now she had to do the same for Dina’s unborn child.
However, Ellie hasn’t forgotten about her ultimate task: to find Abby and her group. The final episode ofThe Last of UsSeason 2 takes viewers closer to that search. Driven by vengeance but burdened by everything she’s lost, Ellie’s journey grows darker and more isolating. Each step forward feels like a step further from the person she once was. But what happened in the most crucial period of her journey? Let’s take a look at how things unfolded in the finale ofThe Last of UsSeason 2.
Ellie Tells Dina The Truth About What Joel Did In Salt Lake City
The finale ofThe Last of Usseason 2 begins with Jesse and Dina reaching the theater. Dina is in a lot of pain, and Jesse is trying to calm her down. He knows that he needs to do something about her injury really soon, or things might get worse for her. As a result, Jesse says that he needs to take the arrow out, which makes Dina nervous, and she tells Jesse that she can’t die. Jesse pours some alcohol on the injured spot, which hurts her really badly. So, Jesse offers her to drink some and bury the pain. However, Dina refuses to drink and sternly tells Jesse that she can’t drink right now. He finally takes the bow out of her leg and puts a bandage on the injury. A few moments later, Ellie finally arrives in the theater and asks Jesse about Dina’s condition. Jesse says that Dina is in the dressing room after asking her what happened to her. Ellie ignores his question and makes her way to the dressing room, where she sees Dina resting.
After watching Ellie for the first time since they got apart, Dina realizes that her back is badly injured, and when she sees her condition, she realizes that something has happened. Dina asked Ellie about what had happened, to which Ellie replied by saying that she had found Nora. Moreover, she said that when she asked her about Abby’s whereabouts, she only said two words: whales and wheels. Ellie is skeptical about whether Nora knows about Abby’s whereabouts, and what she said could be just random words. She also said that it wasn’t hard for her to hurt Nora and kept on hurting her. However, she didn’t kill her because Nora was already infected, and she left her there to die. While talking,Ellie finally tells Dina about Salt Lake Cityand what happened there. She told her how Joel killed everybody when he found out that attempting to make a cure could have killed Ellie. One of the people he killed was Abby’s father, and that’s the reason why Abby and the group came for Joel.
Consequently, Ellie says that she knew about what Joel did, which stuns Dina, and all she said was that she wanted to go home.
Ellie And Jesse Leave To Meet Tommy, While The WLF Showcases Its Brutality
The story moves ahead with Day Three in Seattle, and Ellie and Jesse seem to be packing their stuff to meet Tommy. Dina comes out of the dressing room and makes her way to Ellie, giving her a lucky bracelet to save her from all the dangers. After seeing that moment, Jessie says he could do this alone if she wants Ellie to stay. However, Dina says “no.” So, the plan is to reach the rendezvous point, meet Tommy, and reach the theater by sunset. During their journey, Ellie asks about how he found the theater, and Jesse counters by asking her what happened to her last night. Jesse eventually told Ellie how they found the theater by following the likeliest path. Moreover, they found the place where they left Shimmer, the horse they were traveling with, and found the TV station with the WLF logo on it. While checking out the area surrounding that building, he found the theater.
It took him two days and a lot of close calls to find the theater. Ellie thanked him for doing this, but Jesse told her about how Dina told him “I can’t die” yesterday night and chose not to drink. Conversely, he believes that Dina and Ellie have formed a pretty close relationship now, and she categorically knows why she made that “can’t die” comment. Why? Because she is pregnant. It turns out Jesse was guessing, and his guess turned out to be right. As a result, Jesse tells Ellie that they need to go faster because he is going to be a father, and he can’t let his child die in Seattle. Moreover, he blames Ellie for being in the middle of a war. As they move forward, the duo realizes that they need to be quick because a literal storm is coming, and soon, it starts to rain. They take shelter inside a warehouse and wait for the rain to recede. However, things get dangerous when they hear shooting, and they quickly take cover to save themselves.
They thought theWLF soldierswere shooting at them, but soon, it is revealed that a few WLF soldiers were chasing a young member of the Seraphites. Ellie wanted to help him, but Jesse stopped her. In the end, the WLF soldiers stripped the member of the Seraphite and took him away. Ellie was angry at Jesse for not helping the little kid, but he made it clear that he wouldn’t put his life at risk for them because this is not their war.
Abby Is Nowhere To Be Seen, While Ellie Finally Gets What Nora meant By ‘Whales And Wheels’
Meanwhile, the WLF is getting ready for the storm to hit Seattle, and they are ready to leave the aforementioned place. Sergeant Elise Park lets Isaac know that things are ready, but rather than asking about the plan, he asks if she knows about Abby’s whereabouts. Park says that Abby hasn’t been around since yesterday, and to make things worse,Owen and Melare missing too. The way Isaac talks about Abby makes Park think if he was in love with Abby. To counter her, Isaac says he and Park would die if things got ugly, and if they die, who is supposed to take care of the organization? For Isaac, Abby was supposed to lead them, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Elsewhere, Jesee and Ellie finally reach the bookstore where they were supposed to meet Tommy. But when they reached there, Tommy was nowhere to be seen. As a result, they take shelter there for some time and wait for Tommy. While spending time together at the bookstore, Jesse admits that he loves Dina, but also makes it clear that Ellie loves Dina more than he ever did. Conversely, he opens up about a woman who came to Jackson with a group from Alberta, and how he spent time with her. He fell for her, and she had the same feeling about him, as well. Jesse wanted to leave with her, but decided not to leave Jackson because the settlement and its people needed him the most. But their conversation is cut short when they hear on the WLF walkie that a sniper is shooting at them, which makes the duo realize that it must be Tommy.
Ellie Cheats Death As She Finally Meets Abby’s Two Most Important Partners
They made their way to an abandoned building and could hear the gunshots from far away. Ellie, from her binoculars, finally sees a Ferris wheel and a building which had a large picture of a whale. This takes Ellie back to when she asked where Abby was, and Nora replied with “whales and wheels.” Ellie tells Jesse that Abby is inside the Seattle Aquarium, and that’s where they should go. However, Jesse wanted to find Tommy because he might need backup. Ellie told him that he would have been here officially if three more people had voted that day. However, Jesse replied that he voted “no” during the voting. An argument takes place between them, and Ellie wants Jesse to realize that they should go there. But Jesse was not in the mood to listen to her and wished her all the best for her journey before leaving.
It was getting darker, and the storm became even worse. Ellie made it to shore and wanted to reach the aquarium with the help of a speedbot. However, as soon as she moved towards it, she saw a lot of smaller boats making their way to the shore and was being led by Isaac. When they left, Ellie took one of the boats and began her journey. But a big tide knocked her down, and instead of reaching her destination, she reached a forest that was captured by the Seraphites. A few moments later, twomembers of the Seraphitestook her inside the forest to present her in front of their leaders. When it looked like Ellie was about to be killed, the Scars heard a loud sound coming from their village, so they left Ellie there and defended their village. Ellie took advantage of that situation and made her way to the speedboat. As she made her way to the aquarium, Ellie heard loud explosions coming from the forest, meaning the WLF soldiers had attacked the Seraphites. But she didn’t stop and made her way to the aquarium to find Abby.
After making her way to the aquarium, she couldn’t find Abby, but she did find Mel and Owen. Ellie killed both of them before Tommy and Jesse got there. They took her way and reached the theater to meet Dina, who was relieved to see Tommy.
The Season 2 finale ofThe Last of Usis a powerful, emotional ride that captures the brutal cost of survival and revenge. Ellie’s journey grows darker as she continues searching for Abby, haunted by guilt and loss. The episode balances raw action with quiet, heartbreaking moments, especially when Ellie confesses the truth about Salt Lake City to Dina. Jesse and Ellie’s bond adds warmth, but tension builds as the WLF and Seraphites close in. The finale cleverly ties back to Nora’s cryptic clue—“whales and wheels”—leading Ellie to a devastating discovery at the aquarium. The episode doesn’t offer easy answers but shows how far Ellie is willing to go, and what it’s costing her. With intense performances, high-stakes drama, and emotional weight, this finale sets the stage for a gripping continuation, reminding us that in a world torn apart, the greatest battles are often within.
