10 Most Depressing Things About The Last Of Us Part 2

Ever since the first game, the idea of playing the guitar held significance to Ellie and Joel’s story. As he lost his own daughter at the beginning of the game, it was something Joel never got around to teaching her.

As Ellie and Joel began to bond, he promised her that once they got to Jackson, he’d teach her to play. Fans held onto this sweet idea, and were delighted when one of the first few cutscenes of the game shows Joel playing Ellie a song then giving her his guitar, holding fast on his promise.

Throughout Part II, the guitar acts as a motif for their relationship. Ellie playing the guitar triggers memories of Joel, and the last time she saw him before his death, he was sat on his porch, strumming away.

When Ellie returns to the farmhouse at the end of the game, she is completely alone. Joel is dead, and Dina and J.J. are gone. She picks up the guitar, wanting some sort of connection to the family she used to have and… she can’t play.

Ellie had lost her ring and pinky fingers on her left hand during her final showdown with Abby. This meant that she lost the ability to play the songs Joel taught her - her biggest connection to her dead father-figure.

After Part II hits players with tragedy after tragedy, this one last moment of sorrow cements the game as completely, totally depressing.