9 Ways The Last Of Us 2 Was Almost Completely Different

5. Ellie's Final Scene Was Less Ambiguous

Like The Last of Us, TLOU 2 ends on an ambiguous note. After returning to the farm to find it empty following sparing Abby, Ellie attempts to play the guitar one final time, before leaving it behind and venturing off to an unknown future.

It leaves plenty up to player interpretation (Will she return to Jackson? Would Dina take her back? Is she cutting ties with communities entirely?), but the original version of that scene had more clues hinting at the outcome.

Neil Druckmann recalled that co-writer Halley Gross included a small beat before Ellie leaves the farm, showing her picking up one of JJ's toys. The implication being she's going to return to Dina and their child in Jackson.

While that would still leave ambiguities, Druckmann felt the action implied too much about where she was headed, and opted to omit it for a more open-ended climax.