they are all suffering with overcoming trauma and "quietening their demons". The change of player character from Ellie to Abby was inspired by the change from Joel to Ellie in the first game, though emphasized in Part II due to its focus on empathy. Druckmann found that players acted differently when forced to play as Ellie in the first game, and wanted to replicate a similar change with Abby in Part II. Druckmann was also inspired by the character switch of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001), which had been suppressed in that game's marketing. The writers experimented with interspersing Ellie and Abby's gameplay sections, but ultimately settled on longer segments. Druckmann found that Ellie's attempt for revenge was mirrored by Abby, who had already achieved it by avenging her father. Early playtests of the final fight led to confusion regarding Ellie's decision to spare Abby; the editorial team suggested adding a flash of Joel playing guitar, which Druckmann felt was an effective balance between explicit and implicit motivation. For more than half of production, Ellie killed Abby in the game's conclusion, and would return to the farm and be tortured but spared by a relative of somebody Ellie killed. Druckmann felt that this was thematically relevant, but realized that it focused too heavily on the themes rather than characters; after conversations about Yara and Lev, they found that it felt dishonest and that Ellie still had some goodness. Druckmann wanted players to support both characters in the final fight, and realize how futile it is. Lead characters Ellie Ellie (Ashley Johnson) is a playable protagonist of The Last of Us Part II. Two years after the events of the first game, Ellie returned to the Firefly hospital and learned the truth from Joel. The main plot of Part II takes place two years later, where Ellie and Joel have built a life in Jackson, though it is evident their relationship is still strained. Ellie and her girlfriend Dina leave Jackson in search of Joel and Tommy. Ellie enters the Washington Liberation Front (WLF) camp to witness Abby Anderson beat Joel to death, and swears revenge. Ellie and Dina head to the WLF base in Seattle, where Tommy has gone. After escaping a WLF ambush, the pair retreat to a theater, where Ellie reveals her immunity to Dina and learns that Dina is pregnant. The next day, with