That's all gone, buried and finished. You clearly didn't complete the first game if you didn't see where the next one (if ever made) would go thematically. All lights were out. In the first part Joel claimed to Tess that they're survivors instead of bad guys, doing what it takes to get by... but in the end, he literally became a monster that destroyed humanity's perhaps only hope. Absolutely, completely, totally unforgivable. Did everyone forget that? We can still understand his reasons and we can feel for him, yes, but that doesn't mean we're supposed to accept his choices. Some people have some real difficulties with this it seems - the same with Breaking Bad, Heisenberg and Skyler being "a b*tch". You're not meant to be cheering for every protagonist. Mind-blowing, I know. After the first game was finished, anything coming for Joel was well-deserved. He was never a hero, but now he turned into something so much worse.
And in the sequel, Ellie struggles with these exact same things. How to forgive someone you love after they've done something unforgivable? Will you still fight for them, do they deserve justice? The characters aren't perfect, they're flawed human beings thrown in horrendous situations, trying to do the best they can. Do you think that a traumatised teenager whose already been through hell and more can only remain as your quirky and cute Ellie? We saw the road of Joel... and after you start plaiying the second part, it's clear that Ellie is dangerously following the same cursed path of no return. And she NEVER, EVER does something as terrible as Joel does, despite all the sh*t that goes down. Yet some claim Ellie to be "unlikable", while Joel remains as the same ol' jolly Joel. Go figure. Everything about the game is conflicting, nothing is simple, the weight of death feels so much heavier. It's not all black and white - think about what the game is showing you, don't just consume it. No matter how much you hate someone you used to love... you can't just stop loving them. That's how Ellie feels about Joel here, and that's how I think the player is supposed to feel about him as well. Conflicting emotions. It's a haunting, atrocious, merciless world... filled with glimpses and moments of bliss and beauty. It's brilliant.
Heard its pretty good to revisit the story after you finished it the first time... No surprises, but surely a lot of moments to re-live again...more attention to details....
