A death in this session. Not Abby — the game is not going to give Ellie what she came for this easily. But a death nonetheless, one that was supposed to mean something, that the logic of revenge said should feel like a step forward. It feels quiet instead. Not peaceful quiet. The quiet of a room after something has been removed from it, the silence of an expectation that was not met.

The Last of Us Part II is systematic about this. Every act of violence that Ellie commits in the service of her purpose is checked against what she expected it to feel like and found short. Justice is a feeling that keeps retreating. The game has known from the beginning that it is not findable at the end of this road, and it is patient about making Ellie discover this herself.