20 Best Quotes From The Last Of Us Part 2

The Last of Us Part 2 is deeply narrative-driven, and near-constant dialogue throughout the game results in very fleshed out characters. From old favorites like Joel, to new leads like Abby, TLOU 2 has a knack for delivering compelling quotes. The story's stakes are high and the game's characters are incredibly complex. With such a dire post-pandemic world and a cinematic flair, it's unsurprising that The Last of Us Part 2 is filled with memorable lines.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2.]

A few years after Joel and Ellie's odyssey to find the Fireflies in The Last of Us Part 1, Part 2 tells the parallel story of Ellie and Abby, the daughter of the surgeon whom Joel killed at the end of the first game. The game is an agonizing descent into vengeful violence, but nonetheless a towering narrative achievement.Although centered on the two leading women, The Last of Us Part 2 has a wonderful cast of suppporting characters who contribute to its most memorable quotes and converstations.

21 "What Is The Downside To Eating A Clock?"

Joel

Sarah's death at the beginning of The Last of Us Part 1 fundamentally changed Joel as a person. He became jaded and stoic until eventually bonding with Ellie helped him move on. Ellie's corny jokes are a charming through line in the first game, and they briefly come full circle when Joel tells one at the beginning of Part 2: "What is the downside to eating a clock? It's time consuming." It emphasizes how Joel went from wanting nothing to do with Ellie to learning jokes just for her.

20 "You Can't Stop This."

Ellie

The Last of Us: Part 2 shows Ellie becoming entirely consumed by her quest for revenge against Abby's group for Joel's murder. Early in Ellie and Dina's journey through Seattle, Ellie is captured by one of the perpetrators, Jordan. While tied to a table, Ellie tells Jordan, "You can't stop this," in reference to her plans for revenge. Ellie is soon saved by Dina before brutally killing Jordan. The line is an early indication that Ellie is slipping into a very dark place, hinting at her insatiable need for revenge.

19 "You Don't Get To Rush This."

Abby

After years of pursuing Joel following his rampage at the hospital during the climax of The Last of Us, Abby and her group finally catch their quarry. As her friends hold Joel captive, Abby tells him, "You don't get to rush this," before taking her time brutally murdering him with a golf club. This line is perhaps the earliest indication that TLOU 2 is going to be a much darker journey than its predecessor.

18 "If You Lie To Me One More Time, I'm Gone."

Ellie

Joel's actions at the end of the first game were morally gray at best, choosing to save Ellie's life rather than allowing her to die in the service of finding a cure for the Cordyceps brain infection. However, Ellie eventually becomes suspicious of Joel's lies regarding the Fireflies and, in one heated moment, she swore that she would leave for good if he didn't tell her the truth. The entire dynamic between Joel and Ellie in Part 2 hinges upon this monumental moment. Players witness a growing divide between the two beloved characters as Ellie comes to realize what Joel did to rescue her and, once the truth is revealed, things are never the same between them again.

17 "I Can Make It Quick. Or I Can Make It Much Worse."

Ellie

After doggedly pursuing Nora, one of Abby's companions, Ellie corners her and threatens a slow death unless she discloses Abby's location. With the scene bathed in a menacing red light, it's a striking scene, and is something of a turning point for Ellie's character. Nora is already doomed to die in the lower floors of the hospital, which are covered in Cordyceps spores, but Ellie shows that she's willing to dole out sever punishment in response to Nora's role in Joel's murder. The scene delivers on Ellie's promise to "make it much worse," cutting away as she bludgeons Nora with a metal pipe.

16 "Oh Ellie, I Think They Should Be Terrified Of You."

Dina

The Last of Us Part 2 tells much of its story through deliberately placed flashbacks. Many center on key interactions between Ellie and Joel, but an important one, which is alluded to near the beginning of the game but not shown until close to the end, delineates a key incident in Ellie and Dina's relationship: their first kiss at a dance in Jackson. Dina saying, "they should be terrified of you," is in reference to men watching them dance, but after witnessing Ellie's bloody trek through Seattle, it takes on a more tragic meaning.

15 "My Friends' Problems Are My Problems."

Jesse

Jesse is introduced in The Last of Us Part 2 as Dina's ex and one of the people in charge of coordinating patrols outside of Jackson. Despite Ellie and Dina's burgeoning romantics, though, Jesse remains a close friend to both, and is instrumental in the two surviving Seattle. Jesse is perhaps one of the few redeemable characters in the series, and his selflessness is exemplified by telling Ellie, "My friends' problems are my problems," before he's tragically and unexpectedly killed by Abby.

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13 "You Don't Think Joel Deserved What He Got?"

Abby

Joel's decision to rescue Ellie from the hospital at the end of the first game had far-reaching consequences. Fireflies died (including Abby's father), Ellie lost her purpose, and a potential cure for the Cordyceps brain infection was lost forever. When Mel expresses regret at being involved in Joel's torture and murder, Abby asks if she thinks Joel deserved it, and Mel admits she believes he deserved worse. It's a quick exchange, but thought-provoking, and there's no clear answer. Aside from what it reveals about Mel and Abby, it's a poignant question to ask the player, who at this point in the story is early in Abby's saga, just beginning to see her side of things.

12 "Why Don't You Say Whatever Speech You've Got Rehearsed & Get This Over With."

Joel

Joel's early exit is one of the most shocking moments in The Last of Us, but it may not necessarily have been a surprise to Joel. He knew he'd made a lot of enemies in his life, and telling Abby to get on with it shows he knew exactly what was happening. It's a sobering line for Joel to say to the person about to beat him to death with a golf club, and it's perhaps more level-headed than most other characters could muster in such circumstances.

11 "We Let You Both Live... And You Wasted It!"

Abby

When the Salt Lake Crew kills Joel, Manny goes to kill Ellie too, but is stopped by Owen. Instead, Ellie and Tommy are knocked out, but left alive. When they meet Abby again, she says, "You killed my friends. We let you both live... and you wasted it!" Their mercy was perhaps misguided in retrospect, and the quote speaks to the larger violence that cascaded from Joel's death. Abby says this after having just killed Jesse and right before trying to kill Tommy. Both Abby and Ellie's lives have been torn apart by the latter not being content with the mercy shown by the former.

10 "Don't You Do It, Ellie!"

Tommy

The Last of Us depicts tremendous loss throughout both games, with Tommy being a notable example. He lost his brother, his wife, his eye, and the ability to walk properly. Another thing he loses by the end of the game is his sense of compassion; when Abby is threatening to shoot Tommy if Ellie doesn't come out, he says, "Don't you do it, Ellie! Get out of here!" Faced with his own death, Tommy nobly tells Ellie to save herself, but later in the game, when Ellie initially refuses to go after Abby again in Santa Barbara, he scoffs at her and leaves. He's learned nothing by narrowly escaping death at least twice.

9 "Happy Birthday, Kiddo."

Joel

The Last of Us Part 2 is significantly darker than the first game – there are more brutal deaths and harder choices the characters have to make. But with the dark moments also comes levity, including one notable example when Joel celebrates Ellie's birthday with her. Joel knows of Ellie's fascination with space and dinosaurs, so he takes her to the Wyoming Museum of Science and History. He tops off the excursion by giving her a tape recording of a launch to space while they're sitting in a flight module, saying, "Happy birthday, kiddo." The flashback shows how far Joel has come after Sarah's death, and just how much Ellie means to him.

8 "I Would Do It All Over Again."

Joel

Joel isn't meant to be seen as a good person; he's done plenty of good things, but he's also done many bad things. Arguably his most morally gray action was taking Ellie away from the Fireflies. When Ellie finds out, she gets upset at Joel and feels her life can't amount to anything now. Joel then says, "If somehow the Lord gave me a second chance at that moment... I would do it all over again." Joel's choice was incredibly complicated, and from a humanitarian, utilitarian standpoint, he was wrong, but years later he still thinks he made the right call.

7 "You Go Halfway Across The Country With Someone..."

Joel

Joel's relationship with Ellie, and the rationalization of his actions in Salt Lake City, are addressed with this half-complete sentence spoken to Tommy in TLOU 2's opening cutscene. Beyond providing insight into Joel's feelings, however, it also strikes at the core of how Part 2 leverages player emotion. Players spent the entirety of the first game traveling across the country with Joel, and his brutal murder in the sequel's prologue instantly aligns their interests with Ellie's, only to have that confidence eroded as Ellie's bloodlust makes her unsympathetic.

6 "I Don't Think I Can Ever Forgive You For That."

Ellie

After Joel admits he would save Ellie all over again, she says, "I don't think I can ever forgive you for that. But I would like to try." Forgiveness is usually the ideal outcome, but it isn't always possible. Ellie might not be able to forgive Joel, but she still wants to. They've known each other for so long and have sacrificed so much, she doesn't want to feel this way about Joel. Though he hurt her, she still loves him, and she wants to forgive him. This fact makes Joel's death even more heartbreaking, as it takes away Ellie's chance at reconciliation.

5 "Well, You’re A Burden Now, Aren’t You?"

Ellie

Ellie realizes she has made a grave mistake in her obsessive revenge mission when she finds out that Dina is pregnant. This complicates their situation and irritates her, even prompting an uncharacteristically hurtful line about Dina being "a burden." The jarring scene underscores how easy it is to make Ellie angry, as it's her first reaction when she feels hurt, betrayed, or scared. Just like how enraged she becomes over Joel's betrayal, she snaps at Dina, who is, thankfully, impossible to stay mad at for long. It's an underrated line that helps establish Ellie and her limits early on in the game.

4 "We've Got A Family. She Doesn't Get To Be More Important Than That."

Dina

After Abby and Lev spare Ellie and Dina in the theater, the two begin a new chapter of their lives together, raising JJ on a farm near Jackson. One of the game's more emotional scenes comes when Ellie tries leaving in the middle of the night to pursue Abby in Santa Barbara. When Dina wakes up and realizes that Ellie needs to hunt down Abby to be truly content, she begs Ellie not to go by reminding her that they've "got a family" now. Even this isn't enough to sway the traumatized Ellie, as she knows she'll never rest until she closes that chapter of her life.

3 "You Made Him A Part Of This."

Ellie

Ellie's entire life spirals because of her insatiable need for revenge, and she reaches a new low after freeing Abby and Lev, only to threaten Lev's life while he's unconscious in order to provoke Abby into fighting. Lev was responsible for Abby sparing Ellie and Dina, and Ellie nearly slits his throat because Abby won't stand up and fight. The exchange is a powerful commentary on how violence affects even those only tangentially involved. With Ellie's knife to Lev's neck, Abby says, "He's not part of this," to which Ellie replies, "You made him a part of this."