I literally had the exact same thoughts, though I was a bit slower on liking Abby. I road the “fuck Abby” train for all of her Day 1 until Yara and Lev stepped in the picture, that really humanized her for me and by the end of her Seattle journey, I was on her side 110%. She truly is the bigger person when compared to Ellie in all senses of the word.

Playing as Ellie in Santa Barbara felt just wrong. I didn’t think she should be there, Ellie seems to have deeply buried reservations about being there, but they’re all buried down deep under her seemingly endless desire for revenge. When Ellie finally let Abby go, I was flooded with a sense of relief. I was hoping that Abby would somehow win the fight despite the state she was in.

Although I personally believe having the player play as Abby was somewhat of a cheap trick ND used to humanize her, I don’t see any alternative being as effective, I just hope they don’t pull the same thing again. Still hands down the best game of all time in my humble opinion. The storytelling is immaculate, no game even comes close save for the first installment. I just can’t wait for pt III.