TL:DR: I still somewhat dislike TLoU Part II's, but I have come to appreciate what the game's narrative does well, and I have start to come to terms with the work as a whole, and appreciate it for what it is, not what I wanted it to be.
With the announcement of TLoU Part I Remake, I have really gotten back into the series in the past few days, particularly in the their narratives.
To start off, Part I's story has always been, and will always be a masterpiece, and one of the best ever told in a game, in my opinion, at least.
When Part II originally came out, I, along with seemingly 78% of rest of the internet, despised the game with my entire heart, soul, mind, and strength.
I can't say that I love the game now, in fact, I still dislike it, however, I have sort of come to appreciate parts of the game for what they are, rather than what I wanted them to be, and still wish they were.
I am still really mad about the fate which was enacted on Joel, and I feel like it could have been executed far better on the writer's end. While I have stopped using the "Joel's actions were uncharacteristic of his character" argument, I still feel like his death could have been written in such a way that neither the fans, nor the character, felt so disrespected by the game. On top of that, forcing the player to play as the person who brutally murdered Joel, and then later having to try and kill Ellie as well, still seems completely inexcusable to me both from a gameplay and narrative perspective. And, just a minor nitpick, I do still feel like a lot of the stuff about LGBT+, and "oh look there's someone who doesn't exactly love the fact that this character is part of that group, they are automatically a terrible person, (never mind that that in one case, the person apologized and tried to make up for their actions,)" was a little bit overdone and unnecessary, but that's not a huge deal.
Now, I know this just seems like a post complaining about the game, "I thought we stopped arguing about this game almost two years ago!" And, no, like I said, I have started to see the game's story from more of a complete perspective than before, and I have come to appreciate what the game did do well. Particularly, the flashback scenes with Ellie and Joel were outstanding. I (and probably many other people as well,) were hoping that the bulk of Part II's story would focus on Joel and Ellie's growing relationship. Although this was not the case, the few scenes like this that we did get were awesome, I only wish there were more scenes like that.
Most importantly, however, the ending, looking back at it, was basically perfect. I have always said that the most important part of any story is the very, very end, because this is what will stick with you for the longest time after the story is over, and will shape, in large part, how you remember the work as a whole. This means not only the entire last scene, but specifically the last 30 seconds or so. In the last scene, of course, we get to see how Ellie has lost literally everything; everyone she loved, and even part of her physical body. In this, specifically, we can see that she has lost what little connection she had left with Joel, as now she can no longer play the guitar. If you remember, in the first game, Ellie tells Sam that her biggest fear in life is ending up alone. And, at the end of Part II, that is exactly what happens, all because she couldn't say, "enough is enough." Poetic, really.
And then, we see the final flashback with Joel, in which we fully see his parental, unconditional, love for Ellie, where he says how Dina would be lucky to have her, and that he still stands by his decision to save her in the hospital, even if she didn't want him to. At the end of their final interaction, Joel has laid out all of his cards on the table, and it is all up to Ellie if she will forgive him, and move on. When the flashback ends, Ellie is faced with this same decision, as she realizes that her biggest fear has come true, all because she couldn't move on. Then, in the last 30 seconds of the game, (the very most important part, like I said,) she finally decides that enough is enough, sets down the guitar, and leaves the house, finally moving on from her hatred and anger.
This ending, like I said, is what I will remember the game as, and if that is the case, I'm happy. Just like Ellie, I and many other people who were angered by this game, need to just say, "enough is enough, it's time to move on."
That being said, if the rumors that I have heard about "The Last of Us Part II: Director's Cut" end up being true, I really hope that they reorganize things slightly, or perhaps add some extra scenes or context bits, as I feel like that could definitely fix many of my remaining issues with the game.
Anyways, sorry for the long post, I just really wanted to share my thoughts on how my opinion of TLoU Part II has changed. If you made it this far, thank you for reading. I would love to hear your thoughts as well.