Much like the first game, The Last of Us 2's ending leaves much open to interpretation from players, but a newly discovered detail may offer some answers. Please note that this article will have MAJOR SPOILERS for The Last of Us 2, so anyone that has yet to complete the game should turn back now.
The Last of Us 2's ending is a somber one, with Ellie arriving at the farmhouse that she and Dina were living at prior to Ellie's decision to travel to California in search of Abby. Ellie finds the farmhouse to be completely empty, except for her room, which still has her artwork and guitar in it. Ellie tries to play the guitar, but finds that she is unable to do so as well as she could before because she lost a couple of fingers in her last fight with Abby. One of the last shots is Ellie realizing she can't play the guitar Joel gifted her anymore, with her sitting all alone in the farmhouse, without Dina or their baby. It's an especially depressing ending, but a new detail may reveal that it may not as sad as originally believed.
Fans have noticed that Ellie is wearing the bracelet Dina gave her in the last scene, but she wasn't wearing it during her trip to California. This seems to imply that Ellie and Dina have actually gotten back together and are potentially living back in Jackson. It could be that Ellie decides to return to the farmhouse alone to get the guitar, but leaves it behind as symbolism for her giving up her quest for revenge. This would also explain why Ellie doesn't call for Dina's name or anything like that when she finds the empty farmhouse at the end - she didn't expect her to be there because she already knows where she is.
Many fans on Twitter have now decided that this is the canon ending, with Ellie and Dina getting back together. However, it's possible that fans are misinterpreting it and The Last of Us 2 ending is still just as dark as it seemed to be on the surface. Maybe Ellie just knew that Dina wasn't going to be at the farmhouse when she got back and so didn't bother calling out for her. Maybe she's wearing the bracelet simply because she's still in love with Dina, but the two of them are no longer together. And maybe it's just a continuity error, though given Naughty Dog's insane attention to detail in The Last of Us 2, that seems unlikely.
With no Last of Us 2 story DLC planned, fans of the game will just have to wait for the likely Last of Us 3 to find out what really happened at the end of the game. In the meantime, theories like this could give fans a little hope that Ellie got a happy ending after all.
The Last of Us 2 is out now, exclusively for PlayStation 4.