i feel like they definitely could've made the story work with joel dying so soon if they actually did it properly. at the beginning when joel plays on the guitar that "i'll change if I lose you song" that could've been like the main message of the last of us 2 story, ellie going on a rampage to avenge Joel, then realizing how she changed for the worse, but she definitely should've killed that abby bitch. the only way they could redeem the controversial decisions made in the story is if they made a DLC like they did for the original game but killing abby and ellie realizing who she becomes, changing for the better afterwards. not only would it be a decent character arc and add more meaning to Joel's death, it'd actually just maybe redeem the game, but only time will tell.
I don't hate the game nor praise it like the best thing in the world, being a long time last of us fanboy. I just disagree with some decisions made for the sake of subverting expectations, but definitely not a radical youtube reviewer calling the game, "the worst of all time"