I didn't like the ending, actually. It stretched itself too far.

Yeah, I'm really not the biggest fan of the ending myself.

The ending is great. Sets itself up for a sequel perfectly.

i don't understand how anyone can hate the ending

It's easy to SEE why some hate the ending, if you know what I mean =P

I don't mind games leaving things up for a sequel. But that does not have anything to do with my problem with the ending. Things should have stopped when Joel is talking nervously to Ellie on the car. The forest sequence afterwards felt so unnecesary.

You don't have to understand. It's merely a difference of experience and opinion.  The poor ending really didn't impact my overall experience though, because I'm more of the type of person that enjoys the journey more than it's destination.

I enjoyed it. It showed them going back to Tommy's place and setting up camp there. Then it had Ellie confronting Joel on whether or not he had lied to her, and in the end she knew she lied but she still understood why he did it and said "Ok".

i want to understand though, because no matter how hard i try, i just can't think of any reason to dislike the ending

She already knews when she wakes up in the car and Joel is so damn nervous. She's confused, but she obviously knows something went wrong, especially when Joel explains to her that for some deus ex machina nothing really happened.

The only thing that the forest sequence serves for is to show that Ellie doesn't mind Joel lying to her, which should be obvious at that point given how deeply attached both are.