I know.I didn't take notes while playing but I remember feeling a desire to help people like you suggest. I also think that desire supports the idea that the game isn't intended to be analyzed thematically to that level.
I have of course, not played the game. I had read this Twitter chain.
It just left me with questions about some of the interpretations.
A couple examples:Spoiler for Hidden:
I'm not saying any of this has any merit, just saying it's easy to interpret things different ways.
>lots of people point it out independently.
Lots of people pointed out that The Last of Us 2 can be interpreted as racist, that doesn't mean that was the intention. It certainly gives the wrong impression, but that doesn't mean that was the intention.
But again, it's certainly possible to cause damage even without that intention.
In addition to the abused spirits, there are 4 trapped souls that you help during the game. They are traditional horror tropes that need a name and a mask to be released. Each one feels like a side mission from a pacing point of view, but they reinforce that the game views spirits and demons in the traditional Hollywood way: a medium helps spirits and troubled souls.
However as you said, intention doesn't stop something from causing harm. I thought it was pretty apparent that the game ending was standard sacrificing yourself for the people you love, but if people are coming away with the opposite impression that's horrible. It would be great if there was a way to know how many players finished the game and were harmed by it. Online discussions are a notoriously bad way to judge that.