Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead for The Last of Us Part II game, which will likely spoilThe Last of Usseason 2and beyond.Kaitlyn Dever’s character inThe Last of Usseason 2, Abby Anderson, has at last been unveiled, leading many to wonder what kind of role this major character will play heading into the TV show’s next chapter. Abby, a character created forThe Last of Us Part II, will appropriately be introduced inThe Last of Usseason 2, which is set to follow the events of the video game’s sequel. For those who haven’t played the video games, Abby’s character and role in the story are brand new.
Abby’s character has somewhat superseded her own story, which has been a center of controversy following the video game sequel’s release. It was always known that, going into this adaptation, the creators were going to have tostep carefully with how they chose to bring Abby to lifeon the screen. It wasn’t until January that Kaitlyn Dever’s casting was officially announced, tasking her with tackling this complex character head-on in a way she can certainly accomplish. Here’s more about who Abby is and what viewers can expect from her in season 2.
Abby’s Backstory In The Last Of Us Games
Abby’s Story Ties Directly Into Joel and Ellie’s
The most important part of Abby’s backstory inThe Last of Us Part IIis thatshe’s the daughter of Jerry Anderson, the head surgeon who was tasked with finding the vaccination cure for theCordyceps infection. She and her father were both evidently a part of the Fireflies, living in Salt Lake City when her father began to actively work on research for a vaccine to end the infection. Tragically, however, her father was murdered by Joel Miller when he was breaking Ellie out of the hospital, which instantly sent her on a vicious quest for vengeance.
Her father was murdered by Joel Miller when he was breaking Ellie out of the hospital, which instantly sent her on a vicious quest for vengeance.
After the Fireflies disband, following the deaths of both Abby’s father and Marlene, Abby joins the Washington Liberation Front (WLF) in Seattle. Her rage crafted her into a tough and well-respected soldier of the WLF, eventually earning her a place as a leader amongst their group. She continued to spend those years looking for leads on Joel’s whereabouts to follow through on her quest for vengeance. Five years later, she finally got one that she could see through, which kickstarts her story inThe Last of UsPart II.
Is Abby A Villain In The Last Of Us Season 2?
She’s A Very Complex Character
The question of whether Abby is a villain or not inThe Last of Usis a complex one. While Abby is intentionally meant to be seen as a villain in the first half of the story, she takes a transformative journey that changes her in the eyes of the audience. It’s as yet unknown whetherThe Last of Usseason 2 will double down on Abby as a villain and save her redemption for another season or if it will spark the beginning of this change for her.Abby ought to function much more as an antagonist inThe Last of Usseason 2 than a true villain.
Kaitlyn Dever Plays Abby In The Last Of Us TV Show: What Else She’s Been In
Dever Is Well-Equipped To Tackle Abby’s Character
Kaitlyn Dever’s best movies and TV showsprove that she is more than ready to tackle the role of Abby inThe Last of Usseason 2. Dever has appeared in a wide variety of projects, with her most notable role to date having been Amy in 2019’sBooksmart. Before then, on TV, she made her first big appearances in recurring roles inJustifiedas Loretta McCready and inLast Man Standingas Eve Baxter.Dever was even in the running to portray Ellie in HBO’sThe Last of Usadaptation, but she was ultimately beat out by Bella Ramsey.
How Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby Compares To The Game Version
There Isn’t Much To Go Off Of Just Yet
Little has been seen of Dever’s Abby thus far, but it seems thatDever’s interpretation truly embodies the same sense of desperate rage that engulfs her throughoutThe Last of Us Part II. It can be seen in her eyes with the single look she gives inThe Last of Usseason 2 trailer, an expression that struggles to hide both the pain and the anger that has consumed her ever since her father’s death. Dever’s version seems to lack some of Abby’s characteristic physical strength, though this is difficult to confirm.
What Happens To Abby In The Last Of Us
Her Journey Isn’t An Easy One
Abby takes quite a journey inThe Last of Us Part II. Her quest for vengeance ends up being successful, with herfinding Joel Miller and killing him in front of Ellie. This, however, doesn’t end up satisfying the emptiness within Abby that was left behind in the wake of her father’s death. She still has a lot to reckon with, specifically her harsher nature that has developed ever since her father’s death. When a pair of siblings save her life from an enemy of the WLF, Abby tasks herself with protecting them.
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Abby ends up taking a journey that’s, in a way, similar to Joel’s inThe Last of Us.She’s able to overcome the grief of her father’s death by protecting those she cares about, particularly the one sibling named Lev. While her vengeance does return on different occasions, particularly when Abby crosses paths with Ellie again after Joel’s death, she accepts what happened and takes a more humble standpoint on that old history. She barely survivesThe Last of Us Part IIbut continues on a hopeful path from that point forward.
Just how much of this story will be told inThe Last of Usseason 2 alone is left to be seen, but it seems as if Abby and her story will continue beyond this season. Her character will undoubtedly become an integral part of the TV show, just as it did in the video game sequel. Her complex character will add a refreshing edge to HBO’sThe Last of Us, providing a unique parallel to Joel and Ellie even after the former’s inevitable fate - and changing everything everyone thinks they know about this story as it currently stands.
Abby Is The Last Of Us' Most Controversial Character
Abby Killed The First Game’s Main Hero
Abby was never going to win over all the fans. Gamers often grow to love the characters they play in games. In the firstThe Last of Usgame, gamers play with Joel and lead him to save Ellie and then get her to safety. They also had to do some bad things, including killing people to help keep Ellie safe. Joel killed Abby’s father, and Abby set out to get revenge against him, not caring for his reasoning behind his actions.When Abby killed Joel, it made her the most polarizing characterin any video game.
When gamers were tasked with controlling Abby inThe Last of Us II, many people hated it. They now had to lead a character who killed one of the fan-favorite characters in the game. The game had a strong message. What Joel did was understandable. What Abby did was understandable, considering her history. Ellie wanting to kill Abby was understandable. It was about ending the violence cycle, which Ellie finally did. However, playing as the character who killed Joel was uncomfortable at best.
However, others loved playing as Abby in the game. In aRedditthread, one Redditor wrote, “After having played Abby’s part, going back and replaying the whole game actually allowed me to enjoy Ellie’s section more because of the context of knowing her portion of the story and how it relates.” Abby has a lot of haters inThe Last of Usbecause of Joel’s death, but if the Max series explains her story well, she could become a favorite in the streaming series.
The Last Of Us
Cast
The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic drama series set two decades after a global catastrophe. It follows Joel, a seasoned survivor, who is tasked with escorting Ellie, a teenage girl, across a desolated United States, transforming into a harrowing journey of survival and companionship.
