4 Painful Ways Abby's Character Changed in HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’
The Last of Us’ TV adaptation has been repeatedly slammed for Bella Ramsey’s portrayal of Ellie, but things got way worse when Abby showed up. Here are some of the most notable differences between the video game’s Abby and her counterpart portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever.
Even though The Last of Us is fairly considered one of the best video game adaptations in TV history, some of those who played the original game might not agree in the slightest.
However, even complaints about Ellie still quietened down a bit when Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby entered the scene, despite the actress herself receiving just as much praise as her character criticism.
We’re breaking down the biggest differences that The Last of Us’ fans found extremely annoying when it came to the TV series’ Abby.
Abby’s Farewell to Joel in the HBO Series Was Just Weird
The entire game’s most shocking breaking point turned into something completely different and had just too many modifications, with Abby’s monologue being one of them.
First, it’s pretty cringey to hear her mention how handsome Joel is twice throughout the sequence. Later, Abby goes on to have an entire speech prepared for Joel’s torture, only for him to interrupt her at some point and demand that she finish what she started.
In the game, however, Abby doesn’t even let Joel voice his guesses about who they are before she shoots him in the leg; the lengthy speech isn’t there either, with Joel sarcastically noting “Why don’t you say whatever speech you got prepared and get this over with”. You know what happens next.
Abby’s Side of the Story May Remain Ignored
Even though The Last of Us is yet to reach its second season’s finale on May 25, Abby will likely not receive much screen time after all.
Despite having been introduced in the very first episode, the character remains somewhere off the screen while the storyline centres on Ellie’s journey and her search for Joel’s killer.
The original game does find some sort of balance in this regard, splitting the player’s time between both Ellie and Abby, also allowing the audiences to get to know the latter way better and delve into her own reasons for avenging her father’s death.
Abby’s Motivation Is Spoiled Right Away in the Show
The second season’s first episode quite literally opens with the introduction of Abby and her group, as well as the shocking revelation about her plan to find and kill Joel, responsible for the untimely passing of Abby’s father.
This came as yet another audacious take from The Last of Us’ creators that the video game’s fans immediately included in the list of the show’s worst decisions ever.
The thing is that in the game Abby’s intentions and motivation remain shrouded in mystery right until Joel’s death, and even after he’s beaten to death it’s not yet revealed why Abby would do such a thing anyway.
As many fans noted frustratingly, the whole mystery that surrounded Abby’s character and her path towards revenge was one of the best parts of the entire game.
Abby Isn’t Physically Fit for a Vengeful Girl in ‘The Last of Us’ TV Version
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Definitely the departure from the game that The Last of Us’ fans have ranted about the most, the show’s decision to make Abby way less muscular and imposing didn’t work out quite well.
The video game makes it pretty clear that Abby spent years training with the Washington Liberation Front and was primarily focusing on getting ready to carry out her revenge plan at some point.
Considering this, Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby does look much smaller and way less confident, let alone her unconvincing attempt to appear as a natural leader of a whole fierce gang.
The show’s creators, however, have addressed the issue multiple times, suggesting that the resemblance between the game’s characters and their TV series counterparts wasn’t really a priority.
“We value performance over anything else. We need someone to really capture the essence of those characters.... We don't value as much, 'Do they look exactly like the character with their eyebrows or their nose or their body?' Whatever it is. It's not nowhere on the priority list, but it's below a bunch of other things that we consider”, The Last of Us’ showrunner and the original game’s co-creator Neil Druckmann revealed in an interview with RadioTimes recently.
