Why Abby Wants to Kill Joel in The Last of Us Season 2, Explained
Abby’s cruel intentions are quickly revealed in The Last of Us’ season 2, but the real reason behind it isn’t something the show cared to explain. Here’s what you need to know.
The Last of Us sophomore season quickly caused yet another outburst of anger among the video game’s fans when the premiere episode gave away the truth about Abby’s mission to kill Joel, and even though the character’s debut has been long teased, she does seem to get there just out of nowhere.
There’s no secret about the game players knowing more on the matter, but the TV adaptation’s fans might need some explanation — and you have to go back to season 1 for it.
Warning: game spoilers ahead!
The Reason Why Abby Has Been After Joel All This Time
Even though Abby is nowhere to be found in The Last of Us’ season 1, her father actually is — he is none other than Jerry Anderson, a surgeon who was supposed to operate on Ellie to find a cure for the virus.
When Joel finds out that the procedure will in fact help create the vaccine, but instead will inevitably kill Ellie, he has no other choice but to get her out of the hospital, brutally killing everyone else, including the surgeon.
Joel’s reasoning is simple though — despite having started out with tension, he and Ellie eventually developed some kind of father-daughter connection, and since Joel has already lost his real daughter Sarah by that time, there was no way he could let the virus take Ellie from him too.
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As for Abby, she quickly figures out who is responsible for her father’s tragic death and spends five years carefully planning the most brutal revenge possible.
Does Abby Kill Joel in The Last of Us?
Not only does she in fact kill Joel, but Abby also keeps her promise given in the second season’s first episode where she says she’d rather kill him slowly.
It’s not yet clear whether the show will have Joel killed in the same torturous way, but in the video game Abby shoots him in the leg and then beats to death with a golf club, executing the revenge she has been planning for five long years.
This, however, doesn’t really give her any satisfaction or some kind of closure, and the realization of this makes her arc all the way more painful.
In the show, she has already promised to kill Joel “slowly”, so it’s only fair to suggest that the TV adaptation will stick to the game’s plot.
When Is The Last of Us’ Next Episode Streaming?
The show’s season 2 episode 2 will air on Max on April 20. The rest of the episodes will be released on the platform every Sunday until May 25.
