‘The Last of Us’ Writers Weren’t Worried About the Discourse Surrounding Abby in Season 2
Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 1.
The first episode of The Last of Us Season 2 is out now, and while returning stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey take the lead, it also features the debut of other highly anticipated characters. One star to make her debut is Kaitlyn Dever, who will play the ruthless Abby, the counterpart to Ellie in The Last of Us Part II video game. When Abby was introduced upon The Last of Us Part II’s release, her character was met with extreme controversy from the fan base, much of which was based in misogyny. This was always going to make things more challenging for whoever portrayed Abby in live-action, but during a recent interview with Collider’s Christina Radish, Dever confirmed that neither she nor writers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann were particularly concerned about it. When asked if she knew what she was stepping into in that regard, Dever said:
“Yeah, of course. Craig and Neil really wanted to make sure that I knew that I could just focus on creating Abby and coming to it with my own ideas. They didn’t seem very concerned about any of that. And it was nice that they had a lot of confidence in me taking on this role. And so, then I had a lot of confidence in myself moving forward, in taking on this kind of role. Obviously, I know about the conversation surrounding Abby, obviously, but in order to do my job in the best way possible, I had to just be aware of it but then just not put all my focus on it. If I was too worried about what was being said about this character online, I think it would have taken away from the performance. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing.”
For the first few hours of The Last of Us Part II, Abby is an entirely new character, and it’s unclear what role she’s going to play in the game. However, when she and the rest of her WLF (Washington Liberation Front) crew get Joel back to the cabin, it’s then revealed that she’s the daughter of the lead doctor in Salt Lake City, whom Joel killed at the end of Part I/Season 1. This leads Abby down a path of revenge, and she even becomes a playable character for the entire second half of the game, another choice by Druckmann that was met with blowback from fans. While Dever may not boast the same physical stature as her video game counterpart, what she lacks in size, she makes up for in aggression, as displayed in The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 1.
What Else Is Kaitlyn Dever Known For?
Dever first made a name for herself starring as Loretta McCready in Justified, the contemporary Western series starring Walton Goggins and Timothy Olyphant that went off the air in 2015, and she’s also known for her role in Booksmart, the 2019 coming-of-age comedy from Olivia Wilde. Dever more recently led the Netflix Original series Apple Cider Vinegar, and she starred opposite Dan Levy and Ruth Negga in Good Grief. Following The Last of Us Season 2, Dever will also be seen in the next MonsterVerse movie, which she recently confirmed has already begun filming.
The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 1, is now streaming. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of the series, and watch The Last of Us on Max.
- Release Date
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January 15, 2023
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Craig Mazin
- Directors
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Craig Mazin, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb, Ali Abbasi, Mark Mylod, Stephen Williams, Jasmila Žbanić, Liza Johnson, Nina Lopez-Corrado
- Writers
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Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin
