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If you want The Last of Us to have a happy ending, you should stop watching now. Season 1’s finale ended in the same way as the original video game. But as players know, that just means the real trauma is about to begin, and it’s all thanks to a young lady named Abby.
If you don’t know who Abby is, welcome to the discourse. You’re about to get mad then sad then very confused. Consider this your guide to everything you need to know about The Last of Us Part II’s secondary protagonist and why she’s so controversial.
Who Is Abby in The Last of Us 2?
Abby is one of the two protagonists of The Last of Us Part II. She’s voiced by Laura Bailey, who appeared in “Look for the Light” as one of the nurses. That’s all you need to know if you don’t want any spoilers. But if you’re OK with spoilers, keep reading.
Abby Anderson is the daughter of Jerry Anderson, the surgeon Joel (voiced by Troy Baker) killed in Salt Lake City. Before his death, Jerry was a member of the Fireflies. But after he and Marlene (voiced by Merle Dandridge) were murdered by Joel, the Fireflies disbanded. Abby and her friends then joined the Washington Liberation Front, also known as WLF.
Early in The Last of Us Part II, Abby runs into Joel. Once she realizes who he is, she takes matters into her own hands and murders Joel with a golf club. The rest of the game cuts between Ellie (voiced by Ashley Johnson) and Abby. As Ellie tries to avenge her father figure, Abby tries to move on with her life. Ellie makes that pretty hard since most of the game is devoted to her hunting down Abby’s friends and brutally murdering them.
There are few video game characters more controversial than Abby. Some of the criticism around her has been justified, like the complaints that her story can feel underdeveloped and it’s difficult to sympathize with Joel’s murderer. Most of it has been less kind, ranging from sexist rants and rampant transphobia concerning the characters in Abby’s storyline to actual death threats lodged against the Naughty Dog team. For now, know that Abby is a huge deal.
Will Abby Be in The Last of Us Season 2?
If the series keeps following the games’ storyline, Abby will definitely be in the show. But we don’t know if she’ll be in Season 2, especially since series co-creator Craig Mazin has confirmed that Part II will span more than one season.
There’s also the timing of this story to consider. There is a five year gap between the first and second game. It would make sense for the show to flesh out this timeframe and tell some never-before-seen stories about Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) instead of jumping into Part II. Long story short? Abby Anderson is on the horizon, but we don’t know when we can expect her.
Who Will Play Abby in The Last of Us?
HBO has yet to cast its Abby. But that hasn’t stopped fans from making their own predictions. One of the most popular picks for Abby is Shannon Berry, who is best known for The Wilds and Hunters. Amber Midthunder and Rhonda Rousey’s names have also come up. But whoever plays Abby will need to have physicality. Abby is known for her muscles, and her HBO counterpart will need to reflect that.
Has Abby Already Been in The Last of Us?
Though Abby hasn’t been officially cast, there’s a chance this character has already appeared in the show. Episode 9 follows Joel as he goes on a rampage through the hospital, desperate to save Ellie before she’s killed in the name of making a vaccine. As he’s shooting people left and right, a woman with a braid runs past him. Fans have speculated that this was Abby.
It’s not an insane theory. In Part II, Abby is in her early 20s, meaning that five years ago she was a teenager. The woman who runs by could plausibly be an adult or in her late teens. We also know that Abby was in the hospital during this massacre. During a major moment in Part II, the player controls a past version of Abby when she finds her father’s corpse.
Really, the only element working against this theory is the very detail that made this character stand out: her braid. The woman who runs by Joel in The Last of Us finale has a long braid much like the one Abby wears throughout Part II. But five years ago, which is when this rampage took place, Abby had much shorter hair. Basically, this random side character could have been Abby. But it’s far more likely that this is just another barely-substantiated fan-fueled freakout like what we saw with Dina.
