I can think of few upcoming video game adaptations with as much pressure and excitement on the line as HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2, which will expand the Emmy-winning horror drama’s universe through the shocking and harrowing events of Naughty Dog’s video game sequel. Despite being one of the most faithful game-to-TV ports to date, fans should definitely expect some story changes when the series returns, particularly when it comes to Kaitlyn Dever’s antagonist Abby (and maybe even the arrival of the spores).
Previously, co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann talked about opting to cast Dever as Abby despite the actress not being as bulky and muscular as the game character.And now they’ve addressed what will no doubt be one of the more potentially controversial changes made: to change up the timeline for Abby’s introduction.
Speaking at a press conference about Season 2 (via EW), Druckman addressed the reason why the HBO series will dig into Abby’s backstory in ways that don’t happen until much later in the source material. As he put it:
There are two reasons why we moved certain things up in the story, one of which [is] in the game...you play as Abby, so you immediately form an empathic connection with her because you're surviving as her, you're running through the snow, you're fighting infected, and we can withhold certain things and make it a mystery that will be revealed later in the story. We couldn't do that in the show because you're not playing as her. So we need other tools, and that context gave us that shortcut.
Similar to how novels put readers into the mindsets of its main subjects, video games go a step further by having players control the actions and fate of characters, which ideally makes players all the more empathetic. In the case of The Last of Us, Abby enters the game narrative fairly early on without much context behind her presence. The situation seems not to terrible early on, but it isn't long before everything goes belly up.
Which isn't so unusual for a survival horror concept, but in the case of TLOU: Part II, gamers have to live with characters' actions in the game without learning the full story until many hours later. Druckmann spoke to that aspect as well, pointing out that it would create quite the timing imbalance for TV audiences if they stuck to the source. As he put it:
If we were to stick to a very similar timeline, viewers would have to wait a very, very long time to get that context. It would probably get spoiled to them between seasons, and we didn't want that. So it felt appropriate for those reasons to move that up and give that context right off the bat.
By "that context," the video games' director seems to be implying that TV viewers will get the rundown for Abby's backstory far earlier than gamers did, which will very likely coincide with the very sad filming experience that Bella Ramsey talked about. Does that mean it'll happen in the very first episode that fans can watch or stream with a Max subscription? Not necessarily. But I'd expect it sooner rather than later.
One has to think that at least some elements will be held back until later, but it does indeed sound like one of the source's most shocking reveals will be a lead-off shocker rather than offering any late-stage explanations.
Why I Think It's Smart For The Last Of Us To Reveal Abby's Story Early
I mean honestly, everything that Neil Druckmann stated during the press conference makes complete sense. I've no doubt in my mind that Kaitlyn Dever makes Abby a fully rounded character from the jump, and that she would be capable of earning viewer sympathy all on her own without any additional information. But I'm not sure that the TV show could her story in the same way without identifying exactly why she stands opposed to Joel and Ellie.
Also, as it goes for just about any pop culture adaptation, a large section of the core audience will already be familiar with what happened in the game, and plenty of others have likely had the game's events spoiled by accident. So maintaining exactly the same timeline and story beats for fidelity's sake wouldn't really do much good for anyone.
Instead, I think Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann are perfectly capable of figuring out ways to remix the emotional elements from Part II into the live-action tale in ways that feel completely new and fresh for every single audience memember, and not just the ones who are most averse to picking up a controller. Even if there are some moments that feel slightly wonky in comparison, that's to be expected.
I cannot wait to see how The Last of Us Season 2 sets up Abby's story, and how her group crosses paths with Ellie and Joel. TV may never be the same again after that happens. Find out along with me and millions of others when new episodes arrive on HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13, at 9:00 p.m. ET.
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