The Last of Us Fans Not Happy About Controversial Season 2 Change

The Last of Us fans are not happy about a controversial change being made in Season 2 of the HBO TV show. When Naughty Dog and Sony released The Last of Us Part 2 back in 2020, it divided PlayStation fans with a smattering of controversial changes. At the heart of the controversy surrounding the game at the time was a new character the sequel introduced called Abigail “Abby” Anderson. Where Ellie and Joel are no doubt the stars and favorites of the Naughty Dog series, Abby is no doubt the third biggest character, and has a very prominent role in the second game. Everything so far suggests she will be a major character in the show’s second season as well. It remains to be seen how HBO will adapt the events of the second game, but whatever it choses to do it will no doubt involve Abby.

While everyone loves the casting of Pedro Pascal as Joel, the casting of Bella Ramsey as Ellie was controversial when it was announced and only grown more controversial over time. Suffice to say, it was important for HBO to get the Abby casting right, but unfortunately, it doesn’t appear it has.

We’ve known for a while Kaitlyn Dever is playing the character, which raised some eyebrows at the time as many questioned whether Dever could pull of the very muscular physique of Abby. To this end, many assumed HBO would have the actress bulk for the role. This was wishful thinking from fans though as recently HBO confirmed it did not request Dever make any changes to her physique for the role. According to Neil Druckmann, the creator of the series, Abby’s physique is not relevant in the TV show. It’s unclear how it could be a major part of her character in the game, and not the show, but that explains the Dever casting. Whatever the case, Last of Us fans are not impressed.

“I personally wish they’d spent more time finding someone who fits Abby’s appearance more,” writes one fan of the news. “Yes, a character’s physical appearance is very important when adopting its source material, but more important is their physicality and how they handle situations such as traversal, combat, etc. Abby’s strength was part of what made her interesting, just as Ellie’s switchblade made her interesting. I’m not saying it’s a deal-breaker, but it does leave me a bit worried.”

Another fan adds: “I don’t think she needed to get as big as Abby but I feel like she should have bulked up a little just considering she’s supposed to be a soldier.” Meanwhile a third fan further drives home the point: “It is a key part of her character. Look at how many actors bulk up or get fit to play roles of heroes or other characters. This is weird to me.”

Of course, not every fan is bothered by the change, with some insisting the physical build of Abby is not essential to the character, but reactions so far suggest this may be a minority take.