The second season of HBO’s The Last of Us is almost here. With the premiere approaching, there is more excitement for the show than ever, with the first reviews already alluding to a gripping batch of episodes. There have also been some teases as to what viewers can expect from season 2.
Among the most recent news is the confirmation that Abby Anderson’s story will be told earlier in the series than it was in the PlayStation video game. And this is a good thing.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann gave two great reasons why Abby (who's played by Kaitlyn Dever) will have her story told earlier than in the game. One of them is the fact that, in the game, playing as her immediately forms an “empathic connection with her because you're surviving as her” - which is something you simply can't do in a TV series. The second is that the creators wanted viewers to be able to enjoy the show without having to avoid spoilers, as Druckmann commented:
"If we were to stick to a very similar timeline, viewers would have to wait a very, very long time to get that context," he noted. "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."
Everything the creative says makes sense. The experience of playing a video game is vastly different to that of watching a TV show or a movie - even if they are based on the same franchise. During HBO’s official podcast for The Last of Us, the creators mentioned how HBO made it a point to suggest certain things be altered because what works for a player may not work for viewers. An example they gave was how a lot of the game is passed by with fights to keep gamers intrigued. Something like that just doesn’t work on screen for a show that isn’t particularly based on violence. It would also harm the pacing if there was too much action at any given time.
Also, since the video game couldn’t get too detailed with certain characters, the show's creators took the opportunity to do it on HBO. Among the major differences was Frank and Bill's life. Their portrayal of the show was nothing short of stunning, and it also earned actors Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett Emmy nominations (with Offerman winning the award). Changes like these are reasons why season 2 will be a success. However, as a gamer, this is brilliant for another reason.
From a gamer's perspective
One of the issues that some people had with The Last of Us was playing as Abby. She was looked at as the antagonist for most of the game because of what she does early on in the game. Controlling her character may have felt like a betrayal if you loved the main heroes from the franchise. It doesn’t help that you don’t know much about her until halfway through The Last of Us Part II. By then, all of the sympathy for her is gone, thanks to your time with Ellie and Dina.
Yes, there is a moment at the beginning of the game that hints at who Abby is, but it doesn't give players much. That brief part of the campaign could have meant anything. All we see is the medical staff Joel killed at the end of The Last of Us, and a younger Abby finds their dead bodies. Right after this scene, Abby wakes up; it’s the present, and players briefly control her character. Meanwhile, we already know a lot about Ellie's past and some of what happened in the five years after she and Joel started a new life in Jackson, Wyoming.
This alteration in the series allows the creatives to add their own touch of originality and potentially strengthen the character for television while they're at it.
This writer is a huge fan of Abby and can’t wait to see how Kaitlyn Dever portrays her on the show. If the previous alterations that the series made are any indication to go by, then season 2 will be another success for HBO, Neil Druckmann, and everyone involved.