Kate Harrold on The Last of Us Part II and why Abby might not be the villain she’s made out to be…
Major spoilers for The Last of Us Part II lie ahead so proceed with caution…
The Last of Us Part II has been divisive to say the least. Naughty Dog’s long-awaited sequel was released in June to rave critic reviews earning itself an impressive score of 94 on Metacritic but just days later, the game was panned by fans. Writer and director Neil Druckmann must’ve anticipated some form of backlash as – and this is where the spoilers come in – he killed fan-favourite and lead character Joel (Troy Baker) in the first act. It’s brand new character, Abby (Laura Bailey), who did the deed – someone you’re then forced to play as for half of the game. Detractors even sent actress Bailey death threats stating, ‘I’m going to find where you live and slaughter you for what you did to Joel.’ Part of The Last of Us‘ major success is how the game challenges our morals. As the player, we become complicit in almost every action – every kill. Joel and Ellie (Ashley Johnson) relentlessly kill both clickers and non-infected alike yet we root for them. Nothing justifies what Abby did to Joel, but why shouldn’t we lend her the same kind of empathy.
Abby has a rough time in The Last of Us Part II – and that’s before fans tore her to shreds. No one in this game has it easy, but it’s clear that Abby suffers more than others. We learn that Joel killed Abby’s father. OK, so loss isn’t new but this is only the very beginning of Abby’s misfortune. In their quest to find Abby, neither Ellie nor Tommy (Jeffrey Pierce) have any hesitation in killing her friends which includes Manny, Owen, Mel, Nora, Leah, and Danny. Unlike Ellie, Abby doesn’t have somewhere like Jackson to call home. Western Liberation Front leader, Isaac (Jeffrey Wright), is clearly just using Abby and is all too happy to cast her aside. In addition to all this loss, Abby is no stranger to physical pain. She’s almost hung and disembowelled by the Seraphites and then is later captured and tortured by the Rattlers – a slaver cult. Abby is left a broken women both mentally and physically. Thematically, we also leave Ellie in a similar place but she chose to leave Dina just like she chose to leave Jackson. Abby didn’t have that choice.
Some may argue that this is all Abby’s comeuppance for killing Joel, but would we wish the same kind of suffering upon Ellie in a potential The Last of Us Part III for her actions? No way. Abby’s arc is one of redemption which is a fact that feels hugely overlooked. Despite spending much of the game hunting Abby down, Ellie ultimately lets her live – cue outrage – but by this point in the game, Abby is on a clear path of redemption. She’s no longer the villain we assumed her to be in the first act. Abby holds her cards close to her chest but it isn’t a push to assume that she might on some level be thinking, ‘maybe I do deserve this.’ After all, why else would she save Seraphite outcast’s Yara and Lev, if not to redeem herself. Seraphites are the Western Liberation Front’s mortal enemies but this section of the game seeks to test Abby’s perception of who the enemy is. In saving their lives, she takes a step towards ending the cycle of violence. Many credit Ellie with doing this when she lets Abby live, but didn’t Abby do this much sooner? She didn’t even want to partake in the fight. Abstaining is proof of Abby’s growth and redemption.
So much of the hate directed towards Abby is simply to do with our pre-existing alliances. In The Last of Us, we become so attached to Ellie and Joel due to our complicity in both their journey and their relationship. We’re with them every step of the way and so it’s natural for us to grieve for Joel when he dies. Now this takes a little bit of imagination because there really wouldn’t be a The Last of Us without Joel and Ellie, but imagine if the first game centred around Abby and her father Jerry. Then, Part II comes along and Joel kill’s Jerry. By this point, Abby would be what Ellie is to us. We’d root for her to go after Joel and exact her revenge. We’d have no alliances to Joel whatsoever.
The point is, there are no heroes in The Last of Us. Regardless of who we’re playing as, the ‘other’ will always be the villain. This is a game of survival – a game that asks how far would you go to survive? We can’t justify Abby’s actions, but as we so intensely love and support the equally-guilty Joel and Ellie, isn’t it hypocritical for us to condemn Abby’s actions too? This isn’t a world of good vs evil. It’s a world of messy morals. Deeming Abby to be a villain only discredits the rich narrative that is certainly worth paying more attention to.
So what did you make of The Last of Us Part II? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter @FlickeringMyth…
Kate Harrold
