Warning: Major spoilers for The Last of Us season 2, episode 2Abby actor Kaitlyn Dever and showrunner Craig Mazin explain some of the changes that were made to the game in The Last of Us season 2, episode 2. On April 20, the HBO series adapted one of the most shocking and heartbreaking moments from the video games, as Abby brutally kills Joel (Pedro Pascal) out of revenge for her father, as Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is forced to watch. In adapting the scene from The Last of Us Part II, several changes were made to the game, particularly regarding the way Abby’s backstory is presented.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dever and Mazin explained some of the changes that were made to the game in The Last of Us season 2, episode 2, including Abby’s dream sequence that begins the episode. Mazin also explained the monologue that he wrote for Abby that wasn’t in the game, which she delivers before killing Joel. Read their full explanations below:
Dever: It just encapsulates everything that she’s feeling for that scene that comes after. She so badly wants her old life back. She so badly wants the situation to not be what it is.
Mazin: It’s really just about imagining how angry she is and how hurt, but also how correct she is in her mind. What is important for her to convey is that what he did was wrong. The end. Guilty. Sentenced to die. No argument. No debate. No nothing. I do love how Pedro portrayed this kind of acceptance of it there. The truth is, what he did is what she’s doing now. We kill for the people we love. Joel has an experience that neither Ellie nor Abby have — and we’re going to explore this further in the season — and that is the experience of loving a child, which is different than being a child and loving a parent.
What The Last Of Us Season 2, Episode 2 Game Changes Mean For The Show
They Attempt To Humanize Abby
From the start of The Last of Us season 2, it was clear that the show was taking a slightly different narrative approach than the game, which deliberately delays revealing Abby’s background, while the HBO adaptation opts to build empathy for Abby much earlier through additional scenes. In the first episode, shortly after the massacre at the Firefly hospital, Abby reveals her intention is to kill Joel. Another one of these departures is the dream sequence that opens episode 2, as an older Abby warns her younger self what awaits in the room where her father has just been killed.
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Why Abby Wants To Kill Joel In The Last Of Us Season 2
When she’s first introduced in The Last of Us’ season 2 premiere, Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby announces that she wants to kill Joel — but why?
Mazin, who wrote season 2, episode 2, also included an original monologue for Abby that isn’t found in The Last of Us Part II. Just before Abby kills Joel, she unloads all the pain and anger she’s been carrying, which helps flesh out a major moment that the game leaves ambiguous. The monologue helps show that, in Abby’s mind, her actions are completely justified and, in turn, the parallel becomes quite clear. Abby is doing exactly what Joel did – killing for someone she loves.
Our Take On The Last Of Us Season 2, Episode 2 Game Changes
They Improve On The Game Once Again
HBO’s The Last of Us perfectly straddles the line between being a highly faithful adaptation of its source material, while also improving on it when necessary. Season 2, episode 2 is just the latest example of that. Abby is simply a better and much more empathetic character if her motives are apparent to the audience, making her killing Joel that much more meaningful and impactful. HBO’s The Last of Us continues to fill in the blanks and prove why it is one of the most effective video game adaptations ever made.
The Last of Us airs new episodes Sunday nights on HBO.
Source: EW
The Last Of Us
8/10
- Release Date
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January 15, 2023
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Craig Mazin
- Directors
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Craig Mazin, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb, Ali Abbasi, Mark Mylod, Stephen Williams, Jasmila Žbanić, Liza Johnson, Nina Lopez-Corrado
- Writers
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Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin