The Last of Us Season 2 creators reveal how the show differs from the game in one major way

The Last of Us fanbase continues to count down to Season 2 while the showrunners explain their decision to introduce Abby’s backstory ahead of the game’s timeline in Season 2. This creative choice is a major departure from the original narrative and offers new insight into how the show is reimagining its source material.

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The game lets you play as Abby — The show can’t do that

In The Last of Us Part II, gamers had the opportunity to spend a substantial part of the game as Abby, seeing her perspective of the story. This particular design choice enabled the audience to form an authentic emotional bond with the character through gameplay.

As Druckmann noted in the most recent press conference in Los Angeles, that strategy wouldn’t work in a passive medium.

“One of [the reasons we moved Abby’s backstory up in the show] 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,” Druckmann said.

He continued:

"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.”

To avoid withholding that emotional connection for too long, the show will employ early context and development to build empathy for the characters.

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TV viewers can’t wait half a season — Or worse, between seasons

The rewrite that restarts the story at Abby’s perspective midway through the game is arguably the most audacious and disruptive pivot. However, in television, pacing character motivation too far apart, especially over large gaps of time between seasons, can be detrimental.

“If we were to stick to a very similar timeline,” Druckmann noted, "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.”

Choosing to enable Abby’s story as the entry point does not contravene the logic of the narrative but also protects from spoiler risks and lands the emotional impact early.

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Same character, new physicality and spirit

Kaitlyn Dever's Abby follows the same character as previously established, albeit with a new physicality and spirit which brings a striking different change that is quite literally considered noticeable.

Comparing Dever's casting to Abby in the game is a drastic change to canvas due to Abby's physique. It goes without saying that this choice baffled a huge portion of the fandom. However, as Mazin and Druckmann explained, this was a deliberate strategic and thematic decision. In a previous interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mazin said:

“I personally think that there is an amazing opportunity here to delve into someone who is perhaps physically more vulnerable than the Abby in the game, but whose spirit is stronger.”

In a way, the show version of Abby is far different than how we imagined, as it lacks the brutish strength and relies heavily on emotional depth, resilience and inner power. All the while putting a new layer to an already richly complex character to begin with.

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One medium switch, one stretch for Abby

When adapting arguably the most emotionally ambitious video game stories, the creators behind The Last of Us have chosen to embrace the differences in screen and console. Structural storytelling change like Abby's early introduction isn't just a structural shift but also an evolution to the narrative.

As Mazin and Druckmann continue to reshape the story for a broader audience, fans can anticipate a different kind of journey - one with Abby featuring prominently from the onset.

Another notable shift is the casting of Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, who was previously portrayed by a much stockier, taller woman in the game and voiced by actress Laura Bailey.

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A story reimagined for a new medium

HBO's The Last of Us is not only adapting a cherished game, but also reframing the way we engage with its characters by putting Abby's backstory into the spotlight.

With season 2 set for release, we can expect more of the powerful heart-wrenching retellings that are set to shift our views beyond boundaries we never thought possible, thanks to the detailed emotional elements and TV structure crafted for the season.