From the moment The Last of Us began airing, fans of the game knew it was all building to one shocking moment. In Season 2 Episode 2, it finally happened: Abby got her revenge against Joel, forcing Ellie to watch as she murdered him with a golf club. It’s a brutal scene that instantly positions Abby as the season’s big villain.
But a new update suggests we might not see Abby much more this season. That may be setting up a Season 3 that adapts the game’s biggest strength, but will it work as well on TV?
Variety reports that Kaitlyn Dever’s Last of Us performance qualifies her for both the Guest and Supporting acting categories at the upcoming Emmy Awards. According to Emmy rules, an actor qualifies for a guest role when they appear in fewer than 50% of all episodes. Because The Last of Us Season 2 has seven episodes, that means Abby appears in a maximum of three episodes — and she’s been in two so far.
If that’s true, then the final four episodes will focus on Ellie’s quest for revenge. That’s not surprising, as that’s basically what happens in the game. But what’s more interesting is what happens next: after following Ellie as she tries to track down Abby, the game’s perspective shifts and the player takes control of Abby’s actions over the same time period.
If Abby is only in one more Season 2 episode — or perhaps no more — it’s possible this perspective shift could provide the division between Seasons 2 and 3. Season 2 would show Ellie’s reaction to the loss of Joel, and then Season 3 would focus on Abby, making the viewer empathize with her just as the game did.
It’s not a new idea. When Inverse spoke to Peter Hoar, the director of the standout Bill and Frank episode in Season 1, he suggested something similar. “I don't know whether they'll do two storylines, which might be a bit difficult,” he told Inverse in 2023, “Or maybe they'll do storyline A as one season and storyline B as another season.”
This strategy would be risky. Games have the power of putting a player in a character’s shoes, and that’s not as easily reflected in television. Will fans want to spend most of a season following Abby? We’ll find out, but one thing’s for sure: we won’t see much more of her in Season 2.
The Last of Us Season 2 is now streaming on Max.
