#abbyandersontlou

Episode two left me with so much to unpack, I'm not even sure where to start. I've been holding back my thoughts on the show for a while now, but this episode brought up some things that really bothered me. And while I understand this is an adaptation and not a direct remake, I still wanted to share my perspective.

• Why was Abby’s flashback cut short? I was hoping the show would have included the moment in Abby's flashback where she finds her father's body. In the game, that moment, especially her cries for him, is incredibly impactful and it shows the immense trauma she experienced. Including that scene in the show, I believe, would have deepened the audience's understanding of her tragedy.

• No Ellie and Dina smoking scene? The absence of that scene between Ellie and Dina feels like a missed opportunity in developing their personal connection. It's in that moment that Ellie finds the comfort and trust to reveal her bite mark to Dina. Even though Dina initially doubts her, this vulnerability shows the depth of Ellie's trust in Dina with such a big secret, something she's kept hidden from almost everyone.

• Why was Abby’s monologue so long in Joel’s death scene? Abby is a woman of few words; she shows, she doesn’t tell, and I’m sure that all of us die-hard Abby fans know that. I appreciate that she actually called out Joel for what he did, explicitly stating that he killed her father, which forces him to feel some degree of guilt, if he’s even capable of feeling guilt to begin with. It was about time someone held Joel accountable for his actions. In episode 1, Joel constantly acts as if he is innocent, pretending he didn’t murder hundreds of people in cold blood, and he maintains the facade of being a good man. I understand that he may have tried to redeem himself in his old age, but that doesn’t erase his past actions. I personally feel like it was very out of character for Abby to have so much dialogue in the tv show.

• Dina being sedated? What was that about? Yes, maybe they just wanted to highlight the fact that Mel is a medic, but was it really necessary for them to sedate her?

• Abby telling Mel, ‘if you don’t do it, I’m gonna smash her in the fuckin head’ ??? Umm, no. Abby wouldn’t say something like that. As I previously said, she is a woman of few words and never expressed a desire to hurt Ellie or Tommy in the game, in fact, she chose to let them live, so it was very out of character for tv show Abby to say that. That portrayal doesn’t sit right with me at all. Abby already faces so much unnecessary hate, let’s not make her seem like someone who finds joy in inflicting pain on others, yeah? Yes, Neil Druckmann and Craig Maizin, I’m talking about you.

• Please explain to me why Abby called Joel handsome TWICE. Once in the first episode, and another time in the second episode. What does that have to do with the story? It literally makes zero sense to me.

• This is what really made my blood boil. In the game, Abby is a strong, muscular woman who takes down infected and people with her bare fists. In the game, she kills Joel with a golf club, never even punching him once. But in the TV show, they portray Abby as a petite woman who starts punching Joel to death? It just doesn’t make sense. Neil has stated that Abby’s physique doesn’t play an important role in this version of the story, which is already infuriating considering that her muscularity in the game comes from years of training and pushing herself to her limits after her dad was killed. Then, they have TV show Abby punch Joel almost to death before stabbing him in the neck with a broken golf club. This doesn’t add up because, in the game, she never even broke the golf club despite her incredible strength. So how does TV show Abby manage to break it so easily?

• In the game, Abby is clearly conflicted after she kills Joel, and it’s evident that it doesn’t make her feel any better. Her nightmares continue, indicating that she doesn’t find solace in his death. It would have been nice to see the same remorse on Abby’s face in the TV show, emphasizing that she didn’t find joy in killing Joel, as many people claim she did.

I want to clarify that this isn’t any criticism of Kaitlyn Dever, she’s a fantastic actress. My concerns are solely about the character of Abby in the TV show. I feel that her character has been misrepresented.

I have so much to express, and I’m not sure where to start. Abby was treated so unfairly; her character was grossly misrepresented in the TV show. Abby is the type of person who acts quietly, so her entire monologue felt unnecessary to me because the true Abby would never say such things. I can’t wrap my mind around her calling Joel handsome, what relevance does that have to the story? Part of me wonders if she said it to challenge our preconceived notions of what a killer looks like, as they can be ordinary and even attractive people. Still, it feels pointless to me.

The way she caressed his face was completely out of character. It’s hard to believe Abby would ever do something like that. What frustrates me the most is that TV show Abby didn’t convey the same deep remorse and confusion after killing Joel that she did in the game. In the game, you could see her internal conflict; she processed the weight of her actions and realised that killing him didn’t bring her the closure she had hoped for. It was clear that she felt confused and disheartened, questioning why this act didn’t make her feel better after all those years of believing it would.

See what I mean? In the game, she was clearly trying to process what she had just done, realising that this did not make her feel any better. Notice her internal conflict? There was none of that in the tv show.

In the show, Abby smiled a few times while interacting with Joel, which I found unsettling because I know that critics will take that opportunity to argue that she took pleasure in killing him, which is far from the truth. Although her smile was likely a mask for her pain, I fear it will be misinterpreted, suggesting she found joy in the act. I’m genuinely disappointed. Abby already faces so much unnecessary hate, and I worry that after episode 2, it will only escalate. When will they finally do justice to her character? Will she ever receive the recognition and respect she deserves?

I’ve had faith in Kaitlyn from the very beginning, even before season 2 aired. Judging by some of her previous roles, I knew she was highly capable of portraying anger, grief, and pain, and I had no doubt she would absolutely smash the role of Abby. Yes, I will always be upset about how they downplayed the importance of Abby’s muscular physique in the show, and I’ve talked about that many times. BUT, putting that aside, I am so glad they chose Kaitlyn to play Abby. Really glad.

Some of you may have seen my previous post about episode 2, where I mentioned things I didn’t particularly like about the episode, however, it was never about Kaitlyn’s acting, it was simply about the writing of certain scenes. But once again, putting that aside, I absolutely cannot fault Kaitlyn’s performance. In fact, I love it.

By the end of the season finale, I was full on sobbing because of how great her performance was. The theatre scene gave me goosebumps, and while watching it, I truly felt like I was seeing game Abby. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it ever since.