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Abby (The Last of Us)

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Abby Anderson
The Last of Us character
An image of a young woman, lightly soaked by water, with brown hair and a muscular physique. She angrily looks slightly to the right, and has a hammer in her hand.
First appearanceThe Last of Us Part II (2020)
Created by
Portrayed by
In-universe information
FamilyJerry Anderson (father)
Significant otherOwen Moore (ex-boyfriend)

Abigail "Abby" Anderson is a character in the video game The Last of Us Part II (2020) by Naughty Dog. She is portrayed by Laura Bailey through motion capture and voice acting in the game, and Kaitlyn Dever in the second season of the television adaptation. A soldier of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), Abby seeks to avenge her father's death by killing Joel Miller. Her alliances later become unsettled when she befriends two ex-members of the Seraphites, a religious cult with which the WLF is locked in a war. Abby is one of two main playable characters in the game, alongside Ellie.

Abby was created by Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross, the writers of The Last of Us Part II. The original switch to playing as Abby was done to demonstrate her personality; Druckmann wanted players to hate Abby early in the game, but later empathize with her through her flaws and redemptive actions. He wanted to avoid casting Bailey due to her proliferation of roles, but was impressed with her audition tape in how she had played into Abby's vulnerability. Bailey worked out in preparation for the role, and gave birth to her first son during production. She also prepared by researching people involved in wars and their coping mechanisms. Abby's face was modeled on Jocelyn Mettler, while her body was based on Colleen Fotsch.

The character of Abby was well-received by critics, with many noting that her redemption arc was believable and made the character likable by the game's end. Her playable chapters were controversial among players, and Bailey became the target of online death threats; some critics felt that the character had been unfairly maligned, and that criticisms of her muscular physique was a result of the lack of body diversity in video games. Bailey's performance was widely praised and she received accolades at the British Academy Games Awards, The Game Awards, and the NAVGTR Awards.

Creation

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Design and casting

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Abby is described as having a "commanding presence", with her physical build reflecting the years of training and combat.[1] Her design underwent several iterations, with the goal to portray her as "capable, utilitarian, and strong".[2] When auditioning actors for Abby, creative director Neil Druckmann specifically wanted to avoid casting Laura Bailey due to her proliferation of roles; he had originally considered Bailey to play Dina. When reviewing her audition tape, however, Druckmann was impressed by how Bailey had played into Abby's vulnerability, whereas other actors emphasized her anger.[3]: 1:32:20  Bailey considers the game important to her personally, as she gave birth to her first son during production.[4]: 13:30  Prior to her pregnancy, Bailey was working out in preparation for the role.[4]: 24:33  While pregnant, she attempted to conceal her walk during her performance.[5] She prepared for the role by researching people involved in wars and their coping mechanisms.[4]: 33:39  While performing the scene in which Abby kills Joel—portrayed by Bailey's friend Troy Baker—Bailey continually checked in with Baker due to the intensity of the scene.[5] Abby's face is based on Jocelyn Mettler, a visual effects artist who formerly worked at Naughty Dog, while her body was based on athlete Colleen Fotsch.[6]

Writing

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A 36-year-old man with curly black hair smirking at the camera.
A 33-year-old woman with blonde hair smiling at the camera.
Creative director Neil Druckmann (left) developed the character of Abby with co-writer Halley Gross (right).

An early iteration of the story had a young Abby witnessing an attack on her group by Joel and Tommy, who were hunters at the time (in the unseen 20 years of the first game), and vowing revenge. As the story and its theme of violence developed, the writers found it more interesting for Abby's father to have been killed by the player in the first game and directly tie into Joel's actions.[3]: 1:30:31  The switch to Abby in the game's first chapter was done to demonstrate her personality and vulnerabilities and avoid her portrayal as a typical antagonist.[7] She was originally set to be the primary playable character for the game's early hours before killing Joel, but the plot was restructured, and Druckmann felt that personalizing the character too early in the game was "too easy";[8]: 2:27  he wanted players to hate Abby early in the game, but later empathize with her. He avoided writing her as a "perfect" character, instead prompting empathy through her flaws and redemptive actions.[9] Druckmann told Bailey to avoid smiling as Abby, noting that "it should feel like a reward if she's smiling".[5] One of Abby's most notable vulnerabilities is her crippling fear of heights.[10]

Some of the game's flashback scenes with Abby initially depicted her joining the WLF, though it was an unconscious decision on her behalf, as the leader of the WLF was a fellow member of her former group and acted as a father figure for her.[4]: 31:26  Abby's goal to kill Joel was fueled by her desire to return to a world before her father's death, but she discovers it impossible. After witnessing Owen's refusal to give up looking for a "light" in a world of darkness, she finds her own purpose in protecting Yara and Lev, which Druckmann felt mirrored Joel's redemption arc from the first game.[3]: 52:19  Owen represents emotion in contrast to Abby's pessimism.[11] The obstacles she overcomes when gathering medical supplies to save Yara's life demonstrates the lengths to which she will go to help the children and redeem herself.[8]: 31:20  Margenau felt that Abby was inspired to abandon her alliances after witnessing Lev's rebellious nature. Abby's plea to the Santa Barbara Rattlers to leave Lev alone is an intentional parallel with Ellie's plea for Abby to spare Joel earlier in the game.[12] While shooting the final part of Abby and Ellie's climactic fight, in which Ellie tries to drown Abby by grabbing her throat and pinning her down in shallow water before eventually sparing her, Bailey held her breath for the entire section; Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie, let go when she realized that Bailey's lips were turning blue.[4]: 41:02  Bailey felt that Abby understood Ellie's emotions by the game's end, having dealt with her own father's death.[4]: 46:28 

Television series

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Kaitlyn Dever was cast as Abby in the second season of HBO's television adaptation of the video games on January 9, 2024.[13]

Appearance

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Abby's father, Jerry Anderson, was a Firefly surgeon whom Joel killed at the end of the first game to save Ellie. Four years later, in her early twenties,[1] she tracks Joel down in Jackson, Wyoming, and beats him to death. Some time later, back in Seattle, Abby learns that her ex-boyfriend Owen has gone missing while investigating the Seraphites, a religious cult locked in a war with the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), the militia of which Abby is a member. WLF leader Isaac Dixon believes Owen may have defected, and plans to assault the Seraphites' nearby island settlement. Searching for Owen, Abby is captured and witnesses the Seraphites shatter the arm of a runaway Seraphite named Yara. After being rescued by Yara and her younger brother Lev, Abby leaves them to find Owen. He plans to sail to Santa Barbara, California, where the Fireflies are supposedly regrouping, and the two have a romantic encounter. The next morning, Abby returns to find Yara and Lev, and brings them to the aquarium. Yara's arm requires amputation, so Abby and Lev retrieve medical supplies from the hospital, which is overrun by Infected.

After the surgery, Lev runs away to the Seraphite settlement to convince their mother to leave the cult. Abby and Yara pursue him, fending off an attack from Tommy, Joel's vengeful younger brother. At the settlement, they discover Lev has killed his devout mother in self-defense. As the WLF attack the settlement, Yara kills Isaac and sacrifices herself to let Abby and Lev escape. Abby and Lev return to the aquarium to find Owen and his pregnant girlfriend Mel killed and a map leading to Ellie's theater hideout. At the theater, Abby kills Jesse and shoots Tommy, crippling him. She overpowers Ellie and Dina but, after learning that Dina is pregnant, spares them at Lev's insistence and warns them to leave. Some time later, Abby and Lev arrive in Santa Barbara searching for the Fireflies, but are captured by the Rattlers, a gang of slave-keeping bandits. After being weakened by months of torture, they are rescued by Ellie. Threatening to kill Lev, Ellie forces Abby to fight her. Ellie overpowers her but lets her live. Abby sails away with Lev towards the Firefly base on Catalina Island.[14]

Reception

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38 year-old woman looking to the left of the camera.
Laura Bailey's performance as Abby was highly praised and awarded.

Abby's character received positive feedback from critics, and Bailey's performance was highly praised. Den of Geek's John Saavedra lauded Bailey for bringing Abby to life and making the player empathize with her by the game's end. He lauded the character's camaraderie with her companions, particularly Manny.[15] VG247's Caitlin Galiz-Rowe found Abby's redemption arc more believable and important than others in the game.[16] NPR's Jason Sheehan wrote that witnessing Abby's perspective proved that her revenge was "just as earned" as Ellie's.[17] USgamer's Kat Bailey appreciated the ambition of the player switch, but felt that it "just barely" pulled it off.[18] VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi concluded that Abby redeemed herself by sparing Ellie and praised Naughty Dog's ability to make the character likable.[19] Rafael Motamayor of Observer found Abby's story as interesting as Ellie's, and felt its use within the story made Ellie a better character as well.[20] Mashable's Jess Joho considered Abby's story more nuanced and compelling, but criticized both characters for relying too heavily on their relationships with their fathers; Joho felt the story was at its best with Abby and Lev.[21]

A subset of players criticized Abby and disapproved of her playable chapters as they had expected to control Ellie for the majority of the game.[22] Collider's Dave Trumbore felt Abby's killing of Joel led to her being unfairly maligned by audiences who had failed to understand the story's message and subtext.[23] Some players criticized Abby's muscular physique, and theories spread online that she was transgender; Polygon's Patricia Hernandez and The Independent's Amy Coles argued that this perception was a result of the lack of body diversity in games, and that the story showed Abby had the resources to achieve her physique.[24][25][26] Bailey became the target of online death threats in response to the character;[27] Naughty Dog released a statement condemning the threats, and Bailey was supported by James Gunn, Ashley Johnson, and Craig Mazin, among others.[28] Bailey spoke to friends like Druckmann and Johnson at the time of the controversy. She said that she continues to "see the remnants of it online" in February 2022.[5]

For her role, Bailey won Best Performance at The Game Awards 2020 and from IGN,[29][30] Performer in a Leading Role at the 17th British Academy Games Awards,[31] and was co-winner of Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama at the NAVGTR Awards with Johnson.[32] Bailey was nominated for Best Voice Performance at the 19th Game Audio Network Guild Awards[33] and Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game at the 10th Annual New York Game Awards,[34] and Abby was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Character at the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.[35]

References

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  1. ^ a b Tucker 2020, p. 15.
  2. ^ Tucker 2020, p. 118.
  3. ^ a b c Miller, Greg; Druckmann, Neil; Johnson, Ashley; Baker, Troy (June 25, 2020). "Last of Us 2 Spoilercast". Gamescast (Podcast). Kinda Funny. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Miller, Greg; Bailey, Laura (June 29, 2020). "The Last of Us Part II: Laura Bailey on "The Scene"". We Have Cool Friends (Podcast). Kinda Funny. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d McKeand, Kirk (February 11, 2022). "Laura Bailey interview - from school lunches alone to The Last of Us Part II". USA Today. Gannett. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  6. ^ Bellingham, Hope (February 10, 2021). "The Last of Us 2's Abby face model cosplays as the character and nails it". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  7. ^ Ehrlich, David (June 22, 2020). "Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross Open Up About the Biggest Twists of 'The Last of Us Part II'". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Spicer, Christian; Druckmann, Neil; Gross, Halley; Alexander, Ian; Bailey, Laura; Johnson, Ashley (July 21, 2020). ""You're my people" - Abby". The Official The Last of Us Podcast (Podcast). Sony Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Wilson, Aoife (July 1, 2020). "A spoiler-heavy interview with The Last of Us Part 2 director Neil Druckmann". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  10. ^ Kline, Kaity (July 2, 2020). "There's One Pleasant Surprise In 'The Last Of Us Part II': Its Depiction Of Judaism". NPR. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  11. ^ Tucker 2020, p. 127.
  12. ^ Gibbons, Brodie (June 18, 2020). "We Chatted To Naughty Dog About The Last Of Us Part II Spoilers, Leaks, Themes And Brutality". Press Start. Southern Cross Austereo. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  13. ^ Hibberd, James (January 9, 2024). "Kaitlyn Dever Officially Cast in 'The Last of Us' Season 2 as Abby". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  14. ^ Hornshaw, Phil (July 8, 2020). "Last of Us 2's Ending Explained - Everything That Happens And Why". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  15. ^ Saavedra, John (June 22, 2020). "The Last of Us Part 2: Abby Voice Actor Laura Bailey Delivers a Stunning Performance". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  16. ^ Galiz-Rowe, Caitlin (July 3, 2020). "Abby's redemption arc in The Last of Us Part 2 is the only one that matters (spoilers)". VG247. videogaming247 Ltd. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  17. ^ Sheehan, Jason (February 26, 2021). "Reading The Game: 'The Last Of Us Part 2'". NPR. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  18. ^ Bailey, Kat (June 23, 2020). "The Last of Us Part 2 Pulls Off Its Biggest Twist, But Only Just Barely". USgamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  19. ^ Takahashi, Dean (July 13, 2020). "Why the story of The Last of Us Part II is maddening and fulfilling (spoilers)". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  20. ^ Motamayor, Rafael (July 11, 2020). "The Brutal Redemptions of 'The Last of Us Part II'". Observer. Observer Media. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Joho, Jess (July 10, 2020). "How 'The Last of Us Part II' fails its women protagonists". Mashable. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  22. ^ MacLeod, Riley; Notis, Ari (June 19, 2020). "Here's The Deal With The Last Of Us Part 2". Kotaku. G/O Media. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  23. ^ Trumbore, Dave (July 3, 2020). "Why 'The Last of Us: Part II' Deserves to Be in the 'Game of the Year' Conversation". Collider. Collider Cryptomedia, Inc. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  24. ^ Hernandez, Patricia (July 1, 2020). "The Last of Us Part 2 proves gaming doesn't know how to deal with muscular women". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  25. ^ Coles, Amy (July 9, 2020). "The rampant body-shaming of Abby in The Last of Us Part II shows gamers still can't accept a realistic female lead". The Independent. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  26. ^ Tomkinson, Sian (July 2023). "'She's Built Like a Tank': Player Reaction to Abby Anderson in The Last of Us: Part II". Games and Culture. 18 (5): 684–701. doi:10.1177/15554120221123210. ISSN 1555-4120.
  27. ^ Khan, Asif (July 3, 2020). "Last of Us 2 voice actor Laura Bailey shares death threats on Twitter". Shacknews. Gamerhub. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  28. ^ Hernandez, Patricia (July 6, 2020). "The Last of Us 2 devs Naughty Dog condemns harassment, death threats". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  29. ^ Stedman, Alex (December 10, 2020). "The Game Awards 2020: Complete Winners List". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  30. ^ "The Best Performance in Games of 2020". IGN. Ziff Davis. December 22, 2020. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  31. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (March 25, 2021). "BAFTA Games Awards: Supergiant Games' 'Hades' Takes Home Top Prize — Complete Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on March 26, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  32. ^ Kirakosyan, Georgy (February 23, 2021). "Ghost of Tsushima стала игрой года по версии NAVGTR Awards" [Ghost of Tsushima named NAVGTR Awards Game of the Year]. Igromania (in Russian). Igromedia. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  33. ^ Ferme, Antonio (March 17, 2021). "'The Last of Us Part II' and 'Ghost of Tsushima' Lead G.A.N.G. Awards Nominees". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  34. ^ Makuch, Eddie (January 5, 2021). "Game Of The Year Nominees Announced For New York Game Awards, Hosted By Reggie Fils-Aime". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  35. ^ Denzer, TJ (April 22, 2021). "The D.I.C.E. Awards 2021 winners & finalists". Shacknews. Gamerhub. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.

Bibliography

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  • Tucker, Ian, ed. (June 2020), The Art of The Last of Us Part II, United States of America: Dark Horse Comics
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