Fans didn’t expect the story of The Last of Us to take such a twist before the sequel came out, as the character of Abby shattered the series’ status quo. It’s become an unpopular Last of Us opinion to see Abby as a hero, as her killing of Joel will forever be the first and foremost part of her characterization.
However, Abby was more than just Ellie’s archenemy, with the story featuring a number of plot points that indicated that she was misunderstood due to her bid for revenge. Of course, there were also enough indications that Abby had hurt many people and not just those who considered her an enemy.
10 Worst: Her Willingness To Kill Dina
The biggest difference between Ellie and Abby may just be in their ruthlessness. While Ellie was horrified to learn she’d killed the pregnant Mel, Abby was fully aware of Dina’s pregnancy and was going to kill her until Lev stopped her.
This showed that Abby had ditched her morals by this point, as she was fine with taking the life of an unborn child. That’s the kind of things villains are known for and there’s certainly no justification for a character to stoop so low, especially since Dina had conceded defeat by that point.
9 Misunderstood: She Didn't Get A Chance To Process Her Father's Demise
While Ellie and Joel’s last moment is considered among The Last of Us’s saddest separations, Abby didn’t get to experience one with her father. She saw him alive one moment, only to find his body the next, and that’s something understandably found difficult to process.
If the same thing had happened to Ellie, fans would’ve felt understandably angry at not seeing Joel’s demise play out. In the same vein, Abby never got the chance to say goodbye or even consider her father’s life to be under threat, so it makes sense that she found it difficult to move on.
8 Worst: Her Lack Of Reaction To Her Friends Dying Because Of Her
Abby made her friends come along with her in the quest to take Joel’s life, which had the side effect of siccing Ellie and Tommy on all of them, as the two slowly killed all those involved. But rather than feel remorse for causing the deaths of these people, Abby was shown barely acknowledging them.
The closest person she came to mourning was Owen, but this was down to the fact that he was her ex-boyfriend. Apart from him, Abby didn’t come close to being as devastated as Ellie was about Joel’s death, showing that she didn’t appreciate her friends as much and may simply have been using them.
7 Misunderstood: She Didn't Intend For Others To Get Hurt
Although much of the fanbase considers Abby to be a stone-cold killer, the truth is that she was only after Joel, in particular. After all, she let Ellie and Tommy live, despite having the two easily in a position to off them, and it was the duo who came after her.
Abby also didn’t consider the possibility that her friends would become targets, meaning she figured they weren’t in danger. While her pursuit of Joel’s death was no doubt a killer’s motive, Abby isn’t the all-out murderer as many consider her to be.
6 Worst: She Alienated Those Around Her Without Considering Their Feelings
Taking Joel’s life ultimately didn’t allow anyone to have peace, as it soured Abby’s relations with her friends instead, to say the least. As written by Mel in her journal, she came to realize that Abby was very selfish and regretted the brutal manner in which Joel was killed off.
Abby also slept with Owen while Mel was pregnant with his baby, which goes a long way in establishing that she didn’t take her friends’ feelings into account. All in all, Abby was more of a taker than a giver where her friendships were concerned, and that’s something Ellie or the other protagonists wouldn’t do.
5 Misunderstood: She Wanted To Be Left Alone After Completing Her Goal
Abby didn’t have any grand evil plans after achieving her mission of killing Joel. Instead, she sought to be on her own once she’d avenged her father’s death, which is evidence that her malicious tendencies mainly stretched out toward Joel and his allies.
In the story’s conclusion, she was attacked by the Rattlers, at a time where Abby had thought her battles were over. Following her rescue by Ellie, Abby didn’t have plans to fight her enemy, which went to show that she really did want to be left alone and not harm anyone else.
4 Worst: She Began A Cycle Of Hate-Filled Violence
The theme of hate began after Abby killed off one of the best Last of Us characters in Joel, which then got Ellie into seeking revenge. The entire story was Abby’s doing, as she couldn’t let go of her father’s death, yet expected Ellie to do the same.
After Ellie hit back by taking down Abby’s allies, the latter once again continued the cycle by pursuing Ellie’s further loved ones. Abby basically didn’t grasp the fact that she was responsible for setting all the deaths and tragedy in motion, including the ones who had aided her.
3 Misunderstood: She Changed Under Lev's Influence
What many fans fail to see is that Abby was supposed to be portrayed the way Joel was in the first game. She was introduced as a villain protagonist after killing the previous hero, but she underwent character development through Lev the same way Joel had with Ellie.
Abby softened as a person, willing to spare people under Lev’s insistence and becoming a nurturing individual in her bid to take care of Lev. If the part about Joel’s killing is disregarded, Abby’s story becomes one of learning to love again.
2 Worst: Her Role In Destroying The Main Characters' Lives
It’s probably not possible for fans to be completely objective toward Abby, as the fact of the matter is that she ruined the main characters’ happy ending. Before her arrival, Ellie had started her romance with Dina, Tommy was married, and Joel had all the time he needed to make amends with Ellie.
Abby put an end to all the possibilities of the protagonists' future in an instant, as her killing of Joel led to everyone involved losing their sense of purpose. By the end, Abby had inadvertently broken up Tommy’s marriage and caused Dina to leave Ellie.
1 Misunderstood: She's Empathetic If The Series Is Played From Her Point Of View
She may never become a completely likable Last of Us character, but Abby can certainly be empathized with if fans don’t see her through the same lens as Ellie did. If the series had started out from Abby’s point of view, she would’ve been the receiver of fans’ sympathies.
Looking at it objectively, Abby had to endure her father’s demise, learned a man killed humanity’s last hope of reversing the zombie apocalypse and spent her formative years by herself. She didn’t know anything about Joel’s loss of his daughter and his fatherly love for Ellie. Had players been introduced to the series through Abby, it would’ve been a natural inclination to support her journey.
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July 28, 2021 at 12:00AM
