The Last of Us makes another major character change from the game – not just Abby
Reshuffling the game's dynamics in multiple ways.
With the premiere of The Last of Us season 2, we've confirmed that the hit HBO adaptation has made some character tweaks just as it did for season 1 — including some previously less-heard names like Eugene and big ones like antagonist Abby.
Just like the entire rework of Bill & Frank's story in episode 3 of the first season, this opening chapter of TLOU's next era comes with changes that will definitely be noticeable by fans of the games.
Depending on which alteration you look at, some might be welcome in offering a new experience without altering the main course of the source material.
Another, however, might be a little confusing in light of what we currently know after seeing the end of episode 1.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for those who have not watched episode 1 of The Last of Us season 2.
The change to Abby's story in The Last of Us season 2
As we finally see the debut of Abby in The Last of Us season 2, played by Kaitlyn Dever, the big change to the story of the main antagonist to Joel and Ellie isn't in her actual backstory — but the way that it's portrayed.
In The Last of Us Part 2 game — on which season 2 of the TV show is based — the history of Abby, her allies, and their reasoning for going after Joel is very much hidden for a long portion of the game.
Still, their intentions are the same. Abby's father was still the Firefly surgeon who Joel killed among many other Fireflies in order to save Ellie, but it was kept a mystery until around the second half of the game.
Switching you to play as Abby herself, this acts as an unexpected twist that intends to start altering the player's perspective on how she's initially viewed as a villain.
In the first episode of TLOU season 2, however, we learn this within the game's first scene. This is as Abby, Owen, and the rest of the few remaining comrades stand over the graves, already declaring a drive to go after Joel and what they know so far to start doing so.
In a way, immediately lifting the curtain on Abby's story does get the viewer up to speed right away — saving much more time to cover the events of the game's long story within the smaller scope of a TV show.
In another, this does take away an opportunity for viewers who hadn't played the games to be met with that same degree of surprise that players of The Last of Us Part 2 were hit with.
When asked about the reasoning for the change by RadioTimes.com, showrunner Craig Mazin noted that the decision was down to the medium differences between playing the original game and watching the adapted events as a weekly TV series.
Mazin said, "Our feeling was in this medium, it was important to give people enough context, because we weren't [going to do] a long stretch where there would just be Abby, because the game was saying you're Abby now, you can't just press triangle and be Joel or Ellie, you have to be Abby for a long time. We don't have that."
Eugene's character has been altered as well
Another change in season 2 from The Last of Us Part 2 has been the fate of Eugene, while Dina's character differs from her original counterpart to have more of a friendship with Joel.
In the game, Eugene was an ex-Firely turned Jackson patrolman who died of a stroke at age 73.
As Ellie and Dina talked about Eugene during their patrol in the game — which was adapted in episode 1 — such a fate was quite notable, since dying of natural causes in a post-apocalyptic, Cordyceps-ridden world was such a rare thing.
In the show, however, it has been implied that Eugene was infected before Joel had to put him down. Revealed by Gail, an original character not in the game and portrayed by Catherine O' Hara, we're assuming for the time being that changing Eugene's death in this way was to elevate her backstory.
That's not just hers, though. Because we know that Eugene is to be played by Joe Pantoliano, it looks like we'll be seeing the character in future episodes — supposedly via flashbacks.
With that, we'll hopefully get to see more of the mystery around Eugene revealed, and this change could potentially enhance his story compared to how it was in the game.
Dina is friends with Joel in this version
Ellie's best friend and romantic interest Dina, played by Isabela Merced in The Last of Us season 2, has also been reutilised in an interesting way to be another daughter figure for Joel.
Although still as close with Ellie as she was in TLOU Part 2, Mazin seems to have also decided to add a new angle to Dina's character by adding her into the tension between the two.
As Joel mentions to Gail in his therapy session, Dina is kind and friendly in a way that she could be more of a daughter to him than Ellie — even though neither is really Joel's child, as Gail points out. Dina even mentions to Ellie that she's planned to watch movies with Joel.
Dina and Joel were nowhere near this close in the game, so this uniquely added friendship could be used as a way to generate additional conflict either between Ellie and Joel, or Ellie and Dina in their blooming relationship.
Either way, Mazin has definitely made for some unique viewing that will even get those who have played The Last of Us Part 2 game guessing as to what changes will be coming next in season 2 of the show.
The Last of Us season 1 is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership. Season 2 is released weekly.
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