As The Last of Us Season 2 approaches, audiences anticipate the introduction of the titular video game’s most controversial character, Abby Anderson, in the live-action HBO series. Star Isabela Merced reveals that Kaitlyn Dever, who portrays Abby in the upcoming season, needed extra security during production considering people’s real-life hatred for her character.

During an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Merced spoke about Dever getting additional security detail while on The Last of Us Season 2 set. Though Abby has a divisive reputation given what she did in The Last of Us Part II, Merced can’t understand why some fans can’t differentiate the character from the person playing her. “There are people that actually genuinely hate Abby, who is not a real person. Just a reminder, not a real person. And so Kaitlyn had to be extra secured by security when it came to the filming of this,” she said.

Since Dever’s casting as Abby was confirmed in January, fans of The Last of Us franchise expressed their fear that Season 2 could replicate The Last of Us Part II‘s most controversial moment. In The Last of Us Part II, Joel kills Jerry Anderson, a Firefly surgeon and Abby’s father, to save Ellie from dying and preventing the administering of a vaccine. Filled with vengeance, Abby becomes a ruthless soldier and bulks up for her eventual confrontation with Joel. Abby and her cohorts then corner Joel in Wyoming, where she brutally murders him with a golf club in front of Ellie, though she doesn’t realize Ellie is the immune girl she saw in the hospital.

Some Last of Us Fans Have Been Critical of the Abby Casting

Though Dever’s casting was praised by many, including Abby voice actor Laura Bailey, others criticized the move considering her frame doesn’t resemble Abby’s from the game. Merced addressed the casting backlash and other criticisms about Season 2, expressing her anger and frustration. Meanwhile, Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel in The Last of Us, offered cryptic responses when asked if the scene involving his character and Abby would play out in Season 2.

Dever and Merced are two of several casting additions set to feature in The Last of Us Season 2, with Young Mazino and Catherine O’Hara also among the new actors on the series. Season 2 began production this past February in British Columbia and is expected to wrap up this summer.

The Last of Us Season 1 became an award-winning and record-breaking success for HBO, garnering the highest average viewership for an original series on the network since Games of Thrones‘ final season. Co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have hinted at the series continuing for multiple seasons after Season 2.

No premiere date has been set for The Last of Us Season 2. Fans can stream Season 1 in its entirety on Max.