The Last of Us 2 is one of the most divisive games of the decade so far, and its upcoming live-action counterpart on HBO is likely going to be just as controversial. Ellie and Joel’s journey continues in The Last of Us 2, but Joel’s journey is shockingly cut short. Abby, seeking revenge for her father’s death at the hands of Joel, beats him to death with a golf club early on in the game. Joel’s early death caused a ripple of division among the game’s players, but the controversy didn’t end there.

Many players were unhappy to discover that The Last of Us 2 eventually puts them in the shoes of Abby later on in the story. Not only that, but players spend nearly half the entire game with her. Although this was intended to build sympathy and understand her as a complex and nuanced character, it wasn’t fully successful in its execution. Now that sneak peeks of The Last of Us season 2 are trickling out before its early 2025 premiere, it seems like the live-action adaptation could be making the same mistake.

HBO’s The Last of Us Potentially Repeating a Controversial Abby Decision

Ellie’s Journey Could Be Interrupted

After the harrowing events of The Last of Us 2‘s opening, Ellie heads out to Seattle with her girlfriend Dina in order to get revenge on Abby. Ellie’s search through Seattle is grueling, and after hours of following her on her hunt, the game switches its perspective by having players experience the story through Abby’s eyes. The biggest criticism from some players is that the game makes players deeply empathize with Ellie and her pain, only to force them to play as the person responsible for that trauma.

The intention of this was to illustrate how someone’s supposed enemy is still a human being and revenge ultimately doesn’t achieve anything. There are plenty of players who view such a bold choice as necessary for the story, but there are also those who believe Joel deserved a better send-off. Both camps have valid points, but potentially repeating this in HBO’s adaptation could cause even more of a stir. With The Last of Us 2 being stretched into multiple seasons, there’s no telling when Joel’s demise will come in Season 2, but the Abby-centric episodes are bound to ruffle some feathers.

Abby-Focused Episodes Could Cause Deja Vu For Players

Introducing Joel’s Tragic End to an Even Larger Audience

HBO’s adaptation has an even greater reach than the games, and this will likely make anything focusing on Abby’s perspective difficult for many viewers to enjoy. It’s currently unknown how the HBO series will handle The Last of Us 2‘s dual narrative, but it will likely be through episodes focusing heavily on one character’s viewpoint. It’s easy to imagine a scenario where one episode highlights Ellie, while the next week’s episode bounces back to Abby.

This could bring many players right back to 2020 when the revelation of Joel’s death and Abby’s prominence in the story came to light. Despite many longtime fans having to experience this all over again, newcomers who have managed to avoid spoilers for this long are in for a shock. It’s not clear how the HBO series will interpret Abby and the WLF, but since the first season followed its source material rather closely, it’s unlikely that Season 2 will change Abby’s role in any drastic way.

The Last of Us 2 may be a divisive sequel, but its story holds a powerful message. It will be difficult for the HBO series to capture the emotional beats of The Last of Us 2, but it is going to be fascinating to see how audiences react to Joel’s fate once again.