Casting crisis and the struggle of game adaptations sticking true to the source material

Recently, the new season of The Last of Us has been released, though not in its entirety. Already, there have been tweaks in the storyline as well as casting controversies (yet again!). Safe to say, this article is full of spoilers for both the game and show.

The main issue is with the casting of Abby’s character, who is played by Kaitlyn Dever. Now in the game, Abby’s body reflects her time spent working out and preparing for her revenge. Throughout the game, she frequently wears tank tops that show off her arm muscles. At a glance, it shows players that she is tough, strong and most importantly for the plot, angry. Because of this, in every scene that she is in, she tends to dominate the space. It makes sense that her friends agree to help her find Joel and then proceed to watch as she kills him. No one wants to stand up to her as she is physically capable and has a single-minded goal of killing Joel. To the player, Abby is clearly seen as a threat. 

However, we don’t see the same reflection of inner turmoil in the body of Kaitlyn Dever. Of course, this article is in no way bodyshaming, but I struggle to believe that there is no buff actress out there. This also slightly impacts the viewing experience of the show, especially for those who haven’t seen the game. The show decides to inform us who Abby is, something the game never does. I assume this is because they want to lay the foundations for empathy building relatively quickly. When I watched the opening scene with her monologue of revenge, I thought that, realistically, she didn’t seem intimidating. Even amongst her own crew, she isn’t the most physically dominant character in the scene. 

The show does its best to still reflect just how much pain she inflicted

In the scenes closer to Joel’s death, in-game Abby is full of anger, you can hear it in her breathing, the way she looks around the room for a blunt weapon to make Joel’s suffering longer. As a player, you know she doesn’t need this weapon; this is just sadistic revenge. However, the Abby from the show doesn’t have the same effect. When I watched the scene, she just seemed like someone who is full of grief, rather than anger – killing Joel is a way of processing and bringing justice. When she went to pick a weapon, it felt expected as she doesn’t look like someone who could deal a lot of damage without it. This, in turn, makes it feel less sadistic as she’d need some sort of weapon to inflict pain; it wasn’t a choice, unlike game Abby. The show does its best to still reflect just how much pain she inflicted by recreating Joel’s beaten body almost identical to the game. They also have the golf stick lying broken next to him, reflecting just how much force she had to beat him with.  

On a final note, Abby’s buff physique acted as a nod to the player on her similarity with Joel. She mimicked him with her physicality, attitudes towards others in her group, and the qualities that drive her as a character, inevitably allowing players to empathise with her. Perhaps the show is trying different methods to get players to like Abby, such as her telling Joel he’s handsome (because I can’t think of any other reason why they would have Abby compliment her father’s killer).    

Casting controversies aside, there are also a few plot changes that the show brings to the table

Ironically, I think that Kaitlyn Dever actually could’ve played a decent Ellie. She looks similar to the game version and is clearly capable of portraying a grieving kind of anger on screen. In turn, I don’t think that Bella Ramsey would’ve made a bad Abby if they were still going for a slightly less buff version. Other great casting moves include Pedro Pascal as Joel and Isabela Merced as Dina. 

Casting controversies aside, there are also a few plot changes that the show brings to the table. As I previously mentioned, in the game, we don’t know who Abby is. She is just a random character who hates Joel for one reason or another. In fact, the only way we can learn who she is is by playing her side of the story. This makes certain moments feel so much more rewarding or heightened. For example, the moment where the group gets silent after finding Joel or when we finally find out who Abby is. Even Joel’s death stings so much more as both the player and the character don’t know why he is being killed. The show, however, chooses to give Abby a rather long speech about who she is and why she will kill Joel. This again feeds into the perception that this Abby is not running on pure anger towards Joel, I mean, she takes the time to explain to him who she is and why she is doing this, showing him a kind of mercy by letting him see this is a karmic killing. 

He never got to feel the helplessness and anger of being knocked out, only to wake up and find his brother dead

In turn, Joel’s character deviates from his usual headstrong and slightly stubborn old man demeanour that we see in the game as he allows Abby to talk. In the game, he iconically tells her, “Why don’t you say whatever speech you’ve got rehearsed and get this over with.” This version of Joel accepts that he won’t be getting out of this situation, but also doesn’t want to give Abby the satisfaction of capturing him. The Joel in the show lets her give her speech, making him feel softer, almost like he is buying himself some time to learn who she is and possibly talk himself out of this.   

Another notable change in the show (amongst many) is that Dina accompanied Joel in the cabin and not Tommy. In the show, Abby’s crew seems to be less harsh and less on board with Abby from the get-go. When they capture Dina, they are kind to her by reassuring her and Joel that she will be ok, and they opt to knock her out medically. In the game, they don’t treat Tommy with the same kindness and instead knock him out by hitting him on the head till he bleeds. They are also rougher with Ellie, kicking her multiple times in the stomach compared to the single kick in the show. I assume this is done to continue this foundation for empathy building with Abby and her team. 

It seems that films and TV just can’t help but stray from the source material

By removing Tommy from the scene of his brother’s death, it makes me question whether or not the show Tommy will be joining Ellie on her revenge adventure. After all, unlike in the game, he never got to feel the helplessness and anger of being knocked out, only to wake up and find his brother dead and know that he was in the room when it happened, unable to do anything. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he chose to stay behind with his child (in show only) and help to rebuild the town after the horde battle, something we don’t see in-game. 

Overall, I could write a whole essay on all the things they changed, be it for better or for worse, and how they impact the plot and subtleties of the game. It seems that films and TV just can’t help but stray from the source material. Is this because TV is less interactive than gaming, making it harder to adapt emotional stories? Or is this because TV wants to show off a flashy budget and pocket on the hype factor? I guess we’ll never truly know. For now, I’m on the edge of my seat to see if the show ends up with the same strong story of the game or a complete over hyped flop.