TV-Only The Last of Us fans may be meeting Abby for the first time in the second season, but anyone who played TLOU Part II when it came out knows all about the toxic reactions to Abby.
With Kaitlyn Dever cast in the role, some fans are worried that she will get bullied into oblivion, but it looks like Dever knew what she signed up for when she joined the cast.
‘It’s Hard NOT to See Those Things on the Internet’
In a recent interview with ScreenRant, Dever confirms that she’s read the toxic reactions over Abby. She says, “Well, it's hard not to see those things on the internet. It's hard not to stop myself from looking at it every once in a while, especially going into this, for sure. And I want to do this character justice and make the fans proud by bringing her to life in this kind of way.”
It’s only natural to want to know how fans reacted to Abby. The actress who played her in the game, Laura Bailey (and even face model Jocelyn Mettler), was harassed by angry Last of Us fans who weren’t so jazzed about the character.
“My main focus was just the collaboration between Neil [Druckmann] and Craig [Maizin], and making sure I was really getting to the core of who she is and what drives her and her emotional state; her anger and her frustration and her grief and all of that. I wanted to make sure that that was what I was focusing most of my energy on,” says Dever.
With Dever being the actual face of Abby in the live-action series, it’s possible that she could be subject to the same kind of vitriol—but then again, maybe the change in the demographic could lead to a different online reaction.
After all, most of the toxic reactions to the game come from gamers; maybe TV audiences would be a bit nicer. But then again, not even the actors in Game of Thrones were safe from harassment. The Last of Us is in a completely different genre, so there’s that to consider.
Should Big Studios Protect Actors from Social Media Harassment?
With these big franchises tending to attract very volatile fandoms, there has already been a call by some fans for studios to protect any actors who get harassed online for character-based hate.
Star Wars actresses Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran were bullied off social media after fans relentlessly harassed them. It’s impressive how Brie Larson keeps her fans updated regularly despite all the hate she receives for playing Captain Marvel.
It’s not clear how exactly studios are expected to protect these actors from harassment online, but outright condemning hateful conduct on their official platforms should be a good start.
The Last of Us Season 2
For now, gamers are waiting to see how the rest of the audience reacts once Abby is brought into the picture. Though some of her story will be explored in the season, it looks like it’s only going to be half, and most of Abby’s journey will be covered in a third season.
Hopefully, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have managed to pull off the same hat trick they did with Season 1.
Catch The Last of Us Season 2 when it premieres on Max this April 13.