Much of the ire of fans who didn’t particularly enjoy The Last of Us Part II’s storyline falls on the character of Abby. Having been introduced as the unannounced second playable character in the game, Abby ended up taking Joel’s life and causing irreparable damage to Ellie.
It’s understandable why she’s getting all this hate, and that is justified too. However, a lot of points in Abby’s favor have also been overlooked. There are aspects to her character that deserve one’s sympathies, putting her on par with Ellie. That said, here are five reasons why Abby is a sympathetic character, and five why she isn’t.
10 Sympathetic: The Way She Lost Her Father
This tends to go unnoticed by those who dislike Abby, in that her rage was justified since she never got to get closure over her father’s death. From her point of view, he was alive one moment ready to potentially save the world, and murdered the next.
After having survived the apocalypse with her father, only to have him ripped apart from her in such fashion would naturally have driven her to the extreme. Much sympathy is given to Ellie for losing Joel, but the same, if not worse, happened to Abby.
9 Not Sympathetic: She Started Ellie’s Rampage For Revenge
Of course, let’s not forget how Ellie was turned into something of a monster due to Abby’s actions. It wasn’t Ellie’s fault that Abby’s father died, yet Abby did whatever she could to ensure that Ellie’s world was shattered through Joel’s death.
It was Abby who kickstarted the cycle of hate that formed as the theme of the story, and Ellie’s obsession to kill Abby was the latter’s own fault. There’s no escaping the fact that Abby had no care for the people to whom Joel had mattered.
8 Sympathetic: Her Protectiveness Towards Lev And Yara
One of the reasons why Lev and Yara turned out to be the more interesting supporting characters was that they provide a redemption of sorts to Abby’s character. After all, no matter how insane she might have gone in her rampage for revenge, Abby had a genuine need to protect these kids.
This proved that Abby was far from a total monster, and that she had a nurturing side to her. Given different circumstances, Abby could have easily been a motherly figure. Her protectiveness of Lev and Yara is evidence that Abby didn’t view killing as the answer to everything.
7 Not Sympathetic: Her Brutal Killing Of Joel
No matter what defense one might have over Abby’s motivations to kill Joel, she most certainly did take his life. Some fans hate Abby purely because of the sadistic pleasure she derived from it, as it went past simple revenge.
Joel had killed Abby’s father because he had been in his way, but Abby sought him out and destroyed him in order to satisfy her thirst for blood. She could have made it quick death, yet the brutality of it meant she was looking to fill a personal satisfaction that was inhumane in many ways.
6 Sympathetic: Her Willingness To Show Mercy
Those that didn’t analyse the story right feel as if it didn’t make sense why Abby let Ellie go. It’s understandable, seeing as she had been prepared to kill her, but the point to remember is that her decision to spare Ellie went a long way in establishing that Abby wasn’t without mercy.
On the flip side, Ellie turned out to be worse since she didn’t share Abby’s merciful tendencies to the same extent. Looking at things this way, it’s clear that Abby’s killing spree was a one-off due to special circumstances, and against other people she would have been far more understanding.
5 Not Sympathetic: She Only Saw Good In People When She Wanted To
Had Abby only stopped to question herself if Joel and the people around him could have the capacity to be good, then none of the events of the game would’ve happened. She convinced herself that Joel had to be bad because he killed her father, not considering that he might have felt remorse.
In essence, Abby saw things purely as black or white, in that those who were with Joel had to be bad simply because they were his allies. She overlooked her ability to rationalize, and any tragedy that came as a result of this was simply her fault.
4 Sympathetic: Her Actions Were Influenced By Love
It wasn’t as if Abby had decided out of the blue to go out and start beating people to death. All of her actions had to do with love for her father, or love for others. Her revenge was misguided, sure, but it was born out of devotion to her father.
Even afterward when she and Ellie had their final clash, Abby only fought because the former had threatened Lev. Her motivations for violence were, ironically, the result of her need to avoid harm to those she cared about.
3 Not Sympathetic: Her Need For Vengeance Became Her Defining Trait
For all the things that are sympathetic about Abby, she’ll still probably be known mainly for how she got worse. This is because her desire for vengeance was easily the most dominant part of her characterization. Abby started out being driven by love, but embraced hatred as her main personality.
She was unwilling to fully embrace the idea of love, or the possibility to be happy unless she got revenge. Abby was also the one to fully begin the cycle of hate, and so many people from Ellie, Tommy, Dina, and others suffered because Abby gave in to the worst side of her.
2 Sympathetic: She Was Willing To Sacrifice Herself
An important piece of conversation to remember is the one Abby had with her father before he had decided to take Ellie’s life to find the cure. She had assured him that, had she been in the same position, she would have gladly sacrificed herself.
This shows the altruistic side of Abby, at least the person she had originally been. While it’s a moot point if she truly meant that or not, it does establish that Abby did consider the greater good at one point. Perhaps, the same person still existed in the present Abby.
1 Not Sympathetic: She Only Let Ellie Live Because Of Lev
Although it’s clear that Abby wasn’t without mercy, there’s also the fact that it was because of Lev that she let Ellie and Dina go. Had that not been the case, then Abby would’ve had the blood of these two on her hands as well.
It appears even her mercy is misguided in a way, since, if Lev had asked her to kill the two, Abby would’ve subjected them to a brutal end like Joel. For this reason, her sparing Ellie can’t be seen as the markings of a good person.
NEXT: The Last Of Us Part 2: 10 Tips To Taking Down The Infected
