With the season one finale of The Last of Us looming this Sunday, fans are already looking at what’s to come in season two of the queer inclusive series. Gamers already know the joys and utter emotional devastation that await in the story, along with the new characters that are joining the journey, and are sharing casting opinions — one of which really caught our eye.
Just to be clear, we won’t be spoiling any plot points for season two, but some mild spoilers are unavoidable, so proceed with caution if you’re spoiler averse.
As fans of the game know, Abby is a pivotal character in the second game, and likely the second season of the hit HBO adaptation. It’s essential that the character be cast perfectly, in order to pull off the Gestalt shift that is required to buy into her journey — because my god is that a big ask of fans, particularly considering how the character is first introduced.
While HBO’s casting up until this point has been perfect, fans would like a word about who should take on the daunting task of bringing Abby to life in live action. To be honest, they kind of nailed it by suggesting The Wilds’ queer star Shannon Berry for the part.
On The Wilds, Berry played Dot, who, like Abby, is a tough-as-nails survivor with complicated father issues. Ahem, no comment. She also bears a striking resemblance to the character.
While the fans agree she’s perfect for the role, some have rightfully expressed concern for her mental health, as whoever takes that part is guaranteed to be the target of a lot of online negativity. The character in the game drew massive backlash and criticism both for her actions taken and for not adhering to a very rigid (read: straight) beauty standard. It was, in a word, toxic.
While no casting news has been announced for season two, and likely won't be for a painfully long time, fans still have the finale of season one to look forward to this week. No spoilers here, but have those tissues handy, because there will be lots of emotions. But then, when hasn't there been with this brilliant, poignant, utterly devastating piece of television (and gaming) brilliance?