“Passionate” is definitely a good word to describe video game fans, but there are always some who take their love of a beloved gaming franchise too far. Production on The Last of Us Season 2 is nearly complete, but the shoot hit a bit of a road bump when Kaitlyn Dever (who plays Abby in Season 2) had to hire extra security to protect her from those “passionate” fans. Following on from HBO’s hit first season of The Last of Us, Season 2 will take a jump forward in time, with some new faces joining Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the fungal-infected wasteland. One new actor is Kaitlyn Dever, who’s portraying one of the most hated characters from The Last of Us Part II.
Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Dever’s co-star Isabella Merced (who plays Dina in Season 2) revealed that angry fans turned up to the set, planning to apprehend Kaitlyn Dever. The actress hasn’t done anything herself to upset fans. However, their intense hatred for the character she’s playing has caused them to blur the lines between fantasy and reality, mistaking Dever for Abby. Merced explained:
“There’s so many strange people in this world because there are people that actually genuinely hate Abby, who is not a real person. Kaitlyn had to be extra secured by security when it came to the filming of this.”
Why The Last of Us Fans Hate Abby
WARNING! The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the future of The Last of Us!Abby was introduced in The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog’s sequel to the acclaimed video game. As one of two playable characters alongside Ellie, you’d assume that fans would love her character. However, it is Abby’s introduction to audiences that left some fans (and Ellie) feeling so intense. When Abby is introduced, her group, the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), have apprehended Joel. Just before a desperate Ellie enters the room, Abby brutally kills Joel with a golf club. It is later revealed that the scientist operating on Ellie in the first game, whom Joel killed, was Abby’s father, and she’s been seeking revenge ever since. Despite his flaws, fans absolutely loved Joel in the first game, and expected him to survive the events of the sequel. While most fans laud The Last of Us Part II as a masterpiece, because of Joel’s death, other fans absolutely despise it.
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Sadly, this isn’t the only time The Last of Us fans have lashed out at one of the show’s stars. When Bella Ramsey was cast as Ellie in Season 1, some fans lashed out at the actor, believing that they looked, sounded, and acted nothing like Ellie. Forgetting that actors… well, act, those fans sent Ramsey hateful messages online. Discussing the backlash, Merced shared her bewilderment at how fans can be angry when Neil Druckmann, the creator of The Last of Us, is one of the co-creators of HBO’s adaptation. Merced said:
“What confuses me is [that] the showrunner and the creator of the video game, they work together to make this. So if you like the guy who made it, and he’s making more of it, why are you mad?”
The Last of Us
Season 2 releases on Max and HBO in 2025. Season 1 is available to stream on Max.