When players first take control of Abby Winters in The Last of Us Part II , the feeling is almost universally visceral: disgust. After the shocking, brutal death of Joel Miller—the beloved protagonist of the first game—being forced to walk a mile in his killer’s boots felt like a cruel joke by developer Naughty Dog.
Joel was a hero to Ellie and a monster to the Fireflies. Abby was a monster to Ellie and a hero to Lev. She asks a question we don’t want to answer: If someone killed your father to save a stranger, wouldn’t you pick up the club? The Legacy As we look toward the future (be it The Last of Us Part III or the HBO adaptation), Abby stands as a landmark character. She proved that video games can make you hate a character, live as them, and—perhaps—forgive them. violetta abby winters
Yet, nearly six years later, the discourse surrounding Abby has shifted. She is no longer just “the woman with the golf club.” She has become one of the most complex, divisive, and ultimately human characters in modern video games. To understand The Last of Us Part II , you have to stop seeing Abby as an antagonist, and start seeing her as the protagonist of her own tragedy. Our first introduction to Abby is purely physical. She is a walking fortress of muscle—bulging biceps, a thick neck, and the gait of a professional wrestler. In a medium where female characters are often designed for the male gaze, Abby’s body was a statement. It was practical. She lives in a post-apocalyptic militia (the Washington Liberation Front, or WLF) where protein is scarce and combat is constant. She didn’t get that body from a gym; she got it from years of obsessive training for a singular purpose. When players first take control of Abby Winters
Her arc mirrors Joel’s redemption arc from the first game. Abby finds her "Ellie" in two Lev and Yara, siblings from the enemy Seraphite cult. By saving these children, Abby betrays her own faction (the WLF). She risks everything for two people she barely knows, not out of a strategic goal, but out of guilt and a desperate need to do something right after the hollow victory of killing Joel. Abby was a monster to Ellie and a hero to Lev