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The Last of Us showrunner and co-creator Craig Mazin seemingly puts one final divide between show Ellie and game Ellie after declaring Abby to be "not like Ellie" because she's "incredibly competent"
Speaking on The Last of Us podcast (which you can see below), Mazin says of the moment where Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) ambushes Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in the theater and shoots Jesse (Young Mazino) dead, "Look for the devil, the devil's gonna find you. Abby seemingly is not like Ellie, in that Abby is incredibly competent."
"We don't know yet how she found them, but we know that Abby must have found Owen and Mel. You can only imagine what Abby thought when she saw that. When Abby shows up in the theater, she doesn't screw up… she is in complete control of the situation."
The confrontation we’ve been waiting for.#TheLastOfUs Showrunner and Co-Creator Craig Mazin breaks down the incredible performances by Bella Ramsey and Kaitlyn Dever. The Official Podcast is available now on @StreamOnMax and all major podcast platforms. https://t.co/DJtz7Om4gT pic.twitter.com/w6ONGjCwMlMay 28, 2025
Whereas in Naughty Dog's games, Ellie is routinely shown as resourceful, headstrong, and capable in both physical and mental warfare, there is a growing section of fans who feel her HBO counterpart is a little more muted and emotionally pared-back – perhaps not helped by Mazin's comparison when discussing The Last of Us season 2 ending here.
Getting to the heart of audience frustration with how the adaptation of Ellie has been treated, one wrote on Twitter, "What does Craig have against Ellie? Did he forget the kind of character that he wrote in s1? Ellie is NOT incompetent. She is smart and brave and very capable of putting up a good fight. He ruined Ellie's character completely."
The Last of Us season 3, meanwhile, will likely focus on Abby's side to the story – if it follows The Last of Us Part 2, anyway.
Speaking to GamesRadar+ back in April, Mazin said he hadn't yet started on writing the new season, but was eager to do so.
"Obviously, we were very gratified by the critical response. Thank god it's been good and, even more so, the renewal we got from HBO means [there's] this enormous faith in it, and it means the audience doesn't have to worry about it being canceled. They can watch season two in peace knowing there will be a season three," Mazin said. "But I'll take a few weeks. Then if there's one thing I know about myself, I will be absolutely champing at the bit to get back to the keyboard."
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