I want to clarify that this isn’t any criticism of Kaitlyn Dever, she’s a fantastic actress. My concerns are solely about the character of Abby in the TV show. I feel that her character has been misrepresented.
I have so much to express, and I’m not sure where to start. Abby was treated so unfairly; her character was grossly misrepresented in the TV show. Abby is the type of person who acts quietly, so her entire monologue felt unnecessary to me because the true Abby would never say such things. I can’t wrap my mind around her calling Joel handsome, what relevance does that have to the story? Part of me wonders if she said it to challenge our preconceived notions of what a killer looks like, as they can be ordinary and even attractive people. Still, it feels pointless to me.
The way she caressed his face was completely out of character. It’s hard to believe Abby would ever do something like that. What frustrates me the most is that TV show Abby didn’t convey the same deep remorse and confusion after killing Joel that she did in the game. In the game, you could see her internal conflict; she processed the weight of her actions and realised that killing him didn’t bring her the closure she had hoped for. It was clear that she felt confused and disheartened, questioning why this act didn’t make her feel better after all those years of believing it would.
See what I mean? In the game, she was clearly trying to process what she had just done, realising that this did not make her feel any better. Notice her internal conflict? There was none of that in the tv show.
In the show, Abby smiled a few times while interacting with Joel, which I found unsettling because I know that critics will take that opportunity to argue that she took pleasure in killing him, which is far from the truth. Although her smile was likely a mask for her pain, I fear it will be misinterpreted, suggesting she found joy in the act. I’m genuinely disappointed. Abby already faces so much unnecessary hate, and I worry that after episode 2, it will only escalate. When will they finally do justice to her character? Will she ever receive the recognition and respect she deserves?
“You stupid, old man. You don’t get to rush this.” I’m pleased that they kept that specific dialogue in the show true to the game though.