Gabi VS. Abby

The Last of Us 2 was one of the many disasters that plagued 2020, due in no small part to Abby, the girl who murders Joel in cold blood with the help of her crew, before spitting on and desiccating his corpse, over Ellie's desperate pleas. 

That's not a spoiler, that's all most people know about the game. Even before it came out. 

Naturally, this was very divisive. I was one of many who decried Abby's character, and hated her even after learning her backstory- how Joel killed her father while saving Ellie, and how her quest for revenge led her down a path of self-destruction. 

But then, I encountered a character I've discussed in earlier posts that made me reevaluate my position- Gabi, from Attack On Titan Season 4. Like Abby, she also kills a beloved character and lets revenge lead her down a path of ruin, but on closer analysis, I decided that this was the perfect way to demonstrate where Neil Druckmann went wrong with his portrayal of Abby. 

First off, as a writer, you must understand that the reality of the setting is exactly how you dictate it to the reader. In this reality we've constructed, Abby is a random weirdo with a bunch of weirdo friends hanging around outside of town, and Joel is a heroic badass who saved Ellie numerous times, but has a dark history. Therefore, having Abby suddenly completely overpower Joel and straight-up murder him is shocking and repulsive. We learn later that it makes a lot of sense, both for her motivations and her personality, but the way the context is delivered to us is extremely lackluster. There's no getting around the fact that from this moment forwards, Abby is the antagonist. 

If I'd been the lead writer, I would've put the scene where Abby sees Joel killing her father at the very beginning. Assuming we're still going with the dark and deconstructive angle, I would've had Abby and Ellie meet first, and have a large section where they interact and get to know each other, and thus, familiarize Abby with the audience. As a matter of fact, I would've made Abby the playable character for this half of the game, instead of the latter half. We establish that her motivation is to kill Joel from the beginning, leading up to the scene where she ultimately gets her wish. It would also make a lot more sense narratively; Joel would trust Abby because Ellie trusts her, instead of just telling his name to a whole pack of strangers like an idiot. 

Now, Ellie's mission to hunt down Abby is far more dramatic. Not only because she was betrayed by a friend, but because we also actually sympathize with Abby and actively played a role in helping her kill Joel.

However, I think there's a way to save this whole mess even if you changed nothing up until the point where Joel gets killed. Instead of playing as Abby, Ellie goes investigating, and finds out Abby's past herself. She confronts Abby at multiple times during the game, and learns something new each time. She eventually figures out that Joel killed Abby's father, and all of this is what leads her to spare Abby's life. Abby becomes a sort of mystery to unravel, slowly but surely unwinding Ellie's motivation. I think you would have to drop the Seraphites in this version as too much extra baggage, but oh well.

Now, this first approach of establishing motivations before killing off the crucial character is the route they take with Gabi. We begin Season 4 in the middle of a pitched battle in a years-long war, with one of the main characters almost dying immediately. Gabi and her friends have been forced to participate in this conflict because of the brainwashing they've been subjected to all their lives. Gabi actually uses the skills the Marleyans have taught her to trick the enemy into letting her be, allowing her to derail a train with a cluster of grenades. 

Several episodes pass with us seeing the entire situation in Marley- the ghettos, the propaganda, and the self-hatred the Eldians have. When Eren attacks the internment zone, and a massively destructive battle follows, it makes perfect sense that Gabi should be after revenge. We see Sasha kill two guards who were trying to protect Gabi, and thus she chases after Eren and the airship even though she thinks it's pointless. 

Sasha's death is sudden, but it's not out of nowhere like Joel's was. Gabi has already been set up as a tragic character, and not only that, the scene makes narrative sense. She takes the Eldians by surprise by using a dead soldier's ODM gear, and gets one shot off before she's swarmed. 

The following episodes are also better than the following scenes in the game. We actually get to develop Gabi's character further, while the game instead has to go back and explain her entire character retroactively. And while we haven't seen the end of Gabi or the show yet, I doubt we're going to have a scene where the main characters forgive her for no reason. No one's seeking revenge on her, but she is still an enemy combatant. 

Update as of Episode 13: While it looks rather like my prediction was disproven by Sasha's father refusing to kill Gabi, unlike Ellie he has very valid reasons on why he's not killing Gabi, and why he won't let Niccolo do so either. First off, she's still a scared little girl. Secondly, he understands perfectly well the role his daughter played in the conflict, and what she must have inflicted on Gabi. And third, his desire for peace and to break the cycle of violence doesn't violate anything about his character or motivations. In fact, for the kind of man he is, I think it makes perfect sense.

To drive this home even further, Kaya tries to attack Gabi with a knife herself, letting us know that Gabi isn't a Mary Sue, and that she's not so easily forgiven like some other anime villains. She still has to earn redemption, unlike Abby who gets to ride off into the sea.

And one more minor difference: Abby is built like a damn body-builder in the middle of the apocalypse. Gabi is part of an oppressed minority, and appropriately looks like a mildly underfed child soldier. Character design matters.

Last of Us 2 is what happens when you put social justice over making a good game. The only truly good video game that did the anti-violence message well was Undertale. You cannot tell the player that violence is wrong if the only way to complete the game is violence. But that's an article for another day.

God bless y'all and have a nice day!