'The Last of Us II': Why The Relationship Between Joel and Ellie Works Better Than Abbie and Lev's

What Do You Think?

By Culture SlatePublished 2 years ago • 6 min read

*Spoilers Ahead for Last of Us Franchise*

Two of the best video games of the last few years were the fungal zombie infested, post-apocalyptic survival horror games The Last of Us and its sequel. Both have rightfully received rave reviews for their gameplay, story, graphics and especially characters. The two protagonists from the first game, Joel Miller and Ellie Williams, are already considered two of the greatest video game characters of all time. Again, rightfully so.

With the monumental success of the first game, a second game was all but inevitable, with the follow-up releasing in 2020. It had gargantuan shoes to fill and, for the most part, it met expectations. The mechanics of the gameplay were tightened, the graphics were still state-of-the-art, and we got to see more development from Ellie.

However, the game was not without its controversies, especially with the death of Joel near the beginning of the game, and that a lot of time is spent playing as Abby Anderson. Fans wanted to play as the characters they loved and this new one didn't quite meet the heights of Joel and Ellie. It's obvious to anyone who's played both games that we're supposed to see a parallel between Joel/Ellie and Abby/Lev, but it... just doesn't work.

Obviously a copy/paste of the two relationships wouldn't work. Abby isn't Joel and Ellie isn't Lev, and they're all in completely different situations, and their goals in the games are completely different. However, there is still a problem with comparing these two: Lev isn't really a character. He's a story device, and his relationship with Abby is completely unbelievable. It's as if the developers were thinking "we need to give Abby something to do so we can have her keep being a playable character. I guess these two kids will do."

In the first game, Joel and Ellie's relationship was perfectly set up and executed. Replaying the game, you can see all of the subtle ways it builds from a reluctant chaperone to someone Joel sees as a burden, to an almost father/daughter relationship. By the end of the game, you completely understand why he'd be willing to kill every Firefly in the world if it meant making sure that Ellie was safe.

Abby and Lev do not have that. They don't have much of anything really, which is too bad, because the opportunities to build strong characters with a strong relationship were there. This would have been easier if Lev was an actual character, but he isn't. An easy way to look at it is through what I like to call the "Plinkett Test." In a viral review of The Phantom Menace by the YouTube channel RedLetterMedia, the reviewer poses the challenge of describing Star Wars characters without saying what they look like, what kind of costume they wear, or what their role in the film is. It's easy for the characters from the first game; Ellie is headstrong, nerdy, snarky, but she also has low self-esteem and carries with her the feeling that she's a burden, and not thinking that she's worth anything. She has physical and emotional scars from her past that she's trying to overcome, even as she has to do more and more terrible things just to survive. Lev fails this test miserably.

A big part of the problem is that most of Lev's character is told to us instead of shown. His sister, Yara, plays the part of the exposition queen for him. What are Lev's challenges? Yara tells us. What is he like? Ask Yara, she knows. I understand that Lev isn't Ellie. He's much quieter and more reserved than she is, most likely by necessity. The developers could have still made an interesting character with that. The opportunities are there. Lev fights through hell to save his mother, but he accidentally kills her when she turns on him. He watches his sister die, and now Abby is literally the only person he has left. What do they do with this? Nothing, really.

It's not even clear why Abby goes back to the two of them in the first place. She first meets them when they save her life, and she helps get them to a safe place. The next day she feels guilty, or something, so she goes back to them. It's not earned. When Joel goes to save Ellie from the Fireflies, you know exactly why, because you've seen their relationship develop. Abby just feels bad, because she left some kids in a trailer.

Abby and Lev don't really have any character moments with each other either. They just seem like two people traveling with each other who just kind of help each other out. This wouldn't be such a big problem if they weren't trying to draw a comparison to Joel and Ellie. Obviously not parent/child, but something, anything would be better. The closest the game really gets to anything character-orientated is when Lev is helping Abby through her fear of heights.

Like I said before, the opportunities were there. Lev is alone. Abby is the only thing he has that could remotely be considered family, and after Owen and Mel die, she's pretty much in the same boat. Use that! Have the obligation that Abby feels toward Lev help chip away at her rough exterior while Lev's reliance on her helps him open up a bit. Something. Anything. As it is, it feels more like Lev is just her backup while she's doing her own thing. A good opportunity for a parallel is comparing Lev killing his mother with Ellie killing the leader of the cannibal cult. When Joel reaches Ellie as she's hacking the cannibal's with a machete, Joel holds her while she cries in remorse, horror, and relief. After Lev and Abby are safe from the battle, there could have been a moment like that.

It's understandable how this was a bigger challenge. Joel and Ellie had an entire game to develop, while Abby and Lev have half of one. But there's nothing done in that half. A good example is when comparing the revenge scenes from both characters. When Abby is beating Joel to death, two people have to hold Ellie down as she tries to get free and protect Joel, begging him to get up and run. When Ellie is trying to kill Abby, you could take Lev completely out of the scene and it wouldn't make a lick of difference. You'd be forgiven for forgetting he's there at all.

Both The Last of Us games are, for the most part, masterpieces. The biggest misstep that the second game took is attempting a comparison between Lev and Abby with Joel and Ellie. There isn't one, it fails in every way. Abby and Lev are ultimately little more than traveling buddies. Ellie and Joel... Well, you just have to look at what Joel says when talking to Ellie about killing the Fireflies to save her;

"If somehow the Lord was to give me a second chance, I would do it all over again."

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