Kaitlyn Dever Filmed Abby Scenes With Joel After Mom’s Funeral

Warning: This article contains significant spoilers from The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 2.

The pivotal moment that gamers anticipated finally unfolded in Sunday night’s episode of The Last of Us.

In this episode, Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever) deceives Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Dina (Isabela Merced) into entering the mansion where her companions are hiding. Once they are inside, they put Dina into a temporary slumber, allowing Abby to reveal her true identity as the daughter of the doctor Joel killed in Salt Lake City.

Eager for vengeance, Abby shoots Joel in the knee with a shotgun and savagely assaults him with a golf club. Although Ellie storms into the room attempting to save Joel, she is captured before she can intervene. In a heartrending moment, despite Ellie’s desperate pleas, Abby fatally stabs Joel with a shard of the broken golf club. The group decides to spare Ellie, who crawls to Joel’s lifeless body and lies next to him.

This emotionally charged scene has become one of the most gut-wrenching moments in the series so far. Dever found it particularly challenging to film, as she had lost her mother to metastatic breast cancer shortly before production began.

“I lost my mom just a few weeks before we filmed this scene, and her funeral was three days before I started working on set,” Dever shared with Entertainment Weekly. “I was sort of in a fog. It was a blur.”

Before Abby ends Joel’s life, she delivers a haunting monologue explaining how her father’s death has led her to this brutal moment. According to Craig Mazin, co-creator of The Last of Us, Abby’s speech conveys her belief that “what he did was wrong” and that “we kill for the people we love.” This speech, which is not found in the game, served as a vital moment for Dever to illustrate Abby’s inner turmoil.

“This part of her is deeply human, struggling for so long, and she’s seeking a way to escape that conflict,” Dever elaborated. “But what connects all these characters, even in that moment, is their inherent flaws.”

The third episode of The Last of Us Season 2 is set to air at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday, April 27, on HBO and will be available for streaming on Max.