The following contains major story spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2.
A mirror is held up between characters in The Last of Us Part 2 when Day 3 in Seattle for Ellie ends and Day 1 in Seattle for Abby begins. Viewers of the HBO show won’t be treated to the same nuance that The Last of Us Part 2 had in waiting until Abby’s half of the game to learn about her father and why she was so adamant about killing Joel, but if Season 2 elects not to depict Abby’s Seattle journey, effectively leaving it for Season 3 to adapt, it’ll be interesting to see how Abby and Lev’s dynamic is represented, too.
Lev is a complicated, layered character, and him being taken under Abby’s wing due to unforeseen and tragic circumstances mirrors how Ellie came into Joel’s care. Abby didn’t begrudgingly escort Lev across the country and doesn’t see Lev as a son the way that Joel saw Ellie as a daughter, and yet, similarities remain between each pair that would make for a fascinating throughline if Abby and Lev were followed in a hypothetical Last of Us 3. If so, Lev could undoubtedly become the new ‘Ellie’ of the series while Ellie herself takes a well-deserved break from all of the horror and trauma she’s experienced thus far.
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Lev is Already a Perfect Substitute for the Role of Ellie in The Last of Us
Not having Ellie featured as a protagonist in a Last of Us Part 3 would be exceedingly strange due to how focal and significant she’s been throughout Part 1 and Part 2. Her immunity is still dangling as a loose throughline that Naughty Dog could knot to close the franchise with finality if it wanted to, but dismissing the relevance and importance that Abby and Lev have in Part 2 alone would be a mistake as well.
Indeed, Lev wearing Converse sneakers in Santa Barbara was seemingly a choice made for players to believe those were Ellie’s feet before the camera pans upward and they realize they’re back with the WLF and Seraphite absconders.
In terms of its narrative, Naughty Dog has already alluded to Abby and Lev—malnourished, injured, and tortured as they were at the hands of the Rattlers, not to mention Ellie nearly killing Abby at the beach—reaching the Fireflies at their headquarters on Catalina Island. Either way, successful in their idealistic pilgrimage or not, it may be time for Lev to take care of Abby in the same way Ellie took care of Joel when he was impaled on rebar, bestowing upon Lev the responsibility of being The Last of Us’ newest protagonist.
Abby is the Joel to Lev’s Ellie in The Last of Us.
Gameplay as Lev Wouldn’t Be Far-Fetched in a Last of Us Part 3
As far as gameplay goes, only a tweak here and there would need to be made since Lev is already a playable character in The Last of Us Part 2’s roguelike mode, No Return. Inheriting Ellie’s animations and moveset, Lev’s melee attacks have him swipe a switchblade, which would be far too on the nose for a Part 3 as that concealable knife is only iconic in Ellie’s hands as a unique weapon of hers in the story campaign. Perhaps Lev could wield a melee weapon unique to him and his stealthier, ranged-focused playstyle, not unlike how Abby’s signature weapon sort of haphazardly became a standard hammer, reflecting her weighty, blunt-instrument approach to muscle-bound close-quarters combat.
Lev is particularly skilled with a bow, allowing for a smooth transition from Ellie to Lev as well as enabling a third game to explore further upgrades or mechanics with the bow and arrow.
With regard to their relationship and how they’ve grown to bond over the course of knowing one another, Abby is the Joel to Lev’s Ellie in The Last of Us. There are obvious distinctions to their dynamic, such as Abby and Lev originally belonging to opposing factions in a war for Seattle, but the two seem as close as Joel and Ellie ever were, considering what they’ve endured together and how far Abby was willing to go to rescue Lev from the Scars’ island. Plus, Abby and Lev don’t have a world-shattering lie looming above their relationship that threatens to dismantle it.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- January 19, 2024
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Franchise
- The Last of Us
- PC Release Date
- April 3, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- January 19, 2024
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
