It Broke Her Too

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This narrative reveals significant plot twists from “Through the Valley,” the second episode of The Last of Us season two, as well as The Last of Us Part II.

On a gloomy March morning in Studio City, Los Angeles, Kaitlyn Dever and I connect for a ceramic knickknack painting session. Clad in jeans, an oversized sweater, and a baseball cap, she takes on the task with the seriousness that one might expect from an eldest child who’s been an actor since her teen years. Scanning every shelf thoughtfully, she ponders her choices before spotting some surprising bongs up high. Laughing, she muses, “What if I just said, ‘Yep, that’s what I’ll do!'” Eventually, she picks a doughnut-shaped box, deciding to paint it in vibrant Mardi Gras hues. “I’m terribly indecisive, especially with crafts,” she admits. “But here, you gotta go big or go home.

A while back, one of her younger siblings recommended she try pottery as a pastime. “I’m often swamped with work, followed by more tasks related to work, and then fretting about both work and personal matters,” Dever admits. “My ability to relax seemed to vanish. She said, ‘You could simply do something for enjoyment.’

Immediately beyond where we have our painting station lies the Radford Studio Center, a place where for a decade, actress Molly Ephraim portrayed Eve Baxter – the tomboyish ROTC member, youngest daughter, and closest ally of Tim Allen’s character on the sitcom Last Man Standing. Simultaneously, she also spent four seasons as Loretta McCready, a drug-dealing teen, on the series Justified. Since both shows ended, Ephraim has been exceptionally busy, with notable roles opposite Beanie Feldstein in the teen comedy Booksmart, and as the lead in multiple streaming productions such as Unbelievable, Dopesick, and Apple Cider Vinegar. Ephraim has demonstrated an impressive versatility, taking on roles that range from a shy virgin to a wellness fraud, and now, on HBO’s prestigious series The Last of Us, she plays a ruthless assassin. “I think she’s our Meryl,” says Feldstein.

Stepping into the contentious character of Abby Anderson in “The Last of Us,” Dever found herself among the pack. The 2020 sequel to the critically acclaimed video game series depicts a dystopian U.S., decimated by humans infected with a fungus resembling zombies. In the original game, Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal in the show) and Ellie journey towards Jackson, Wyoming, forming a father-daughter bond; Abby enters the narrative in the second game, muscular and powerful, and in an unexpected twist, mercilessly kills Joel, previously the main character. Fans criticized this act and questioned Abby’s physique, which led some gamers to speculate she might be transgender. The actress who voiced Abby, Laura Bailey, faced vicious harassment, including death threats, causing game developer Naughty Dog to issue a statement advocating for “a constructive and compassionate dialogue.” Dever is mindful of the significance of the role she has undertaken; she acknowledges the impact Pascal’s Joel had. “I want the fans to be proud of what I’ve done with Abby,” she says, her voice tinged with a bit of anxious laughter. “And I am so, so sorry.

In the storyline of The Last of Us, Abby seeks revenge on Joel for killing her father, Jerry, a prominent member of the Firefly rebel militia. As the narrative unfolds in the game, Abby’s thirst for violence becomes more apparent, causing discomfort among her fellow Fireflies. In the second episode of the series, it’s evident that Joel is to meet his demise, and yet there’s a lingering hope that someone might intervene. However, when Ellie arrives on the scene, she finds herself outnumbered and too late to save Joel. The ensuing scene, in which Joel is brutally murdered, is heart-wrenching, particularly due to Bella Devereau’s powerful portrayal of Abby’s overwhelming sorrow and unresolved grief.

Abby’s rage stems from her grief,” she admitted. I found myself empathizing with her, an unexpected turn of events since I hadn’t anticipated portraying such scenes while still grieving. In February 2024, during the production of the series, Dever lost her mother, Kathy, to breast cancer. She had just left Los Angeles to be with her mom and prepare for The Last of Us in Vancouver only a few days prior. “I had complete faith in my mom,” she shared. “I never thought she’d pass away. My mom didn’t want to die.” Upon returning to set three days after her mother’s funeral, Dever brought her anger with her and channeled it into her performance.

In this adaptation, Abby from the show “Dever’s Abby” is smaller than originally portrayed in the character’s initial depiction. Unfortunately, the timing of her mother’s demise prevented her from participating in some combat and strength training she desired. However, Kathy was fortunate enough to witness her daughter’s skills before passing away. As Dever recounts, “The stunt team would compile videos of my training for me. I wasn’t supposed to send those kinds of clips through my phone.”

The creators, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, were not overly concerned about the similarities between Abby and the character. Mazin explains, “Abby’s physicality in the game was crucial for distinguishing her gameplay style from Ellie’s, which wasn’t a factor we considered.”

Before the premiere, some internet commentators criticized Dever’s slim build. However, they should be silenced by her captivating performance, which is genuinely terrifying to watch.

Disregarding the fact that only minutes before, Joel saved her from a horde of infected humans called “clickers,” Abby mercilessly kills him in a brutal fashion: After disabling him with a shot to the knee and brutally attacking him, she viciously attacks him with a shattered golf club shaft and slashes his throat – a much more ruthless method than she uses in the game, where she merely beats him over the head with the club. Unsatisfied with simply killing him, she taunts him throughout, calling him a “lawless scoundrel” and a “foolish old man.

According to Dever, she had plenty of time to contemplate her actions and strategies. She believed this approach would be emotionally impactful for her, but unfortunately, it didn’t fulfill any needs. That’s what makes the situation so sad, he adds. This sentiment is clearly visible on Abby’s face in the fleeting instance she looks at Ellie.

Devon’s recollections of the shooting are warm yet somewhat hazy. Her and Pascal’s method during their scene was more a case of “turning up and going,” and their professional bond formed swiftly. As she put it, “He has a knack for making jokes on set and keeping things lively despite the heavy subject matter.” In those moments, particularly, I craved levity. All I wanted was to enjoy doughnuts, laugh, and have fun between takes, and Pascal seemed to share that same spirit.

As a film enthusiast immersed in the narrative, I found myself profoundly connecting with her struggles and yearned for her to find solace more than anything else. Before the start of shooting, her agent sent a message to everyone asking us to avoid discussing her mother’s recent passing. “I needed to manage my emotions,” she shared, “and they truly respected that. It felt like I was being gently guided through this harrowing period in my life by the crew.

A portion of the backing provided involved transporting some of Dever’s relatives to the filming location; her father, who was already a fan of the video game before his daughter got cast, witnessed Dever film the dream sequence where a tougher, current Abby advises her younger self not to enter the hospital room containing her deceased father. Dever mentions that after she completed the scene – during which she cries and mourns for her lost parent – she found her real father in tears. He jokingly said, “You could have given me a heads-up about this one.

The setting provides additional understanding that the game fails to provide. As Dever explains, “She’s almost wishing she didn’t have to witness what she did.” The desire to prevent herself from crossing the threshold of that door was incredibly powerful, and it was crucial for Craig and Neil that this was portrayed. Mazin recollects a moment when Abby looks away from Joel and notices the golf clubs in the room. “She turns back to him, and a tear, the most authentic I’ve ever seen, simply rolls down her cheek,” he says. “In that instant, you comprehend how deeply sorrowful she is, despite her cruelty. It becomes clear that she’s sacrificing something within herself during this encounter.

Behind the scenes, Dever exhibits realism at an unusually mature level for someone her age. Her parents, who were once professional ice skaters, instilled resilience in all their daughters. When Dever, a competitive child athlete with aspirations to act, declared her desire to do so at 13, the family decided to move from L.A., having previously moved from Phoenix to Dallas for commercial work, to pursue this new dream. However, her mother cautioned her: Education takes priority, and experiencing rejection is unavoidable.

As Dever recalls, her mother had a somewhat pessimistic view regarding her daughter’s career in Hollywood: “She would often caution me, ‘You might be let go.’ This made me approach every job with the assumption that I would soon be fired. A week into it, she would remind me, ‘You could still be replaced.’ I believe it was her way of shielding me from potential disappointment.

At approximately the same period, Dever started landing film and TV jobs, Kathy received a diagnosis of stage-four metastatic breast cancer at 39 years. Simultaneously, Dever was just 13 years old. During her teenage years, the family’s bond grew stronger due to Kathy’s illness, as they all sensed the urgency of spending time together given the shortness and unpredictability of life. As Kathy’s condition remained unspoken yet a possibility, there was an underlying understanding among them: “We should make the most of our time together because life is fleeting and can change unexpectedly“.

Last October, I took to Instagram to acknowledge Breast Cancer Awareness Month, sharing my mother’s diagnosis as a tribute. Over the past ten years, she had fought tirelessly against this disease, exhausting all available treatments. However, the following year brought a stark turn of events – her cancer spread rapidly, and I knew this time was unlike any other we had faced before. As I put it, “She was running out of treatment options.”

In the past, there was always a fresh drug or therapy on the horizon for her to try, which is one of the remarkable aspects of our healthcare system. Every couple of years, there seemed to be something new to hope for and explore. But eventually, that hope fades.

In her quest for additional support when traditional cancer treatments failed her mother, Dever, much like many others, turned to the internet. Her motivation was not just for her mother’s recovery but also for her father, sisters, and herself. This led her to explore unconventional “cures” for cancer, delving into success stories of individuals who attributed their remission to green juices and whole foods. She decided to alter her own diet and encouraged her family to do the same, hoping it would inspire her mother and bring them closer together in this shared experience. This was prior to her being cast as the fictional holistic healer Belle Gibson, an Australian influencer who falsely claimed to have brain cancer and spread misinformation about its cure, in the Netflix series titled “Apple Cider Vinegar”. The opportunity to portray Gibson, presented by the show’s creator and writer Samantha Strauss, seemed providential at the right moment.

She exclaims, “Who else knows about coffee enemas? It’s astonishing how the program coincidentally entered my world, given all that I already know about it!

In simpler terms, Dever’s mother had recalled an incident about Gibson’s cancer hoax many years back. She was both disgusted by Gibson’s behavior and excited for Dever, who portrayed the character with an evident lack of confidence that made viewers almost feel sympathetic towards Gibson. When asked about her reaction, Dever said, “She watched all the episodes. She exclaimed, ‘You get to do an accent! Who gets offered that?'” However, Dever was hesitant to accept the role, as it meant traveling to Australia, which was far from her mother. She didn’t want to express her deepest fear, afraid that voicing it would make it happen. “I was concerned she might pass away while I was gone,” Dever said, “but at the same time, I thought, No, she won’t die. It was such a strange blend of emotions.

Time seemed to pass quickly as filming went smoothly, allowing Dever to return home in time to celebrate Christmas with her family. In January of the previous year, she journeyed back to Melbourne to complete work on Apple Cider Vinegar. On the day she departed, her mother was hospitalized. The following two months became a haze in Dever’s mind as she wrapped up the Netflix show in Australia and prepared to film The Last of Us, while simultaneously dealing with her mother’s deteriorating health. “I thought I had so much control over my mom’s wellbeing,” she reflects. Her optimism held until the very end. “I recall calling Beanie at four in the morning, and she just happened to be awake for a flight. At that moment, I was seeking advice from her about certain doctors who might provide help at the last minute — and it was on that night that she passed away.

It wasn’t until she completed work on “The Last of Us” that Dever’s feelings of loss finally caught up with her. Strangely, she developed a spider bite that required CGI removal in certain scenes, followed by another facial infection without an obvious cause. Her dermatologist eventually had a serious conversation with her. She said something like, “Let’s take a closer look at what’s happening here. Are you getting enough rest? No. Are you eating properly? Not really. You’re not eating well and consuming a lot of sugar.

Following “The Last of Us”, she achieved two significant accomplishments simultaneously: residing independently in New York City for a while and living alone. As advised by her dermatologist, she spent numerous hours wandering aimlessly around the city. Dever expresses, “New York propels you forward.” She was compelled to leave her apartment, which was something she recognized she needed. She thought, “Now I have some time to just be with myself and my thoughts, and explore a new place.” Additionally, she spent a very therapeutic weekend in the countryside, upstate and in the Berkshires, where she enjoyed paddleboarding with Feldstein and learning embroidery. Over time, she has gained valuable insights from her mother’s passing. “Certain things I used to be anxious about or worry excessively over, I no longer do,” she says. “Things became insignificant when she passed away.

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2025-04-23 12:55