Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us episode 9.The Last of Us season 1, episode 9 opens with a huge cameo from Ashley Johnson, yet another major Last of Us game cameo is present in the episode, subtly hidden in a climactic scene. Many original actors and actresses from both The Last of Us games have appeared throughout HBO's adaptation in various roles. From Merle Dandridge being the only game actor to reprise her role from the source material as Marlene to Jeffrey Pierce's Hunter captain Perry after his role as Tommy in The Last of Us Part I and Part II, HBO's adaptation has honored the actors responsible for the games' successes.
This only continued with The Last of Us episode 8 and Troy Baker - the original Joel actor - appearing as James. With Ellie's mother in The Last of Us episode 9 being played by original Ellie actor Ashley Johnson, many thought Johnson would round out the significant cameos from the source material for The Last of Us season 1. However, hidden somewhere in The Last of Us episode 9's climactic ending is another major game cameo specifically from The Last of Us Part II.
Laura Bailey - Abby's Game Actor - Appears In The Last Of Us Episode 9
The cameo in question comes from none other than Laura Bailey, the original actor for Abby from The Last of Us Part II. Much like Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, Jeffrey Pierce, and Merle Dandridge from the original Last of Us game, Bailey provided both the voice performance and motion capture for the character of Abby Anderson. Unlike the other characters though, Abby was not part of The Last of Us Part I, instead being introduced as an original character in The Last of Us Part II.
In The Last of Us episode 9, a hidden cameo has found a way for Bailey to be present in one of the episode's most pivotal scenes. When Joel enters the surgical suite to save Ellie's life, he shoots the lead surgeon before ordering his assistants to unhook Ellie. This surgeon is revealed in The Last of Us Part II to be Abby's father, with the former finding his body and kickstarting the events of the sequel.
Does Laura Bailey Play Abby In HBO’s The Last Of Us?
This begs the question then, of whether Laura Bailey plays Abby in The Last of Us episode 9 given the importance of the scene to Abby's character. However, Bailey does not play Abby in live-action. Instead, Bailey plays one of the surgeon's assistants who unhook Ellie and fears for her life when Joel enters the room. Despite her character being covered in a surgical mask, goggles, and a hair net, Bailey makes the cameo in a neat link to The Last of Us Part II.
At the time of The Last of Us season 1, Abby is around Ellie's age of 14 or 15. While it is not clear where exactly Abby is while Joel kills her father, she is likely somewhere in the hospital or its surrounding area. All that is revealed in The Last of Us Part II is that Abby eventually returns and finds her father dead, sometime after Joel and Ellie have left Salt Lake City. Abby's unknown whereabouts during the scene, and her younger age, mean that Laura Bailey does not play Abby in The Last of Us season 1, episode 9.
Including Laura Bailey As A Surgeon Is More Tragic Last Of Us Season 2 Set Up
Similarly to how including Ashley Johnson as Anna was a neat way of connecting both the game and live-action versions of Ellie together, having Laura Bailey play the surgeon does the same while also further setting up the tragic events of season 2. In The Last of Us season 2, the heartbreaking scene of Abby finding her father will undoubtedly be included. This means that - in a poetically meta way - both versions of Abby will be present in this scene.
Whoever is eventually cast as Abby for The Last of Us season 2 will be shown to find her father's body, likely joined by the surgical assistants that Joel left alive. This means that Bailey, who brought that performance to life originally in The Last of Us Part II will be present, while the new version of Abby for HBO will be too. While Bailey's inclusion is a fun nod to the games and any fans of them, it also adds this extra layer of depth to HBO's The Last of Us that will be explored to its fullest in season 2.