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Lev is the deuteragonist of Abby Anderson's story in The Last of Us Part II and a playable character in the No Return mode.[5] A former member of the Seraphites, he and his sister Yara form a bond with Washington Liberation Front (WLF) member Abby.[6]
Biography
Background and early life
Lev was born as "Lily" to a devout Seraphite mother with an older sister named Yara. The family resided in a village on the Seraphite island in Seattle. According to Yara, Lev has long questioned Seraphite traditions, which Yara suspected stemmed from Lev's gender dysphoria.[7]
On Yara's advice, Lev keeps his feelings to himself. However, that changes when he is assigned to be a wife for an Elder. Denied his wish of becoming a soldier like Yara, Lev shaved his head (effectively announcing his gender identity as male) and changed his name to "Lev". This brazen act of defiance is met with outrage among the community, who deem Lev an apostate and force him to flee for his life.[6] Yara chooses to go after him, resulting in her exile from the community as well, while their mother chooses to "repent" for their actions by abstaining from food.[7]
Events of The Last of Us Part II
Soon after fleeing, Yara is captured by the Seraphites, who proceed to smash the bones in her arm with a hammer. Lev came to his sister's aid, killing one of them with his bow, enabling Yara to kill the other two nearby. On Yara's instruction, Lev frees a WLF member who the Seraphites captured, Abby Anderson. Despite encountering infected and more Seraphites, the three escape the woods. However, Yara's condition begins to deteriorate. With running no longer an option, the three take shelter in an abandoned trailer. After splinting Yara's arm, Abby leaves, advising Lev to leave as soon as possible. Lev states the two will be fine before closing the door.[6]
By the next morning, Yara's condition has declined further, and Lev can do little more than fend off the Seraphites that found them. Abby returns, taking the siblings to an abandoned aquarium, where her friend Owen and his girlfriend Mel are hiding after deserting the WLF. Mel determines that Yara's arm needs to be amputated quickly, but she lacks the necessary equipment. Lev suggests using a Seraphite bridge high in Seattle's ruins, connecting numerous skyscrapers, which will allow Abby to reach a WLF hospital within two hours. While far from safe, Abby acknowledges it is the best option, and sets off with Lev to get the equipment for Mel.
Lev guides Abby to the bridge. Their journey does not go smoothly; alongside from running into Seraphites, Abby's acrophobia-induced vertigo causes the two to fall off the high path and take a longer, more dangerous route through the hotel. After fighting their way through numerous infected, with Abby retrieving a gas mask for Lev along the way, the two eventually reach the hospital. Abby orders Lev to stay behind for his own safety while she gathers supplies. Upon Abby's return, the two go back to the aquarium, and Yara's surgery goes smoothly.[4]
The next day, Owen invites the siblings to come with him and Mel to Santa Barbara, where he hopes to find the remaining members of the Fireflies. When Lev suggests bringing their mother, Yara shoots down the idea, knowing their mother would rather strangle her apostate children than listen to them. An argument ensues, culminating in Lev storming off and leaving for the island to approach his mother himself. As Yara predicted, when Lev returns to his home, his pleas fall on deaf ears and his mother screams at and beats him. In an attempt to defend himself, Lev pushes his mother off, accidentally knocking her head on a table and killing her. Abby and Yara, who had gone after Lev, find him in a corner of the house, sobbing in grief and guilt. Yara consoles him, but the three are quickly forced to leave; in an attempt to wipe out the Seraphites for good, the WLF conduct a land invasion on the island.
Lev and Yara quickly realize that leaving the way they came is no longer an option and that their best chance for escape is to reach the docks in the Haven settlement. Despite their efforts, the three are eventually found by a group of soldiers led by the WLF's leader Isaac. Abby attempts to negotiate but it fails and Yara sacrifices herself by shooting Isaac in the back, buying Abby and Lev time to escape. Relying on each other, the two fight through both factions and the ensuing chaos to reach the docks, escaping the island.
The two return to the aquarium, only to find Owen, Mel and their guard dog Alice are dead. As Abby collapses to the floor in grief, Lev finds a marked map, having been left behind by Ellie, the one responsible for their deaths. The two follow the map to the movie theater in which Ellie and her allies were hiding, sneaking inside and ambushing Tommy Miller. Lev shoots both Tommy and Dina to protect Abby. However, upon learning Dina was pregnant, Lev convinces Abby to spare Ellie and Dina, and they leave the theater.[7]
Taking Owen's sailboat, Lev and Abby leave for Santa Barbara, leaving Seattle behind for good.
A year later, the pair make it to Santa Barbara with Owen's sailboat and find 2425 Constance. They enter the basement and find an old radio setup and use it to communicate with the Fireflies at Catalina island. Exiting the house, they are ambushed by Rattlers and enslaved.
Months later, Abby and Lev attempt to escape but are caught and made to hang on poles on a beach. Ellie finds and cuts them down. The trio walk to boats near the sea but before Abby and Lev can flee, Ellie attacks Abby, threatening to kill Lev if Abby does not fight back. After the fight, Abby and Lev flee on a boat, leaving Ellie alone in the water.[8]
Personality and traits
Lev is serious and pessimistic. Hardened by the harsh world he lives in, Lev is a capable fighter and killer.[4] Despite this, Lev displays moments of wonder and innocence indicative of his age, such as stubbornly attempting to reach out to his mother despite Yara's warnings, and convincing Abby not to kill the pregnant Dina. He is also protective of those he loves, seeing it as his duty to take care of his family.[7]
Despite being ostracized from the Seraphites, Lev maintains many elements of their culture: he avoids "Old World" technology when possible, refers to the infected as "demons"[7], quotes many of their teachings, retains his faith in their religion, and even prays before one of their shrines to their prophet while journeying with Abby.[4] However, his faith is shaken by his mother's death. His knowledge of the outside world is limited because of his upbringing, displayed through his ignorance of puns, slang, and backgammon, although he has begun to curse with Abby's influence.[8]
Lev has a love for sharks despite his fear of the ocean. He is also afraid of dogs, although he warmed up to Owen's dog Alice with Abby's help.[4]
Behind the scenes
- During the writing process, Druckmann and Gross considered having Lev die in an earlier draft of The Last of Us Part II.[9]
Quotes
- Abby: "They want to kill a little boy because they shaved his head?"
- Lev: "I wasn't allowed. It's a rule. I broke it."
- Lev: "Did you hear what they called me?"
- Abby: "Yeah."
- Lev: "Do you want to ask me about it?"
- Abby: "Do you want me to ask you about it?"
- Lev: "…No."
- Lev: "Just… think about the good parts to fear."
- Abby: "The good parts?"
- Lev: "Yeah, like… you run faster. You're more focused. You don't feel pain as much. Every bad feeling… Your palms sweating, your heart racing… They're all signs you're actually stronger."
Gallery
References
- ↑ The Last of Us Part II - PSX Panel, 2017, YouTube, (Accessed July 25, 2020)
- ↑ "Seattle Day 2" - Lev mentions that he and Yara had a cousin, saying "I had a cousin who was afraid of heights."
- ↑ Naughty Dog tweet, Twitter, (Accessed January 6, 2021)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Seattle Day 2"
- ↑ Dornbush, Jonathon (December 5, 2023). "The Last of Us Part II Remastered: Exploring the Roguelike Survival Mode, No Return". Naughty Dog. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Seattle Day 1"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Seattle Day 3"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Santa Barbara"
- ↑ Balkaran, Niko (January 25, 2024). "The Last of Us 2 Was Originally Going to Kill Off a Major Character". GameRant. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
