The Last Of Us Part 2 has an incredibly complex character that you barely even play as. Lev, a Seraphite that Abby meets shortly after you begin playing as her. Lev is a trans man, originally named Lily by the Seraphites. He was destined to be a wife to one of the elders, which he definitely didn’t want, and for as long as he can remember he has never felt like a girl. Eventually, Lev cuts his hair off so that he looks like a boy, and this leads to the Seraphites trying to hunt him down so that they can make an example of him.
By the end of the game, Lev is living a life as a boy, as much as is possible without drugs or surgery in the world of The Last Of Us Part 2, and Abby is fully accommodating of this. It’s likely that Abby has suffered with being called bulky or manly for as long as she’s been working out, so she must identify with Lev on some level.
One thing that you may not know about Lev, is the inspiration for his name. Lev is the protagonist in City of Thieves, a book written by David Benioff, which was a huge influence on both of the games. The book sees Lev, a young boy in a small city in Russia, get sent on a mission as a punishment during World War 2. He and a companion, who he initially hates, are sent out to get eggs for the city leader’s daughter’s wedding. It’s a trivial task, and one that no one would want to risk their lives for, but Lev and this companion are forced into it.
Over the course of the story, Lev grows into himself, coming to terms with the world that he lives in, whilst also experiencing the true horror of the Nazis. I’ve read the book, and I can tell you that you’ll probably enjoy it if you liked The Last Of Us or Part 2. It’s a similar tale, though obviously the stakes are far higher in the games, and helps you understand where the inspiration for some of the scenes in each came from.
While the in-game Lev and the book Lev share few characteristics, they are both young boys who are thrust into journeys that they shouldn’t need to be a part of, for reasons out of their control.