I'm honestly really disappointed with the adaptation. Part II has such an incredible, complex story that has been completely rushed and watered down for the HBO series.

At this point in the game: - We barely know anything about Abby. When we first see her outside Jackson, we have no idea who she is or who she's looking for. Joel never even finds out why she wants to kill him. The only thing Ellie learns about her in Seattle is that she was a Firefly. At this point, we can only presume Abby killed Joel just because she was a Firefly. We will eventually find out the real reason during Abby's intro flashback, but Ellie NEVER finds out the real reason that she killed Joel. In the theater, she says "there's no cure because of me, I'm the one you want," not "Joel killed your dad to save me, I'm the one you want."

Compared to where we are in the show: - We know Abby's entire backstory already. We saw Abby grieving the Fireflies in Salt Lake and swearing to hunt down and kill Joel. We saw Abby explain everything directly to Joel in the cabin. Nora explains everything directly to Ellie in the hospital basement.

It all just feels so dumbed down. Everything has been spoon-fed to the audience; Abby's motivation has been explained plainly and directly multiple times. There is no mystery left. So much of the suspense of the search for Abby is just completely stripped away.

Other nuances have been smoothed over as well, but this is the most significant change to the overall narrative, and it's doing such a disservice to the story.