Isabela Merced is having the kind of run most actors dream about, the kind where you’re equally believable as a post-apocalyptic girlfriend gracing the 2025 TV schedule and a winged demigod in upcoming DC movies. In a recent interview, The Last of Us season 2 breakout was asked about whether or not she “ships” Ellie and Abby, and I love her delightful take on the question.
Talking with TVLine, Merced opened up about everything from her casting as Hawkgirl in Superman to her forthcoming appearance in HBO's Peacemaker Season 2 to, of course, HBO’s The Last of Us. Then, the interviewer tossed in a curveball from deep inside the fandom trenches: Should Ellie and Abby be shipped? The Alien: Romulus actress’s response was both diplomatic and delightfully unfiltered:
I mean, listen, to me they’re both like (masculine) lesbians. [Laughs] And that pairing, it exists. It’s just hard to find. And, also, I think Abby is straight in the game and the show, maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know. Things have changed, so I don’t know what’s changed in that regard.
The Dora the Explorer actress is correct. In the game, Abby is very much straight, having had a past relationship with Owen, one of her fellow former Firefly and companions. Still, the second season faced criticism for various pacing issues and diversions from the source material. So, nothing is out of the realm of possibility. I think game fans would be upset, but the Dina performer says it could be cute. She continued:
I’m down for like, a masc-masc relationship. That sounds really cute… Like who’s paying the bill? I don’t know. What’s interesting is I do — I get how you got there, because they do have a lot of similarities. Unfortunately, the similarities are due to the [things] that they’ve done to each other. So I don’t think that would be a very healthy relationship, but it could be a hot one…. So much tension.
As charming as a masc–masc pairing might sound, it’s probably not in the cards for these two. As Merced notes, the similarities between Abby and Ellie come from shared trauma — specifically, the loss of their father figures. And here’s where the spoiler warning kicks in: in The Last of Us Season 2 (and in the second game), Abby brutally kills Joel, Ellie’s surrogate father. That’s a long way from the kind of meet-cute most fans are rooting for.
In the interview, which you can watch in full below, Merced’s answer perfectly captures why she’s such a standout presence right now — she can volley a fandom curveball with humor, honesty, and just enough chaos to keep people talking. Whether she’s in full flight as Hawkgirl or navigating heartbreak and survival as Dina, she’s clearly not afraid to lean into the messy “what ifs” that make fan culture so addictive. And while Ellie and Abby may never share that hypothetical masc–masc dinner date, the in-demand talent’s playful take proves that sometimes the best part of a great story is imagining all the roads it won’t take.
Isabela Merced can currently be seen in Superman, still playing in theaters, and will next appear in her highly anticipated television project, Peacemaker Season 2, premiering August 21 for everyone with an HBO Max subscription.
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