I hate what they did to Siuan

We'll have to agree to disagree. My original argument stands. The characters from the game and the show are the same. They're slightly different scenarios that's playing out but fundamentally the characters and what makes them who they are is the same.

TLOU1 was through Joel's perspective. Ellie was an object by which we saw Joel's issues play out. He was close to Tess, but only to a point. The symbol of his broken watch was everything. He was a man stuck in his trauma. Stuck in time.

I think people loved Joel and failed to realize he was the villain in other people's stories.. Joel wasn't always the good guy.

I don't think the game always made these things overt but they were there. It's not hard to guess that Joel would have PTSD from his child dying in his arms. It was written in his behavior. Also, Joel did things we never saw on screen. Ellie says as much in Part 2.

I think the characters are exactly the same. And it only makes sense that the show would not play out in a 1 to 1 fashion to the game. Most adaptations take liberties so that's not it. I think it's a practical matter of having to cast around Bella's frame. It impacts casting for Abby and Dina.

I believe the casting direction changed once they cast Bella Ramsey. Their tiny and perpetually look 12, so it would have been a larger discrepancy if they cast a size-appropriate actress. The girl they cast as Abby originally auditioned for Ellie. She looks more like Ellie.