‘The Last of Us’ Explained: Who Are the Seraphites, a.ok.a. the Scars?

Druckmann and The Last of Us Part II cowriter Halley Gross have stated that they have been extra expressly occupied with the use of the sport to extra most often discover “the cycle of violence.” The affiliation between the WLF-Seraphite battle and the Israel-Palestine battle, on the other hand, nonetheless lingers—and no longer with out reason why, as the sport’s depiction of its warring factions gave the impression to map slightly neatly onto the scenario within the West Bank on the time it was once launched.

Because HBO’s The Last of Us is adapting The Last of Us Part II throughout multiple season, it’s not possible to understand how or if it’s going to alter this facet of the sport’s tale because it continues. The sport is constructed round a large, bold pivot, the place gamers hastily transfer to Abby’s viewpoint for its 2nd half of, getting to understand the WLF. Abby additionally will get a special viewpoint at the Seraphites than Ellie, all within the passion of humanizing each facet of the sport’s battle. Whether or no longer the sport effectively pulls this off is an especially subjective query, and it’s going to be interesting to look at it play out in a brand new medium. Mazin, Druckmann, and Gross all have their paintings lower out for them.

In the transient glimpse we get of them to start out, the Seraphites at the display seem extraordinarily trustworthy to the best way they’re introduced within the sport, with their hand-crafted ponchos and facial scarring. The necessary factor to remove is that they’ve been in an extended warfare of attrition with the Washington Liberation Front—the WLF—for regulate of what was once Seattle. Which implies that Ellie is on a collision route with each factions, now that she’s left on a project to search out and kill Abby.

Ellie’s storyline this episode is in large part unique to the display, as she takes time to take in and procedure the horror of “Through the Valley.” We pick out up 3 months after the occasions of that devastating hour. In certainly one of closing week’s extra attention-grabbing departures from the sport, Jackson suffered a devastating assault on the similar time that Joel was once murdered—this means that that this week, The Last of Us could make it transparent that Ellie isn’t the one particular person on this universe to endure primary loss. That level would possibly appear unsubtle, however it’s a very powerful factor to fret if The Last of Us needs to proceed to face excluding The Walking Dead—its closest pop-cultural comparability, and an instance of this type of nihilism postapocalyptic tales can devolve into.

With all that during thoughts, it turns into more straightforward to understand always this week’s episode takes to turn Jackson’s efforts to rebuild and get well—and the way the group is responding to its angriest member. When Ellie seems ahead of the Jackson the city council and proposes that they shape a posse to search out justice for Joel, they flip her down. No one, after all, believes Ellie will accept that solution—no longer Tommy (Gabriel Luna) or Gail (Catherine O’Hara), who’ve a dialog about whether or not Ellie has been influenced via Joel’s rage on the international or is solely a kindred spirit to him. And certainly no longer Dina (Isabela Merced), who, moderately than observing Ellie trip off half-cocked, has spent the closing 3 months doing all of the analysis she is aware of her buddy received’t—finding out concerning the WLF, making plans a path to search out them, pluckily insisting on accompanying her.

It’s truly value pausing for a second and celebrating simply how nice Merced is within the position of Dina. Not simply because she brings a wholesome quantity of spunk to an differently lovely dour display, however for the best way she lingers even between chipper moments. Dina is making a hard determination for the sake of affection, and hoping that her give a boost to gets thru to Ellie at a time when not anything else will.

And if that doesn’t paintings quickly, they each may well be in dire bother. After a solemn prevent at Joel’s grave, the place Ellie leaves a couple of espresso beans in tribute—the 2013 online game took a second to fret that espresso is principally long gone post-pandemic, and Joel truly ignored it—the 2 make it to Seattle very quickly in any respect. And unbeknownst to them, they’re gravely improper concerning the WLF. It’s no longer restricted to Abby’s small staff. It’s an entire rattling military.