Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in The Last Of Us season 2
HBO
Season 2, episode 3 of HBO’s The Last of Us sees Ellie (Bella Ramsey) setting off to hunt down Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), and introduces two warring factions known as the Wolves (W.L.F.) and the Scars (Seraphites).
Spoilers Ahead
Like the audience, Ellie is still reeling after the shocking murder of Joel (Pedro Pascal) in episode 2, and sets off for some ill-advised revenge.
It turns out, Abby and her murderous companions are “Wolves,” members of the Washington Liberation Front (W.L.F.), one of many militias crawling around in the post-apocalyptic, fungi-infested landscape.
In episode 3, the W.L.F. are embroiled in a violent encounter with the scar-faced cult known as the Seraphites.
But who are these groups, and how did they form?
The Wolves (W.L.F.) Of ‘The Last Of Us,’ Explained
Abby has been a member of the Wolves for the last five years, alongside her companions, Mel, Owen, Manny, and Nora.
The group follows a rule that forbids them from killing defenseless people, and they set off to assassinate Joel only after he murdered Abby’s father.
While the show has not yet revealed the details, the source material (The Last of Us Part II) reveals that the Wolves are a militia that inherited the Seattle quarantine zone from FEDRA, the authoritarian branch of the U.S. Army that were previously calling the shots.
The Wolves rose up and defeated the tyrannical FEDRA, forcing them to abandon the quarantine zone. The Wolves promised to grant the people peace and freedom, but their rule proved to be just as uncompromising and violent as their predecessors, if not worse.
The Last of Us games are all about endless cycles of violence, of revenge sprees and bloody battles that always lead to further devastation.
Hence, the Wolves rule the quarantine zone with an iron fist, and are currently embroiled in a power struggle with the Scars.
The Scars (Seraphites) Of ‘The Last Of Us,’ Explained
Viewers get a glimpse of the Scars in episode 3—a group of men, women and children wearing green, their faces all marked with ritualistic scarring.
The group are a religious cult who have sworn off technology, and refer to the infected as “demons.”
Ellie is unfortunate enough to discover this group (or rather, what’s left of them) after a brutal ambush from the Wolves.
The war between the Wolves and Scars predates the conflict between Abby and Ellie.
The Scars were founded by a so-called “Prophet,” a mysterious woman from the suburbs of Seattle who came to believe that the fungal zombie outbreak was a divine punishment.
The Prophet swore off all kinds of technology and attempted to live in harmony with nature, and began gaining dedicated followers. Soon, the Scars came into conflict with the Wolves, who are armed with superior weaponry.
To protect the cult, the Scars flooded the surrounding territory, creating their own island to defend themselves from attackers.
If the show follows the events of the games (and it has, so far), then we’re bound to see more of the animosity between the Scars and Wolves through Abby’s perspective.
Unfortunately for Ellie, she’s entered a dangerous situation, far bigger and more complicated than she ever imagined—the infected will soon be the least of her worries.
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