Whenever an episode of HBO's The Last of Us ends, something major happens. For example, in season 1, the audience learned that Ellie is immune and that Joel was lying about what he did in Utah right before the credits started rolling. So far, season 2 has been no different.
The first two episodes showed the oncoming battle of the Jackson community, and then Joel’s dead body being carted off as Abby and her friends escaped back to Seattle. The third episode's ending wasn’t as obviously important as the other moments. Sure, viewers now know that Dina and Ellie are in trouble after seeing the military arsenal of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF). And, yes, it's alarming, but there's more to it than the two of them.
To explain what else this means, we have to talk about something that happened earlier.
The Seraphites
In between everything going on in the Jackson community, the audience is introduced to the Seraphites in a Washington forest. Their appearance, how they communicate, and the things they say and believe in may seem cultish (and they are), but there appears to be more to it. Because, like anyone else in the post-modern world, everyone needs a community and something to believe in. Although scarring a child’s face is too much.
After we meet the Seraphites, Ellie and Dina meet them too. However, they aren't alive. They find their dead bodies shot. That isn’t the most worrisome part. The caliber of bullets that killed them and being shot in the back is what’s concerning. It shows that they’re equipped with more weapons than they’re prepared for and are willing to kill kids and shoot people in the back. Before viewers can see what else they’re capable of, they’re shown. The WLFs are patrolling the streets of Washington state with tanks and enough people, weapons, and vehicles to start a revolution in the modern world.
It’s doubtful that Ellie and Dina understood what they were getting into. It’s easy to think that most people wouldn’t be as well off as they are. Unfortunately, they should have at least assumed. Both of them know about FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency), and if Jackson can survive and thrive, then other places can too.
So far, the Seraphites come off looking like the protagonists in this series. They were trying to leave their area and be in peace when they were attacked and killed. They weren’t even armed for it to be a fair fight. It's difficult not to take their side. The problem with that is that nothing in The Last of Us is as it seems.
In the source material, both sides were warring against each other while the people in the middle suffered and died. One of the consistent parts of this story is that there are two sides to everything, and this writer doesn’t expect to change. As the series continues, you’ll see that clearer as the characters you think you know change.