In the episode, it’s unclear who these cultists are, but players of The Last of Us Part II recognized them immediately. They’re from a group called the Seraphites, who will become a big part of the story now that Ellie and Dina are in Seattle. All the mysteries surrounding this cult — their symbol, their prophet, the scars on their faces — will be answered as Ellie and Dina explore the city and get swept up in their civil war with the Washington Liberation Front. So, who are the Seraphites, and who killed them?
The Religious Cult Introduced In The Last Of Us Season 2 Are The Seraphites
The Seraphites Are At War With The W.L.F.
The religious cultists seen in The Last of Us season 2, episode 3 are Seraphites. As they travel further into the city, Ellie and Dina will come to the ominous realization that they’ve wandered into an active warzone. The Seraphites are in the midst of a brutal civil war with Abby’s group, the W.L.F. Every attempt at a truce or a ceasefire has failed, because someone on one side inevitably disturbs the peace and restarts the conflict. This civil war encapsulates the story’s thematic exploration of the endless, futile cycle of violence.
What The Seraphites' Symbol Means
It Looks Like A Wound With A Stitch Through It
The Seraphites have a very distinctive symbol that appears all throughout the game, but the meaning of the emblem is never fully explained. It’s been interpreted in a few different ways, compared to everything from the ichthys to the Pisces symbol. But the explanation that makes the most sense is that it’s a wound with a stitch through it. Healing wounds is a common religious motif — just look at Christianity’s focus on stigmata — and it ties in with the Seraphites’ ritualistic practice of giving themselves scars. Stitching up an open wound would, of course, result in a scar.
Why The Seraphites Have Scars On Their Faces
It's An Initiation Ritual
The most distinctive thing about the Seraphites that differentiates them from other factions in The Last of Us universe is the scars on their faces. This is an initiation ritual for new members. When a new Seraphite joins the cult, they have to cut the sides of their face and let them heal as permanent scars. This ritual has led the W.L.F. to coin the derogatory slur “scars” to refer to Seraphites. These scars have a symbolic meaning. The Prophet decreed that every Seraphite should give themselves scars as a reminder of humanity’s inherent imperfection.
Who The Prophet Is & Why She's So Important To The Seraphites
The Prophet Had A Vision Of Utopian Post-Apocalyptic Life
The Seraphites follow the teachings of their unnamed prophet. Shortly after the Cordyceps outbreak, the Prophet had a vision of utopian post-apocalyptic life and founded the Seraphites to bring that vision to life. At some point before the events of The Last of Us season 2, the W.L.F. captured the Prophet and executed her. After she died, the Elders took over Seraphite leadership and twisted her teachings to suit their own selfish desires. They ramped up the violence that the Prophet preached against and took multiple underage “wives” from the Seraphite population.
Who Killed The Seraphites Members In The Last Of Us Season 2 - Was It The WLF?
It's Unconfirmed, But It's Highly Likely The Wolves Did It
When Ellie and Dina arrive in Seattle, they find that the Seraphite patrol we saw earlier in the episode has been slaughtered. Their deaths are much too clean to have been caused by the infected, so it’s likely that it was the W.L.F. The final moments of the episode show just how vast and formidable the W.L.F. is. The organization didn’t get that big and overthrow the Q.Z. without being ruthless enough to slaughter a group like this without thinking twice.
The Seraphites' Role In The Last Of Us Part 2 Game Explained
Protecting Two Young Seraphite Runaways Is Abby's Redemption Arc
During Ellie’s rampage through Seattle, the Seraphites are an important part of the environmental storytelling. Their constant attacks put another obstacle between Ellie and her revenge, and give her plenty more people to kill as she gradually loses her humanity in the pursuit of vengeance. Their war with the W.L.F. not only makes Seattle a ruthlessly hostile gameplay environment; it also symbolizes the cycle of violence that the game explores through Ellie and Abby’s chain of retribution. But the Seraphites don’t become a significant part of the plot until the game switches its perspective to Abby.
Throughout Ellie’s three days in Seattle, she goes through the same emotional journey that Abby went on before the events of the game. She sets out to exact revenge for her father’s death, she becomes a cold-blooded killer in the process, and she finds that vengeance doesn’t make her feel any better. At the end of those three days, the game goes back to show the same three days from Abby’s perspective. Abby’s storyline shows what comes next. After losing her humanity in the pursuit of revenge against Joel, Abby charts a tricky path to redemption.
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Killing Joel didn’t make Abby feel any better about her dad’s death. Instead, she finds something else to fight for. She takes two young runaway Seraphites named Lev and Yara under her wing and becomes fiercely protective of them — even turning on her own people to keep them safe. Abby’s dynamic with Lev and Yara is deliberately reminiscent of Joel and Ellie. We learn a lot more about the Seraphites through Lev and Yara, and see that there are human beings on both sides of any conflict. But The Last of Us probably won’t get to this until season 3.
