The Last Of Us: What Was The Point Of Ellie Being Captured By The Scars?

As the season progressed, The Last of Us made it clear that Ellie's desire for revenge was beginning to consume her, putting both herself and Dina in harm's way. By The Last of Us's season 2 ending, Tommy and Jesse had also arrived in Seattle to bring them home to Jackson, but Ellie refused to stop. Throughout the season finale, Ellie recklessly pursues Abby, eventually leading her to the aquarium. However, before she arrives at Abby's base, Ellie first washes ashore on the Seraphite's island, adding another dangerous situation to her journey.

Ellie Being Captured By The Scars In The Last Of Us Season 2 Didn't Serve A Real Purpose

The Scene Felt Strange At That Moment In Ellie's Journey

Despite knowing that Dina was injured and that Tommy could be hurt too, Ellie chose to leave Jesse and pursue Abby on her own. Realizing that Abby was hiding in an aquarium on a pier, Ellie set out across the bay in the middle of a storm, risking her life. Unsurprisingly, this becomes quickly dangerous, and Ellie's boat is capsized by a huge wave. Ellie and her boat float to shore, but she immediately realizes she is in the wrong place and is captured by the Seraphites.

After being captured, Ellie is dragged inland to an outer area of their settlement, where a priestess determines that she should be killed despite having no connection to the WLF. The noose is already around Ellie's neck when loud explosions begin coming from their nearby town. Given that the Seraphites' main war is with the WLF and Ellie is inconsequential to them, they let her go to fight the WLF, allowing Ellie to escape. Rather than turning around after her near-death experience, though, Ellie continues to the aquarium.

Throughout The Last of Us season 2, Ellie has undeniably been through a lot and has reached the point of no return in her quest for revenge, so the Seraphite island scene feels a bit out of place when she is close to such a big moment. The entire season has been setting up how brutal the Seraphites and the WLF are, so it doesn't introduce anything new. Likewise, the explosions that Ellie sees are enough proof of the WLF's attack plan, since Ellie was never in real danger of dying at the moment anyway.

Ellie's Encounter With The Seraphites On Their Island Doesn't Happen In The Last Of Us Game

The Scene Was Cut From The Game

Ellie had briefly seen the Seraphites in other circumstances throughout The Last of Us season 2, but this is her first time truly coming face to face with the brutal group. The moment gives her the chance to quickly understand exactly what she has gotten herself into, though she ultimately chooses to ignore the danger and head for the aquarium anyway. The dark moment certainly fits with the tone of the show more generally and the video game's exploration of revenge and the value of individual choices, but it was not included in The Last of Us Part II.

In a recent press conference, Neil Druckmann revealed the Seraphite Island scene was planned for the original game but was ultimately cut to maintain the game's pacing. Druckmann stated that the sequence then gave Ellie "three horrible things in a row." Even for a game that gets as dark as The Last of Us, the moment was too harrowing to include and unnecessary on top of that. While the moment does give Ellie a little more context about the extent of the war in Seattle, it is something she quickly moves on from.

It remains to be seen whether this moment will have an impact on Ellie in The Last of Us season 3. However, since the show seems set to switch to Abby's perspective for the next season, it may not be mentioned again at all. In fact, the Seraphite island scene would be much more at home in the episodes from Abby's perspective, since she is far more involved in the WLF's war. Given what happens during Abby's corresponding days in Seattle in the game, it seems likely that The Last of Us season 3 will do just that.