The WLF, the Washington Liberation Front, and the Seraphites are the two rival factions fighting over Seattle in The Last of Us universe. The WLF is commonly called the Wolves, and the Seraphites are also called the Scars. The WLF began as a resistance movement of civilians and former Fireflies opposing a corrupt government. The Seraphites grew out of a religious community built around a woman known as the Prophet, whose teachings were later pushed in a far more radical and violent direction. Their war is sustained by mutual grievance, with each side’s retaliation feeding the next.
Season 2 of the HBO series is based on The Last of Us Part II, the video game. The show and the game are related but not identical, so this article separates what the game establishes about these factions from what viewers can confirm from the series itself.
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![The Last of Us Part II - Standard Edition [PlayStation 4] (Uncut)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ytd+elO5L._SL160_.jpg)
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The Last of Us Part II - Standard Edition [PlayStation 4] (Uncut) | $39.70 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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The Last of Us Part II (PS4) | $34.47 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Art of the Last of Us Part II | $29.70 | Buy on Amazon |
The WLF: a resistance that became an army
The Washington Liberation Front began as a resistance movement in Seattle. Its early members were civilians and former Fireflies, the armed group that had opposed the authoritarian state in the first game. Naughty Dog narrative lead Halley Gross describes the group’s trajectory in the official Naughty Dog podcast: it started as a response to the government’s abuses and then, in her words, “in their own way, became much more aggressive, ultimately, um, not being able to make peace with the Scars.”
That shift matters for understanding the conflict. The WLF is not presented as a simple force of good. Its origin is defensive, but its methods hardened over time, and in the game’s backstory it eventually takes control of Seattle after overthrowing FEDRA, the government that ruled the city before.
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The Seraphites: a faith that turned violent
TIME’s summary of the game’s faction lore describes the Seraphites as a religious group founded in Seattle after the outbreak, organized around a woman called the Prophet. Her teachings, as the backstory tells it, called for a simpler life. After her death, her followers carried the community in an increasingly radical and violent direction.
Gross makes the same distinction in the podcast: the movement’s teachings went further than the Prophet intended. The Seraphites’ violence therefore should not be read as a direct expression of the Prophet’s original message. It is the product of a community that changed after the person at its center was gone.
Why the two factions are fighting
Both factions believe they have been wronged, and the original grievance has become difficult to separate from the retaliation that followed. Gross’s comment that the conflict shows “what happens when you don’t stop” frames the war as a cycle rather than a single dispute. Each act of violence gives the other side a reason to respond, and neither has a clear way out.
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This is the core of the story’s conflict. Viewers looking for a clear villain will not find one: each faction’s grievances are real within the story, and each faction’s response makes the other’s position harder to resolve.
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The table below compares the factions on the axes that matter most for understanding them. Where a detail is not stated in the creator commentary or press summaries cited here, the cell says so.
| Axis | WLF (Wolves) | Seraphites (Scars) |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Resistance movement of civilians and former Fireflies opposing a corrupt government | Religious community founded in Seattle after the outbreak, centered on the Prophet |
| Organizing principle | Armed resistance | Faith and a shared religious life, initially built on a call for simpler living |
| Relationship to authority | Overthrew FEDRA and took control of Seattle, according to the game’s backstory | Not stated in the creator commentary or press summaries cited here |
| Direction over time | Became much more aggressive, per Halley Gross | Became increasingly radical and violent after the Prophet’s death, per TIME’s summary of the game |
| Account of past grievances | Claims to have been wronged; the specific grievance it emphasizes is not stated in the sources cited here | Claims to have been wronged; the specific grievance it emphasizes is not stated in the sources cited here |
Show versus game: what is established
Season 2 adapts The Last of Us Part II, but the series does not reproduce the game scene by scene, and the creators have said the two versions reveal different material. Anyone describing the factions should keep the game’s backstory separate from what the show has shown.
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The premiere date
Season 2 premiered on April 13, 2025, according to the March 26, 2025 interview introduction published by Game Informer. That is a historical release date, and it is the reference point for the pre-premiere comments below.
What Neil Druckmann said before the premiere
In a pre-premiere interview with Game Informer, Neil Druckmann confirmed that the Seraphites are part of the story. He declined to say how large a role they would play, and he said the show presents some material the game does not and the game presents some material the show does not. Because that interview came before the season aired, it cannot tell you which faction details appear in any particular episode.
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Checking specifics against the episodes
- Watch the Season 2 episodes directly to confirm which faction details appear onscreen and when.
- Treat any lore described as game-only, including the Prophet’s original teachings and the WLF’s rise to control of Seattle, as coming from the game unless the series has shown it.
- Play The Last of Us Part II if you want the full faction backstory. It is optional context, not required viewing for following the series.
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