The finale of HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2 was a strange one, to say the least. Not only did the pacing feel off at times, the episode also included some truly baffling additions that seemingly added nothing to the story. If, like me, you’re wondering what the hell the point was of that Scar island scene in HBO’s The Last of Us, let’s try to explore that a little.
Ellie’s Scar Island Visit in HBO’s The Last of Us Explained
As we race towards the climax in HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2, Ellie gets on a boat to the aquarium to find Abby. However, she runs into a giant wave which then knocks her off-course, sending her over to the Scars’ island instead. There, she gets dragged towards a noose and is about to get disemboweled like the man she saw in the park back in episode 5.
Before they can hurt Ellie, however, a big explosion goes off. The Scars realize their village is being attacked so they leave Ellie and run off. Ellie then gets back on the boat and continues her voyage to the aquarium.
I believe this scene was included here to set up the conflict between the Scars and WLF that will get explored further in Season 3. We already got hints of it from the scenes with Isaac and the Wolves gearing up for something big, but this scene also explicitly told us that the Scars’ village was under attack. This tells us very clearly that the Wolves have struck at the heart of the Seraphites in a big way, and it sets the audience up for the big conflict in Season 3.
It’s also likely that this scene was included to show Ellie’s folly in wanting to save the Seraphite boy in the previous scene with Jesse. In her mind, she only saw the Wolves ganging up on a lone Seraphite, which made her want to stick up for him. Contrast that with this scene, where a young boy is the one who gives the command to have her killed. It’s meant to show us that both the Wolves and the Scars are evil in their own ways, and it’s pointless trying to side with either of them.
In the post-episode interviews, it was also revealed that Ellie’s Scar island visit was something that was originally toyed with in the production of The Last of Us Part II. It didn’t quite fit in the game so it was removed.
Why This Scene Doesn’t Work
There are many problems with the Season 2 finale, but Ellie’s Scar island visit might be the most egregious one of them all. Not only does it serve zero purpose, it also comes off as a very pointless detour in the episode.
First, the audience can already infer that something big is going down with the Scars and the Wolves just based on Isaac’s dialogue and the increased aggression in the Wolves’ behaviors throughout the episode. Secondly, the placement of the scene seems completely off. Ellie takes off for the aquarium, gets boatwrecked on the island, gets almost-killed, then leaves for the aquarium again like nothing happened? It all just feels so silly, and only adds to Ellie’s image as the bumbling, incompetent fool she’s been all season.
Finally, this was supposed to be an Abby scene. In The Last of Us Part II, Abby is the one who almost gets hanged and disemboweled by the Scars, and that scene actually serves a purpose by connecting her with other key characters. Showing that scene now either means that Abby won’t get her scene with the Scars (which would be criminal, considering how iconic it is), or the impact will just be dulled when we do eventually see it again.
The Last of Us is now available for streaming on HBO Max.
