This article contains spoilers for HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 3.
HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us has done a fantastic job breathing life into the game’s side characters. Characters you might’ve dismissed as nothing more than fodder in the games have a lot more depth to them in the show, and the adaptation is better for it. Case in point: these past two episodes have brought Seth to the forefront. While I had initially waved his story off as an unrealistic redemption arc, I think there might be more to him than meets the eye.
Seth’s Super Amazing Redemption Arc in The Last of Us
In episode 2, Seth is depicted as the conservative homophobe. He throws out a slur at Ellie and Dina at the dance, but when Joel and Maria call him out on it, he makes his apologies the next day. Ellie naturally shrugs at his apology, but we’re meant to feel some sort of forgiveness or softness towards Seth here.
In episode 3, showrunner Craig Mazin takes a few liberties with Seth’s character and expands him a little more. After Joel’s death, the Jackson council has a meeting to discuss whether they should send a group out after his murderers. Everyone is against the idea, except for Ellie and Seth.
Seth stands up and calls the entire room fools. These people have come into their home uninvited, he says. How can they let them get away with killing one of their own? They’re fools if they think these murderers will just leave them alone from now on. Seth is angry. He wants revenge on the people who killed Joel, and of course, this resonates with Ellie.
In fact, Seth’s dedication to Ellie’s cause runs so deep to the point where he even gathers supplies for Dina, helps them get Shimmer, and offers Ellie a better rifle. When you take these things at face value, it’s easy to conclude that Seth is undergoing a pretty amazing redemption arc, albeit a comical and unrealistic one.
Look at him! He was a homophobe! But then he gave Ellie a steak sandwich as a peace offering! And now he’s even on Ellie’s side! He’s helping the gay girls (jury’s still out on show Dina, actually) go after those savages when the entire council turned their back on them! Seth for president!
If that’s how Seth’s coming off to you, well I’m sorry to tell you that you’ve got the wrong read on him.
Seth’s words and actions shouldn’t be seen as anything but venomous and hateful. He isn’t helping Ellie and Dina because he’s sympathetic to their cause, or because he also cared so much for Joel that he can’t stand to see his death go unpunished. He’s helping them because he’s a vengeful old man who believes in revenge and retribution. He scoffs at the idea of forgiveness. He believes in payback. An eye for an eye.
What Does This Mean for Ellie?
The main theme of The Last of Us Season 2 is revenge. Ellie can tell us that she’s fine and that she’s healing, but it’s clear that she has her heart set on finding Joel’s killers and making them pay. Considering that she’s so quick to accept Seth’s help when she had no qualms about condemning him just an episode ago is very telling.
What makes Seth’s little character arc so brilliant is the fact that we, as the viewers, are so completely invested in Joel and Ellie’s story. Like Ellie, we’re angry that Joel is dead. Just like her, we want revenge. To that end, we’re willing to accept any and all help we can get, even if it’s from that homophobic old man we were fighting with just a day ago.
Like Ellie, we’re blinded to everything else around us. This is why, at first glance, we think Seth has seen the error of his ways and just wants to help wherever he can. This couldn’t be further from the truth, though. Looking at it objectively, if we were to take him at face value, Seth’s redemption arc would be one of the most unrealistic things to ever be shown on TV. The truth goes way deeper than that, and I think it’s an indication of how hatred just overrides everything else in him.
Ellie’s already started down a dark path. And if she’s not careful, she might just end up becoming just as hateful as he is.
The Last of Us is now available for streaming on Max.
