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After an adrenaline-infused fight against the infected, 

The Last of Us Season 2 has primarily shifted its direction towards the larger human conflict. Ellie and Dina arrived in Seattle only to learn that the WLF they thought was only a handful of soldiers was a large organization with complete control over the city. However, Ellie may not know now, but she has just landed in the middle of a gruesome conflict between the WLF and the Seraphites.

Although not a lot is known about the former, especially the "Prophet" they worship, a quick flashback scene at the start of Episode 4 may hint at something deeper. The WLF leader, Isaac Dixon, was seen shaking hands with a mysterious woman called Hanrahan, who fans are claiming may not be just an ordinary defector. Several fan theories have claimed that this mysterious woman might actually be the Seraphite prophet.

Who Is Hanarahan In The Last of Us Season 2

The Mysterious Character Made A Brief Appearance In Episode 4

The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 4 opened with an impactful flashback scene that took place around 11 years prior to the main events. The scene featured one of the series' main antagonists, Isaac Dixon, who was leading a truck full of FEDRA soldiers on a patrol around Seattle. However, they had to stop because of the roadblock, but soon discovered that it was a trap and they were surrounded. 

Dixon got out of the truck to talk to the strange group of people, but instead of retaliating, he shook hands with a mysterious woman named Hanrahan, implying that he had, in fact, defected and joined the resistance.

As a last act of his loyalty to the cause, Isaac threw a grenade in the truck and killed everyone. Interestingly, Hanrahan is a series-exclusive character who doesn't feature in the game's lore. It's difficult to decipher the exact role she'll be adorning in the coming conflict, but the way she's portrayed and introduced hints at her being someone more than a WLF leader. Since Isaac will already be spearheading the WLF's involvement in the plot, it doesn't make sense to introduce another executive position character since Abby is the goal, not Isaac or the WLF.

On the other hand, the second interesting party is the Seraphites, and their decade-old conflict with WLF sets the backdrop for the current events in Seattle. Therefore, it makes more sense if the series aims to present this new character as a Seraphite representative rather than WLF's. 

Hanrahan's entry into the scene has caused fans to go as far as theorizing that she might be the "Prophet" that they talk about.

Hanarahan's Meeting With Isaac Points Towards the Obvious

She Could Either Be an Important WLF Top Official or a Seraphite Elder

11 years later, Isaac has now become the leader of the Washington Liberation Front, or the WLF, and FEDRA has been completely driven away from the city. As Ellie and Dina arrive in Seattle, Isaac is shown simultaneously torturing a young boy he refers to as the "scars," or the Seraphites, a group of devout people who follow and worship their savior, also known as the Prophet.

 Now, game fans would know that while the Prophet has been referred to several times in the original lore, the mysterious woman is actually long dead by the time the events in the game take place.

The audience never actually sees her in person except for her murals all over Seattle. Interestingly, one can't ignore the uncanny resemblance between the Prophet's murals featured in the game and Alanna Ubach's Hanrahan. The two have a striking resemblance, though it isn't the first time the show has cast an actor who looks like a certain character from the game but plays a different one.

Although the Prophet doesn't play a distinct role in the broader narrative, it's possible that the HBO series might be going in a different direction. Thankfully, The Last of Us

 hasn't strayed too far from the source material, but if Hanrahan is the Prophet or one of the Elders, it would be interesting how the show makes her relevant. On the other hand, many fans are claiming that she might be the brains behind the WLF before Isaac took over, 

and that she might still be in a leadership position of sorts within the organization in the present time.

Having said that, the chances of it are a bit slim since, according to the game, when Isaac joined the WLF, he was one of the first ones to do so, and he served under Emma and Jason Patterson. Isaac took over the organization after they and other top officials of WLF were killed by FEDRA. 

Moreover, in the scene where a group of Seraphites were killed in the forest on their way to Seattle, the leader tells a little girl that the Prophet has been dead for 10 years,

 and he doubts that she can help them in that situation. It's possible that Ubach might appear in more flashback scenes that might explain who she is and how she started the resistance.

The Last of Us Season 2 Can Give Fans a Look at What Happened to the Prophet

The Rigid Faction Has Been Known to Adhere to Extreme Violence

It's not wrong to admit that the audience might be reading too much into Alanna Ubach's guest appearance in The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 4. The show has a history of including familiar faces in the story, only to have them go after a few minutes. 

It could be very well that Hanrahan was only there to facilitate Isaac's backstory, but if she's possibly the Seraphite Queen, it could give fans a rare insight into the group's formation and how they grew in strength.

She watches over me. She fills my soul. - A young Seraphite follower of Isaac Dixon in Season 2, Episode 4.

The Seraphite Prophet was a brave and influential woman who broke free from the QZ and its strict rules to commit to an egalitarian life. She preached to people to consider the new world as a form of redemption for past mistakes and to renounce anything that linked people to the old world. The Prophet's people had no intention of turning their peaceful abode into a war zone, but the WLF perceived their influence as a threat. At this point, it's tricky to grasp the significance of Episode 4's opening scene and Hanrahan's inclusion.

The scene may have ruined a huge twist that might have changed the game's lore, but that's highly unlikely since the Seraphite Prophet doesn't have an impact on Ellie's story, at least not directly. However, if the series doesn't intend on following the exact timeline, it could feature Hanrahan as a Prophet who may or may not help Ellie along the way. Ultimately, it's a bit of a stretch at this point, and her appearance might only have been for adding weight to WLF's arc. It's highly likely that she could just be one of the WLF leaders.

The Seraphite and WLF Conflict Reflects on the Story's Bleakness

Their Confrontation Will Shape Ellie's Journey

The conflict between the Seraphites and the WLF manifests the core idea of what The Last of Us is about, and it's not the trope-filled apocalyptic world hell-bent on looking for a cure. No, the elements in Ellie's journey are much deeper and hold an emotional weight. Why would WLF want to fight a group of people who just want to follow their ways and build a community?

Why are organizations like FEDRA and WLF so determined to exercise control that they lose sight of the bigger picture? The unanimous approach in every infectious outbreak is to preserve humanity because one less human is one more of the infected. However, the likes of FEDRA, WLF, or maybe the Seraphites in some capacity made it all about control and power.

Even Ellie's entire journey is a consequence of the decisions of people who acted from a point of self-preservation. Marlene was ready to sacrifice Ellie for the sake of a cure, Joe killed Abby's father in cold blood to protect her, and Ellie is out to do the same instead of living a life with Dina. Ironically, most of the time, the characters in the story are more afraid of humans than the infected.

It only goes on to illuminate the bleak reality that humans are prone to conflict no matter the circumstances, even if they are pushed to the brink of extinction. As for Ellie and Dina, their current predicament is a dangerous one, as they have to make their way through a potential battlefield to locate Abby. The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 5 will air on Max on May 11 with more shocking revelations and a new twist to the Cordyceps infection.

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