‘The Last of Us’ Has a New Enemy in Season 2. Who Are Abby and the WLF?

With the explosive second episode of The Last of Us season 2, everything changed. The second season kicked off with the aftermath of the attack on the Fireflies at Salt Lake City, introducing us to a number of new faces who have their own missions. 

Abby, the daughter of the doctor slated to do the surgery on Ellie in season 1, is clearly the focus so far. But who is Abby, what does she want and who are her friends? We don’t have much information yet, but here’s what we do know. 

Spoiler warning: If you haven’t caught up on season 2 yet, this is your last chance to turn back. There are major story spoilers ahead about what has happened in season 2, including character deaths. There are spoilers below. 

Who is Abby? 

Season 2 of The Last of Us opens with an unfamiliar face. Abby, in the aftermath of Joel’s rampage on the Fireflies in Salt Lake City, stands with her friends, surrounded by graves and the tags of the Fireflies who died during the assault to save Ellie. So who is Abby?

Abby Anderson is one of the survivors of the Salt Lake City attack and the daughter of Dr. Anderson. He’s the same surgeon who planned to operate on Ellie in the first season, and was prepared to kill her in order to create a cure for the cordyceps infection. When Joel killed Dr. Anderson during his rampage to save Ellie, he created a new enemy in Abby. 

After the attack, Abby and her friends are left trying to pick up the pieces. Since there are no other Fireflies they know of, they decide to head west for Washington state to a militia run by a man named Isaac. Before they leave, Abby makes her friends promise they will help her hunt down Joel to get revenge for her father’s death.

Who are Abby’s friends? 

Abby’s mission to avenge her father kicks things off in season 2, but she isn’t working alone. Abby operates with a group of friends, all former Fireflies who survived Joel’s attack. But who are they? Let’s take a look. 

The Salt Lake crew is made up of five people: Owen, Manny, Mel, Nora and Abby. Owen seems to be the voice of reason for this group — before Abby shows up with Joel, he tries to find a way to de-escalate the situation and get them away from Jackson. 

Mel is a medic, and she applies a tourniquet to Joel’s leg after Abby shoots him in the lodge. Manny appears to be the muscle of the group, and he’s the angriest of all five after Abby. We don’t know much about Nora yet, but she’s another tightknit member of the group. 

After Abby finishes beating Joel to death in episode 2, all five of them leave Wyoming, heading for Washington and the WLF.

What is the WLF? 

Due to the cordyceps infection, law and order in the world has broken down completely. Instead of a national military, a variety of smaller paramilitary groups operate across the US. We met the Fireflies early in season 1; in season 2, the WLF is introduced.
WLF (pronounced wolf) stands for the Washington Liberation Force. It’s a militia that operates out of Washington state. The group is first mentioned in the season 2 premiere when the Salt Lake Firefly crew is trying to figure out where to go in the aftermath of Joel’s assault. Owen tells them he knows about a group in Seattle that would be willing to take all of them in. 

We don’t know much about the WLF aside from the fact that it operates out of Seattle, and it’s run by a man named Isaac. The only other clue about this militia comes from a comment from Abby about how Isaac taught them his code — never kill someone who is unable to fight back. 

What comes next for Abby and the WLF? 

After brutally killing Joel in front of Ellie at the end of episode 2, Abby and the Salt Lake crew leave Wyoming and head for Seattle to regroup with the WLF. Abby has done what she came to Jackson to do — kill Joel and avenge her father’s murder. But Ellie isn’t just going to let her get away with it.

What’s coming next? We’ll have to tune in to Max on Sunday night to find out.