The Rattlers in The Last of Us: Why They’ll Change Everything for Abby and Ellie

The Last of Us ’ latest episode saw the point of no return in Ellie and Abby’s relationship, setting everything up for their hunt for each other in the upcoming episodes or even in season 3.

Joel’s gruesome end will also lead Ellie to numerous encounters with new characters and some pretty dangerous militaristic groups, including the Rattlers who in the original video game become one of the last obstacles on Ellie’s way to having Abby killed.

There’s so far no mention of the Rattlers in the show though, but they’re likely to make it there by the time the third season comes along.

Here’s everything you need to know before the Rattlers change the entire plot line, well, radically.

The Rattlers’ Backstory, Explained

In the video game, the Rattlers are introduced as a radical militaristic group of survivors that formed some sort of alliance soon after the outbreak of the Cordyceps brain infection happened.

Based in Santa Barbara, California, the Rattlers try to survive at the expense of other unwary travellers who they ambush and steal all the provisions from.

The group is arguably the most dangerous one in the whole post-apocalyptic American world, having become infamous for sadistic ways of trapping both infected and normal humans, later on having the former chained and used as guard dogs and the latter forced into slavery.

Since the infected don’t really use their feelings, it’s not even that bad for them, but for the humans things look way worse — depending on their mood of the day, the Rattlers can intentionally infect normal people to later turn them into other guards and chain them up.

Those lucky to escape such a fate don’t feel much happier because of that, with most of them wishing they would die in the Rattlers’ prison rather than being tortured on a daily basis.

How Are the Rattlers Connected to Abby and Ellie?

The Rattlers first catch Abby when her and Lev’s message to Fireflies is intercepted, with both of them ending up as the group’s new prisoners.

A couple of months later, Ellie is also trapped by the Rattlers while she’s looking for Abby in Santa Barbara; however, she soon manages to escape, killing the Rattlers who caught her, but before interrogating them about Abby’s location.

Sneaking in and killing other Rattlers on the way, Ellie finds Abby and Lev in the prison, eventually massacring more of the group members and setting all other slaves free.