'The Last of Us' Episode 4: Who are the Hunters? All you need to know about show’s mystical and deadly twist

Hunters get their name from their tendency to mercilessly murder anyone who enters their domain to steal their supplies, food, and clothing
UPDATED FEB 8, 2023
Hunter, Ellie and Joel from the latest episode of 'The Last of Us' (IMDb)
Hunter, Ellie and Joel from the latest episode of 'The Last of Us' (IMDb)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Joel and Ellie began their trip towards Wyoming in search of Joel's brother Tommy after sadly discovering that Bill and Frank died in the third episode of 'The Last of Us'. Bill's supplies from Lincoln substantially benefited their trek, which got them through Kansas City before they were forced to take a different path into the center of the city due to a blocked highway.

In the fourth episode of 'The Last of Us', Joel and Ellie encountered the Hunters, a brand-new enemy faction that will be crucial moving forward. This brings us to an important question, who basically are these hunters? Keep reading to find out more about this mysterious group.

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'The Last of Us' Episode 4 Review: A new villain emerges as Joel, Ellie's friendship grows stronger

What's beneath the GROUND in 'The Last of Us' Episode 4?

Who are the Hunters?

A playable faction in 'Factions MP', Hunters are a group of hostile survivors who make appearances as enemies in 'The Last of Us' and are also featured in 'The Last of Us' Part II. The group generally was made up of ex-zone of quarantine occupants who often remained in the cities they liberated from military rule. They get their title from their tendency to mercilessly murder anyone who enters their domain (whom Hunters refer to as "tourists") in order to steal their supplies, food, and clothing.

The Hunters in the game were citizens living in Pittsburgh Quarantine Zone. With the help of the 'Fireflies', they revolted against the FEDRA regime but their alliance soon broke since the Hunters didn't want to take orders from them. After killing their soldiers and gaining the city's control, the Hunters had no brotherhood and ended up killing anyone to gain some supplies. This made their plan to form a better government than FEDRA flop.

What are some of Hunters' strengths and weaknesses? 

Equipment: The Hunters' supplies and meals are scarce because they live in a quarantine zone that has fallen, and much of their equipment is handcrafted or scavenged. The majority are armed with basic melee weapons, pistols in 9 mm, shortys, revolvers, shotguns, hunting rifles, and Molotov cocktails. To further defend themselves from gunshots, several of the Hunters use body armor and gas masks salvaged from deceased military personnel. Earlier, they did, however, have more powerful weaponry, such as a military sniper rifle with a large supply of ammunition and a Humvee with a repaired 50-calibre machine gun.

Survival: They are experienced survivors who hunt. Their survival skills have improved during the years they have spent in the destroyed Pittsburgh Quarantine Zone. In spite of their messy look and apparent lack of skill with weaponry, the majority seem to be physically fit. They most closely resemble the bandits in terms of how they fare versus other organized factions. Due to their lack of exposure to life outside the quarantine zone, the Hunters are less experienced than these survivors, although they do have better numbers and equipment. Most Hunters can be outwitted and defeated by said hardened survivors due to said inexperience and lack of military training. However, the Hunters are frequently still a significant threat due to their greater numbers, allowing them to trample FEDRA and the 'Fireflies'.

HBO's Hunters in 'The Last of Us' episode 4 acquire more detail, which is one thing that stands out as being immediately different. The Hunters are merely used as faceless, often nameless foes for players to fight against in the original game with little to no complexity. HBO's adaptation has made it increasingly clear that  'Last of Us' creators can give the game further depth and character in ways that gaming cannot, particularly with the way episode 3 of The Last of Us ended. The exploration of the Hunters in 'The Last of Us' episode 4 shows that this is still the case.

New episodes of 'The Last of Us' release every Wednesday on HBO.

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