The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 4 quietly expands the world in big ways, above and beyond the action and suspense, leaving impactful character moments that resonate. This episode introduces us to some interesting and new characters: Isaac, Greenberg (just in name), and Hanrahan. Each brings another layer to the brutal, shattered world of post-outbreak America. Here’s a background check on Isaac, Hanrahan, and Greenberg in The Last of Us universe.
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Greenberg: A Shadow from the Game
Greenberg is a guy you’ll never actually ever get to see on camera. He didn’t even make an appearance in the initial game, just a name tossed about. But in HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 4, his name appears again, and this time it’s associated with a bizarre and unexpected FEDRA story.
In the original game, we hear of Greenberg only once, in the Boston Quarantine Zone. Tess explains to Joel that Greenberg was killed attempting to smuggle contraband into the zone. That’s all we have. He’s effectively a warning of how brutal and unforgiving FEDRA can be; one misstep, and you’re gunned down in the street.
The series, however, brings his name darkly and humorously. Josh Peck’s character tells a seriously messed-up story about a commander who ridiculously overuses the word “disseminate” in a deeply inappropriate context.
The punchline? Isaac wraps up the exchange by declaring, “You’re all Greenberg.” And just like that, the name is back, but in a moment that couldn’t possibly feel more absurd. Those unfamiliar with the game were left wondering it he is someone super important. Nah… not that much.
Isaac Dixon: Disillusioned FEDRA Sergeant Turned Hard-Line Militia Leader
Unlike Greenberg, Isaac is as realistic and frightening as can be. Episode 4 begins with a flashback to 2018 Seattle, when FEDRA was the law and the Washington Liberation Front (WLF) was just starting out. It is here that we are introduced to a younger Isaac Dixon, a FEDRA sergeant already struggling with difficult moral conflict.
We see him listening to his fellow soldiers mock civilians as “voters,” a twisted nickname referring to the rights FEDRA had stripped. A soldier brushes it off as a joke, but Isaac’s sharp response, “You’re thoughtless,” shows he sees the rot in the system. It’s subtle, but you can already see the man starting to crack.
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That crack becomes a break not long after. When a school bus blocks the road, Isaac steps out and meets a woman named Hanrahan. Their exchange is brief: “You Isaac?” / “You Hanrahan?” but it ends with Isaac throwing a grenade into his own truck, killing his entire unit. It’s his final severance from FEDRA, and the moment he crosses over to the other side – WLF.
Isaac’s Brutality Shows How the WLF Has Gone Bad
Flash forward to 2029, and Isaac has fully transformed. The man who hated the way civilians were handled is now torturing a naked Seraphite in the kitchen. There’s no buildup that justifies it, and the show just drops us into the horror. Isaac burns the man with a hot pan, asking him about where the “Scars” are hiding.
When the Seraphite won’t talk, Isaac kills him without hesitation. That’s the world The Last of Us portrays to us so well: humans start off with the best intentions, but the world gets in the way and corrupts them until they don’t even know themselves anymore. Isaac, once questioning the brutality of FEDRA, is now as cruel, if not worse. He’s no longer receiving orders, he’s the one issuing them.
Hanrahan: The New Face of the Resistance
Hanrahan is a completely new character for the HBO series. She never appears in the games. She has a short but very impactful cameo in Episode 4. When we encounter her, she’s leading the WLF unit that intercepts Isaac’s FEDRA convoy in the flashback. She doesn’t say much, but every word counts.
“You Isaac?” she asks. He nods. “You Hanrahan?” he says. She nods again. Then boom, Isaac tosses the grenade. Like that, the betrayal is done, and Isaac has switched sides. “Welcome to the fight,” she says. It’s brief, but you can feel the history behind it. Obviously, these two have been planning something together for a while.
Hanrahan seems to be an important figure in the WLF’s early days. While Isaac is the boss in the current timeline, she must be a major player somewhere in the background even now. Characters like hers don’t just disappear without a reason—there is every likelihood she’ll have a bigger part to play down the line.
Why These Characters Are Important in TLOU Episode 4
The Last of Us is at its best in the small, quiet moments and interactions, and offhand comments that end up having big consequences. Episode 4 is not so much about Abby’s crew or Ellie’s absence.
It’s planting seeds for what’s to come by setting up the next wave of major players. Greenberg’s strange comeback is a reminder of how absurd and random this world is. Isaac’s rise-and-fall demonstrates how idealism can be crushed by violence.
And Hanrahan? She’s the wild card. The one we don’t yet know as much about, but whose arrival clearly matters. All three characters have a larger story than the screen time they receive. And that’s what makes The Last of Us so realistic, how even the smallest names and the quietest moments still contribute to the world we see fall apart.
