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[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for “The Last of Us” Season 2, Episode 3, “The Path.”]
Asked which of Ellie’s relationships they were most excited to see on screen in “The Last of Us” Season 2, star Bella Ramsey didn’t hesitate to pick Dina, played by actress Isabela Merced. Ramsey described the character’s beloved queer love interest as the “most prevalent” person in Ellie’s life this season and gave IndieWire a glimpse into the odd-couple dynamic we saw taking shape in Episode 3, “The Path.”
“She’s so brilliant, and I’m really excited for people to see how wonderful she is and how much light and energy and humor she brings to this season,” Ramsey said of Merced. “She really just had this unwavering energy about her the whole time, which was really great for being on set. When I was like an old tired grandpa, she’d be like this little sprite that would come in and just make everybody party.”
Reviewing the apocalyptic drama’s latest installment, IndieWire’s Ben Travers analyzed how Ellie’s road to revenge might impact her self-image. In Episode 3, we see our grieving hero trying on a hardened, cool-guy exterior in memory of Joel (Pedro Pascal) — but even admitting to herself that it doesn’t fit.
“She’s trying on a persona she admired and lost,” writes Travers, referencing a scene where Ellie acknowledges she’s “trying to sound like a badass.” “She’s becoming Joel as a way to remember him.”
Not even Pascal, HBO’s hunkiest Chilean-American actor, can make romance mid-mushroom-Armageddon sound like a good idea, but Ellie’s complex grief is at the core of her compelling will-they-won’t-they with Dina. Toss in Dina’s ex-boyfriend, Jesse (Young Mazino), and the narrative layers he’ll be bringing to the table later, and you’ve got the sort of drama that demands to be a TV show.
“The sort of triangle of the three of us is something that’s really cool and was really fun to play,” Ramsey said. “It’s really important that we continue to have representation on screen that doesn’t feel like it’s ticking a box in terms of representation.”
Known for major adaptations (“Dora and the Lost City of Gold”) and big franchises (“Alien: Romulus”), Merced was prepared for the pressure that came with adapting “The Last of Us” video game. She told IndieWire, “Having that experience of not wanting to upset a fan base with my portrayal was essential. And then also myself being a fan, not wanting to upset myself, I think, is the biggest fear I have. I’m my own worst enemy, my own biggest critic, so I definitely don’t want that.”
Describing the mood on the production, Mazino said, “The vibe of the set was chilled. The story we were creating was not.”
“The Last of Us” Season 2 airs new episodes on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.
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