Isabela Merced Reflects on Dina and Ellie’s Last of Us Romance

Season two of The Last of Us has already endured a significant tragedy—but in the wake of terrible loss, a new love has blossomed between Dina (Isabela Merced) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey). This week’s episode saw the two characters take their romance to a new level amid a long-haul revenge mission, and Merced (Madame Web, Alien: Romulus, this summer’s Superman) spoke about the deep connection that’s building between the women.

Speaking to Variety, Merced explained that the two are helping each other get through all the trauma they’ve experienced—and continue to experience living in The Last of Us‘ dangerous world. “Ellie’s really fucked up and angry, but whenever Dina’s around, it’s like she suddenly is able to access the joy that she once felt,” Merced explained. “I also think Dina’s helping Ellie grieve in a way—but also Ellie’s helping Dina grieve. I think Dina’s redirecting her grief and putting it on Ellie and being like, ‘Oh, I’ll help you.’”

She said she appreciated the romance is “slow burn,” in contrast to The Last of Us game, but she was glad the HBO show did keep the “Take on Me” scene from the source material.

“I was excited to shoot it, and then I was also really emotional, because of the set design being so beautiful and it feeling a really truly sweet and tender moment in the show after so much darkness and loss. So I was very emotional that day,” Merced explained.

She continued. “I noticed when watching it recently that there was a switch from the loving look to a sadness in my eyes. I was trying to remember what I was thinking, and I think it was just like I wanted to incorporate that Dina isn’t fearless, really? She may seem like it. She may seem like she can handle a lot, and throughout the episode you learn that she can’t. But I wanted to give people a glimpse into that, because love is scary. So for her to feel these emotions, and then in real time be scared of them, was really important to me. Because I think that’s realistic.”

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Merced reflected on what it was like filming the first sex scene between Ellie and Dina. “This is a really necessary step in their relationship. It’s also just like really hot to me because it’s like the culmination of all of these feelings and secrets all just being let out in one moment,” she said.

The scene feels spontaneous, but that’s not how it was behind the scenes, Merced said. “It may seem passionate and in-the-moment, but it was really calculated, and we were really intentional about every single thing that was a part of that sequence, because we wanted to make sure none of the characters were doing anything that was out of character.”

New episodes of The Last of Us hit HBO and Max on Sundays.

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