Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us season 2, episode 4.
Just one week after fans complained that the series was changing Dina’s sexuality, they head to Seattle, they’re officially a couple. But the TV show has taken its time with their romance.
In season 2, episode 3, while Ellie and Dina were camping overnight on their journey to Jackson, Dina told Ellie, “You’re gay, I’m not.” A lot of viewers who are familiar with the game interpreted that as the show trying to erase an important aspect of Dina’s sexuality. However, in The Last of Us season 2, episode 4, “Day One,” we learn more about why Dina said that and what she really meant by it. The TV adaptation isn’t erasing Dina’s sexuality; it’s actually digging a little deeper into it.
Dina Reveals Her True Sexuality In The Last Of Us Season 2 Episode 4
Dina Confesses Her Feelings For Ellie After Revealing Her Pregnancy
In the TV show, much like in the game, after escaping from a subway station full of infected, Ellie and Dina hide out in a theater across the street. In both versions, Dina finds out Ellie is immune and Ellie finds out Dina is pregnant. But other than that, the scene plays out very differently. In the game, Ellie is angry at Dina for keeping the secret from her, but in the TV show, she’s excited to co-parent the baby. In the game, it drives a wedge between them, but in the TV show, it brings them closer together.
What Song Ellie Sings In The Last Of Us Season 2 Episode 4 & How It Connects To Joel
Ellie sings a song for Dina in The Last of Us season 2, episode 4, and it has a touching connection to Joel and the original video game.
Since she thought she was about to lose Ellie to a Cordyceps infection, Dina feels an overwhelming sense of relief when Ellie confirms her immunity. This inspires her to finally do two things she’d been putting off because she was scared. She tells Ellie about her pregnancy and she acts on her romantic feelings. Ellie and Dina have sex, which happened much earlier in the game, and the next morning, they have a frank discussion about their sexuality. It’s here that Dina reveals what she meant by her “You’re gay, I’m not” comment in the previous episode.
Dina internalized her mother’s judgments and tried to just like boys — hence her long-standing on-and-off relationship with Jesse — but in reality, she’s bi.
Dina explains to Ellie that, at a young age, she told her mom that she “liked boys and girls.” However, her mom wasn’t very accepting and demanded that she “only like boys.” Dina internalized her mother’s judgments and tried to just like boys — hence her long-standing on-and-off relationship with Jesse — but in reality, she’s bi. As she fell for Ellie, her feelings became so strong that she couldn’t deny them anymore. Dina’s comment in the tent in episode 3 wasn’t about the show denying her sexuality; it was about Dina denying her own sexuality.
What Isabela Merced Has Said About The Criticism Surrounding Dina's Sexuality In The Last Of Us
The Show's Creators Anticipated The Negative Response
Image via Max
In an interview with Dina’s actor Isabela Merced was asked to comment on the criticism surrounding the show’s depiction of Dina’s sexuality. Merced acknowledged that the complicated rollout of Dina’s sexuality was “calculated,” and that co-showrunner Craig Mazin, who wrote the episode, anticipated the negative response. According to Merced, Dina wasn’t being “explicitly manipulative” in her discussion with Ellie. She said that young people grappling with their sexuality “should be allowed to be confused and should be allowed to be curious and figure it out.”
The Last of Us airs new episodes on HBO and Max every Sunday.
Merced saw parallels between Dina’s experience and her own experience. She felt that Dina’s journey to understanding her sexuality contrasted with Ellie’s own journey in an interesting way. While Ellie has always known who she is, Dina has had to struggle with the societal pressure of “complicit heterosexuality.” Kate Herron, the director of The Last of Us’ latest episode, has also commented on the way the show depicts Dina’s sexuality (via Variety). She said, “I hope Dina’s story will connect with a lot of people,” and added, “You don’t often see queer stories told on a level this big.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety
The Last Of Us
- Release Date
- January 15, 2023
- Network
- HBO
- Showrunner
- Craig Mazin
Cast
Joel Miller
Ellie Williams
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Craig Mazin, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb, Ali Abbasi, Mark Mylod, Stephen Williams, Jasmila Žbanić, Liza Johnson, Nina Lopez-Corrado
- Writers
- Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin
- Franchise(s)
- The Last of Us
- Creator(s)
- Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann
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