The fourth episode of The Last of Us season 2 has aired, with Ellie and Dina now far away from their rather cushy homestead of Jackson, and instead now facing a city torn apart by not only Infected, but a vicious turf war between two hostile and incredibly unforgiving groups.
Please note there will be spoilers for The Last of Us, both the show and the game, below.
Following last week’s somber and slightly slow episode, the fourth episode picked up again with some more action focused scenes. These included the introduction of Jeffrey Wright’s Isaac Dixon, with the actor reprising his role from The Last of Us Part 2 for the show.
Isaac’s introduction happens within the opening moments of the fourth episode, and sets up his callous and really rather gritty character. We meet Isaac several years in the past, when he is still under the employ of FEDRA. Sitting in a van, Isaac scolds the men he is with, who are making light of FEDRA’s militaristic presence in the city since the outbreak, and the organisation’s intrusion on civil liberties.
Soon, the van’s way is blocked, and several civilians make their way onto the road. Isaac goes out to speak with them, exchanging only a few brief words before turning back to the FEDRA van and throwing two grenades through the doors without a moment of hesitation. He is no longer with FEDRA. He is a Wolf now. We do not see this moment in the game, although we know he used to be a member of FEDRA before changing his allegiances.
This unflinching attitude towards violence continues in the present day, when Isaac is shown torturing a member of the Seraphites. Honestly, never has a man monologuing about kitchenware been so menacing. This is a change from the game, at least in terms of what we see. In The Last of Us Part 2, we are told Isaac is trying to get information from a member of the Seraphites, and it is pretty darn clear he isn’t doing this by just asking nicely, but the torture itself is not shown in the game.
In the show, however, we see the results of Isaac’s methods, and his prisoner is burned and abused before eventually being executed by an expertly aimed shot. Isaac knows exactly what he is doing.
While Isaac’s scenes are wonderfully acted and brilliantly brutal, this episode really belongs to Ellie and Dina, with both Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced stealing every scene they are in. The chemistry between the twosome this episode is off the charts, and when they finally consummated their relationship, I cheered. But, before that happened, there were many other great moments between them which built up to that.
Of course, I am going to talk about that moment the two shared in the record shop. Oh, my heart. This moment sees Ellie playing the guitar for Dina, while singing a slow rendition of Take On Me by a-ha. This scene also appears in the game, but is optional. I am so glad the showrunners chose to include it regardless, because it is honestly one of my favourite moments in any game, film or show. It is beautiful, and such a key moment in Ellie and Dina’s relationship.
At this point in the game, Ellie and Dina are already romantically involved with each other. In the show, however, there is certainly an attraction between them, but they are yet to fully admit their feelings to each other. But, while Dina may not have said anything to Ellie yet, you can see the complete love and devotion in her eyes as she watches Ellie playing the guitar. By the end of the song Dina is crying, so overcome with emotion and her feelings for Ellie. I may have felt a little tear in my eye, too. It really was very moving, and this optional in-game moment became a crucial part of Dina and Ellie’s relationship in the show.
Excellent job, everyone involved. No notes.
But, it is not all sunlit leafy backdrops and heartwarming moments of love and hope. This is The Last of Us after all, and soon the duo are confronted with one of the grizzliest images to grace my TV screen since, well, I actually don’t know. I am talking about the bodies of several disembowled WLF members, hanging from a ceiling in Seattle’s TV station. It is a grim scene, and one that shows Ellie and Dina that actually, the cult-like religious group whose bodies they first came across in the last episode are just as ruthless as the WLF. It is stomach churning stuff, and I am glad the show didn’t shy away from sharing such a gruesome image with viewers.
Ellie and Dina are soon interrupted by members of the WLF, who on seeing their slain comrades, immediately begin to search the area for the culprits. I loved how ‘video gamey’ this scene was, with Ellie and Dina sneaking their way through the WLF members, who are patrolling the room with their guns and flashlights raised. It made me feel tense, and I was begging Ellie and Dina to be as quiet as possible.
Alas, our girls are eventually spotted, and they make a break for it by running through the rain washed streets of Seattle into⦠the tunnels. And this is when the show made a move to some truly nerve shredding horror.
Like in the game, Ellie and Dina are met with Infected in this underground area (don’t they know it is never a good idea to go underground when in a post apocalyptic show), but while in The Last of Us Part 2 this section plays out more like a survival horror, in the show it is more action focused. Ellie and Dina find themselves in a very claustrophobic and corpse laden carriage, as an unrelenting horde of runners and clickers throw themselves aggressively against the windows and doors with one very clear goal on their mind – to get to their prey.
I know I keep saying this, but again the acting here is brilliant, with both Ramsey and Merced showing the extreme fear their characters felt in that moment. Ellie may be immune from infection, but she is not immune to being crushed or ripped to shreds by a ravenous horde of monsters (infected or human). It is fast paced, it is gripping, it is unpredictable, and it is unsettling to watch.
This sequence of events ends with Ellie, seeing Dina’s life is in very real danger, taking a bite on the arm for her, and as the duo make their way out of the tunnels and into the safety of the theatre, Dina is once again left looking at Ellie with love and tears in her eyes. This time, however, these tears are because she believes she is about to lose someone so important to her, because as far as Dina is concerned, Ellie is now infected and Dina will have to kill her.
Cut to Ellie frantically and finally revealing her immunity to Dina. Understandably, Dina doesn’t believe her, and is still ready to kill Ellie even though she knows it will break her heart into a million different pieces. Ellie convinces Dina to wait, but if Ellie does turn, Dina can kill her.
Later in the night, when it is clear Ellie is not in any danger, a relieved Dina tells her she is pregnant, and the two finally kiss and share a night of love and passion together. Like I already said, I cheered. Compared to the game, this moment felt like a relatively long time coming, but it was worth the wait.
The following morning having refreshed their morning breath with beef jerky (apparently that is better than morning breath, but I am not so sure), the two chat, and Dina reveals when she was younger she had told her mother she liked both boys and girls, but in response her mother told her no, she liked boys. As such, Dina had been hiding who she really was, trying to live up to the expectations of her mother. Now though with Ellie, she can finally be who she really is.
This conversation was so important for her character, and I have no doubt that it will have struck a chord with so many others who have experienced similar situations.
The episode ends with the pregnant Dina and Ellie resolving to track down Nora, a name they heard over a WLF radio and know from the attack on Jackson. However, she is in the middle of – literally – an explosive battle between the WLF and the Seraphites.
Unlike in the game, Ellie does not consider Dina a “burden” now she knows she is pregnant with Jesse’s child, and the two hold hands as they look out over at the explosions and gunfire happening deeper in Seattle. They are going to face what comes their way together.
This feels like a significant change from the game. In The Last of Us Part 2, Ellie’s reaction to Dina’s pregnancy made it clear that her mind was already starting to obsess about revenge. Her fixation with finding Joel’s killers was so intense already, that one of her only true allies in this moment was now an inconvenience to her, rather than a source of support and comfort.
In the show, however, Ellie seems genuinely excited by the prospect of Dina’s baby, stating she is “going to be a dad”. She does of course show concern for Dina, but also understands that if Dina wants to come with her to fight the WLF, that is her choice.
Three last things I would like to mention. First is that I wonder if we will hear more about Dina’s faith in the show. In the game, Dina speaks to Ellie about her heritage, and her Jewish faith. I really loved this moment between the two in The Last of Us Part 2, however Dina’s faith has not been mentioned yet in the show.
The second thing is that, since her pivotal scenes in the second episode of The Last of Us season two, we have not seen anything of Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby. I actually now wonder if we won’t see her again until the final episode of the season, even if then.
Third, what did they do with Ellie’s horse Shimmer? Did they just leave her tied up in the record store? In the game, Shimmer dies, but it doesn’t look like this is going to happen in the show…
We still have three more episodes left of The Last of Us season 2. For me, the fourth episode marks a new high for the season, blending horror and heart throughout its 50 or so minutes of run time.
What did you think of the fourth episode?
