Isabela Merced on The Last Of Us "passing the baton" to Ellie and Dina
[Editor’s note: This piece contains spoilers for the May 4 episode of The Last Of Us.]
The Last Of Us is still in a mourning period after the crushing loss of Pedro Pascal’s Joel Miller. In Joel’s absence, his loved ones continue to pick up the pieces, with his surrogate daughter hell-bent on seeking revenge. Thankfully, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) gets help on this mission from her pal Dina (Isabela Merced), whom she’s been crushing on for quite some time. In last week’s episode, the two women bonded over campsite chats and horse rides as they determinedly set off for Seattle to find Joel’s killers.
And in this Sunday’s hour of the show, their angsty will-they/won’t-they comes to a head, with the two finally giving in to their attraction after revealing their secrets. (Ellie confesses her immunity; Dina drops a pregnancy bombshell.) And Ellie and Dina’s romance provides a sweet playfulness to counteract all of the grief, internal crises, and outside threats. Much of the credit goes to breakout star Merced, who matches Ramsey’s strong performance throughout the episode.
The A.V. Club spoke to Merced about bringing this escalating love story to life, how she views the changes to her character from the game, and being serenaded by Bella Ramsey multiple times.
The A.V. Club: Let’s start with the ending of episode four, in which Dina opens up about her mother’s response to her liking both boys and girls. Why was it important for them to have that conversation?
Isabela Merced: It’s so cool that we get to show the spectrum of sexuality and the struggles of what it might look like in a post-apocalyptic situation where [Dina and Ellie] don’t even know what Pride was. They don’t know what it’s like to be a part of the LGBTQ community. When they get to Seattle and are walking down the streets, they look at the rainbow flags and don’t think of Pride. They think, “Oh, these people must have been optimists.” In my mind, I didn’t think Dina knew what the word bisexual was. So as soon as her mom, who was her compass, rejected that initially, she did feel stuck. And I’m glad we get to show that it’s okay because no one’s stuck forever.
AVC: What was it like to navigate the intensity of Dina and Ellie going through various stages of a relationship pretty fast over the hour?
IM: Yeah, wow, a lot occurs in this episode for them. But before all that, I love how the slow burn was calculated. In the third episode, they’re dealing with this stage of embarrassment about their feelings for each other. For Dina, there is maybe some shame or guilt, and she’s feeling like, “Oh, shit, I feel this way and don’t know what to do about it.” But their love for each other is apparent, and it goes deep in an unsaid way. Their actions prove it. That supersedes anything that words could say. That’s why I think it’s awesome and fascinating that Dina is the one who ends up making the first move. It’s a great way to break the tension and angst in that moment after they’ve made their confessions.
AVC: How do you feel about the changes made from the game to Dina and Ellie’s storylines?
IM: With every adaptation, nothing’s going to be truly loyal to the original. I admire Craig Mazin’s boldness in converting The Last Of Us into a more chronological TV series. He’s so good at it. He’s a script doctor and knows how to do character building. I’ve learned so much from him about all this. I love the changes he’s made and why he’s made them. Even with Ellie revealing to Dina that she’s immune, in the game, it happens after Ellie’s breathing spores and Dina has her mask on. Craig wanted us to be able to show our faces and acting skills in the scene here. He changed it to be more intense. We wanted to show Dina wrestling with having to possibly shoot Ellie.
AVC: It’s almost like a big rom-com moment when they finally hook up.
IM: Yeah, I really liked the escalation of that scene. It was so well-placed and a great way to relieve the tension. It looks passionate and spur of the moment, but we were very calculated about it, of course. Every moment was so choreographed, and our intimacy coordinator was really on top of it, so we could analyze everything.
AVC: Another pivotal moment is when Ellie sings “Take On Me” and Dina has a pretty visceral reaction. Do you think it was revelatory for her to see Ellie like that?
IM: That whole day of filming, I was just trying not to cry. I am so emotional in real life. I sometimes wear my heart on my sleeve, and I’m always on the brink of crying, whether I’m feeling happy or emotional and sad. My biggest challenge that day was trying not to cry. It honestly wasn’t even in the script, so I wasn’t supposed to do it. But I wanted there to be a shift in that scene. Yes, it’s beautiful music with Bella’s great voice, but we wanted Dina to show some fear and hesitancy and be vulnerable with Ellie. I wanted them both to be vulnerable in that moment. Also, oh my god, Bella’s voice is incredible. I had the pleasure of being serenaded by them every time we were on set because somebody would always bring a guitar and we’d all sit around in our cast chairs and play for each other. It was nice. I told Bella not to sing as well as they usually do in that scene because Ellie’s not a professional guitar player or singer. There had to be some realism infused there. Bella’s tone is so tender and soft, so it made me emotional anyway. They were actually singing, by the way. There’s no lip syncing going on over here.
AVC: There’s also a big chase scene in this episode with Dina and Ellie running from the infected. Did you enjoy the process of filming these stunts?
IM: Man, I should have stretched more before those action scenes. I think my body’s still feeling the consequences now. If I have any advice for any actors, it’s just to stretch more. I will say, I was also doing a lot of crouching, actually. The running didn’t affect me as much as the crouching. If you notice, Dina likes to stay low to the ground. It’s safer there. [Laughs] Okay, but it was cool to do those stunts in this episode. We felt like subway surfers as we were maneuvering around. It was fascinating. I don’t want to go back to that set, but I’m really glad it happened.
AVC: Season one was a two-hander with Joel and Ellie. In his absence, do you think this episode makes a strong case for how Ellie and Dina are the show’s new duo to root for?
IM: I think Craig put it in a nice way that this show’s strength is that it’s always about two people in intimate settings, having conversations that we would have anyway but in a very unique setting. In a way, [season two] became about passing the baton. What I find most interesting is that Ellie kind of becomes Joel in the sense that she becomes a father figure, as she jokes about at the end of episode four. On top of that, she’s blinded by her past and things that she cannot change. Dina becomes sort of like the light in her life, like Ellie was for Joel in season one, when she was good vibes and jokes.
AVC: What was it like to craft your performance of this version of Dina and ensure she’s not just a supporting player or love interest but is fully fleshed out as a person?
IM: Yeah, to me, Dina is very silly, light-hearted, impulsive, and fun. But at the same time, I appreciate how levelheaded and calculated she is. She thinks things through and is the brains of the operation. In order to find that balance, I almost played myself. I’m also fun and impulsive when it comes to my approach to life. I balance it out [in my performance] by thinking about my mother’s personality. She’s logical and calculated, but very good at caring about others and guiding them in the right direction. She’s a mother, and now Dina is going to be a mother. There are a lot of parallels, so when I wasn’t sure how to look at Dina, I would think of my mom and just go, “What would Katherine do?”