The Last of Us – Day One

By: Kelly Kearney

Love finds its way into the fourth episode of “The Last of Us” Season 2, weaving romance into a story already charged with two major reveals and a heart-stopping moment in Seattle that pushes two characters into each other’s arms. After finally reaching the Pacific Northwestern city, two revenge-driven travelers search the ruins for clues to the WOLF’s hideout. Intercut with scenes from the present, the episode also flashes back to the city’s quarantine zone 11 years earlier—where FEDRA soldiers are violently purging the streets of rebels, traitors, and a mysterious cult known as the Seraphites. It’s a brutal hour of survival, memory, and longing—balancing raw action with moments of unexpected tenderness, as Ellie and Dina begin to confront not only their enemies, but the growing bond between them.

Seattle in 2011

We begin with a flashback to the Seattle Quarantine Zone in the year 2018—eleven years before Ellie’s present timeline. The camera follows an armored vehicle filled with FEDRA soldiers, casually joking and swapping inappropriate stories as they pass the time en route to their next mission.

One soldier (played by Josh Peck) tells a story about a comrade who attacked a group of citizens he refers to as “voters.” A young, wide-eyed soldier named Burton (Ben Ahlers)—clearly new to the job and curious—asks why they call them “voters.” The mood in the vehicle shifts instantly as the storyteller admits he doesn’t actually know why they’re called that—and, with a shrug, coldly adds that he doesn’t care either.

That’s when their sergeant (Jeffrey Wright) steps in to answer: “We took away their right to vote. Somebody started calling them ‘voters’ to mock them. So now you know.” The moment lands heavy and the lighthearted mood turns dark. We don’t yet know the sergeant’s name, but it’s clear he doesn’t share the casual cruelty of his subordinates. Unlike them, he takes no pleasure in the oppression of citizens they’re supposed to protect.

Just then, the vehicle jerks to a stop when they approach a school bus blocking the road ahead. A group of people, assumed to be members of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), surrounds the vehicle in a tense standoff. Rather than respond with immediate aggression, the sergeant steps out to speak with their leader. Before he does, he orders his troops to stay inside and asks the curious new recruit to accompany him.

As the sergeant approaches the WLF leader, there’s an unmistakable flicker of recognition between them. Without warning, the sergeant—who we now learn is named Isaac—pulls out a pair of grenades. He turns back toward the vehicle, casually walks up to it, shoots the driver point-blank, tosses the grenades inside, and slams the door shut—killing all of his soldiers, except for the rookie, Burton,  he brought with him.

The young soldier, stunned and trembling, is left to process what he just witnessed. Isaac looks him in the eye and offers him a choice: join the WLF in their rebellion against FEDRA—or follow his fellow soldiers into the afterlife. It’s an explosive opening and a viscous introduction to Isaac, the present-day leader of the WLF, and the man we can assume Ellie will have to defeat if she wants the group to pay for taking Joel’s life.

Seattle: Present Day

After a shockingly violent opening that sets the stage for the dynamics in Seattle—this season’s primary location—we catch up with Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) as they cautiously make their way through the eerily silent city streets. At first, they’re hesitant to make any noise, knowing it could attract the cordyceps-infected, but oddly, there doesn’t seem to be any fungus zombies lurking nearby.

When they spot a pharmacy, the two head inside in search of medical supplies. That’s when Dina grabs a few pregnancy tests—four, to be exact, which makes sense since the young woman seems to be vomiting a lot on their trip. Afterward, they ride off on horseback through a neighborhood adorned with Pride flags. All the rainbows catch their attention, but in this post-apocalyptic world, issues of sexuality and division take a backseat to the fungus-zombies threatening to wipe them all out.

Eventually, they notice a sign in the distance—”WLF” scrawled across a tower above a radio station. They recognize it as a potential lead in their search for Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) killers, but instead of rushing into what could be a trap, Dina reins Ellie in, reminding her of their training. They decide to wait for nightfall and plan their next move from an abandoned music store, where they and their horses can remain hidden.

Up until this point, the two best friends—aside from that New Year’s Eve kiss—have maintained a platonic relationship. Ellie has been quietly nursing a crush, while Dina has been in an on-again, off-again relationship with Jesse (Young Mazino)– Ellie’s friend and mentor. Now it seems Dina and Jesse are off again, and perhaps that’s why she’s begun playfully flirting with Ellie—like when she recently asked her to rate that New Year’s kiss on a scale from one to ten.

As their journey has continued, the relationship between Ellie and Dina has gradually shifted and we see in what direction when the chemistry between them starts to spark romance. Ellie finds a guitar that reminds her of Joel and in an impromptu session, picks it up, and serenades Dina with a tender rendition of the ’80s hit Take On Me. The lyrics seem to echo Ellie’s unspoken feelings, and the moment isn’t lost on Dina. She watches in awe, overcome with emotion, tears welling in her eyes as if Ellie is confessing her feelings through the song. Dina feels that deeply, as the moment is undeniably romantic and she cannot hold back her tears.

When Ellie notices Dina’s teary eyes, she breaks the tension with a lighthearted remark: “All those lessons from Joel.” Dina wipes her eyes and smiles softly, replying, “He taught you well.” Her emotional response reminds us just how deeply Joel’s death affected her—not just as a shared loss, but as a reflection of her growing feelings for the girl Joel had come to see as a daughter.

Cooking with Issac

While love blooms between Ellie and Dina, the scene shifts to present-day Isaac—now the ruthless leader of the Washington-based WLF—crushing both the spirit and body of a captured Seraphite (Ryan Masson). The prisoner, naked, bruised, and bloodied, lies chained to a kitchen floor, refusing to speak. As a copper pot heats on the stove, Isaac reminisces about life in the old world. He talks about how he used to impress women, saving up for professional cookware so he could cook elaborate meals for dates. Socially awkward, maybe—but a great cook, and for a time, that was enough to turn heads.

Once the pot is hot, Isaac demands answers to where the Seraphites are planning to strike next? The prisoner remains silent, so, without hesitation, Isaac presses the searing pan against the man’s bare hand.

In that moment, we see the full measure of Isaac’s transformation. He is a man willing to inflict unimaginable pain to protect his people. But with the Seraphites, he may have met his match. No amount of suffering can force this religiously devout group—who behave more like a cult than an army—to betray their cause.

As the torture continues, we learn about the broken pact between the WLF and the Seraphites—an uneasy truce now in flames. The prisoner speaks of their prophet, a nameless woman whose followers are unwavering in their devotion. Despite being battered and burned, the man refuses to give in, and after enduring the latest round of torment, he growls through clenched teeth, “You’re going to lose.”

The comment almost makes Isaac laugh. To him, the idea is absurd. How could his well-armed faction—with its hospitals, military training, and automatic weapons—be defeated by a cult wielding superstitions and arrows? The Seraphite’s reply cuts deep, as he calmly points out how every day, one of Isaac’s wolves sees the light and takes their prophet into their hearts, but never the other way around. No Seraphite has ever left to become a wolf, and eventually, through hearts and opened minds, the WLF will lose.

The words land hotter than that pan Isaac returned to the fire. When he reaches back to the stove to grab the pan again, he is met by a willing hand reaching out welcoming the torture–not in surrender, but in defiance. It is as if he is saying: there is no torture that can make us betray what we believe.

Isaac understands the quid-pro-quo is over and the Seraphites’ defiance is absolute. He lowers the pan, picks up his gun, and without a word, shoots the prisoner in the head. The entire scene lays bare how far Isaac has fallen—from the man who once stood against FEDRA’s cruelty toward “voters,” to someone who has become the very monster he once rebelled against.

Outside the room, two guards hear the execution. One of them flinches, visibly shaken, and as he turns to the other, we recognize him: the curious young recruit from the opening flashback. Now older—and fully indoctrinated into the WLF, he has no qualms about Isaac’s techniques in keeping their people safe. His innocence and Isaac’s humanity are both as dead as that naked Seraphite.

Love in the Time of Cordyceps

After the brutal slaying of the prisoner, we begin to understand what turned Isaac into a vicious and unrelenting killer. Later that night, Dina and Ellie stumble across a horrifying scene at the news station. Hanging from the rafters are dozens of WLF soldiers, gutted, their insides spilling to the floor in grotesque, dangling strands. Murder and retaliation have become the law of the land. As Ellie and Dina continue their revenge plot, they realize the WLF and Seraphites are locked in an escalating war—hit after bloody hit and they’ve landed in the middle of it.

The gruesome sight overwhelms Dina, who runs to a corner to vomit. Nearby, they spot a walkie-talkie on a dead WLF soldier, but before they can investigate further, the Wolves arrive—devastated and furious at the massacre of their comrades. Ellie and Dina flee the building, desperate to avoid getting caught in the retaliatory crossfire and it is one hide-and-seek, close call after another..

Eventually they manage to escape into a small underground tunnel, but as the WLF follow close behind, they all stumble into an even greater threat: a horde of infected. Chaos erupts, as Ellie and Dina sprint for safety in a heart-pounding sequence that takes them through a derailed train car, out a roof hatch, over a fence, and into a subway station. As they try to squeeze through a jammed turnstile, a snarling infected lunges at Dina.

Trapped on the other side, Ellie does the unthinkable—she shoves her arm into the infected mouth to buy Dina time to shoot the creature and scramble to safety.

They finally find shelter in an abandoned theater, but as Ellie starts planning their next move, Dina has just one question: “Why did you do that?” Sobbing, she is still holding a gun aimed at her friend, shaken, scared—and completely unaware of Ellie’s secret.

With tears in her eyes, Ellie pleads with her to listen, what just happened isn’t what she thinks. As raises her hands as a show of submission, Ellie admits her truth, “I would die for you. But that wasn’t me being reckless—I’m immune. I can’t get infected.”

Dina doesn’t believe her, and why would she? The only other person on the planet who knew she was immune was Joel, and he is dead. Dina–heartbroken and confused, doesn’t pull the trigger, but she doesn’t lower the gun either. She’s afraid, convinced her best friend might turn at any moment. Ellie, understanding the fear, offers up a way to prove it. She asks Dina to let her stay on the other side of the room. If she turns in a few hours, Dina can shoot her, but if she doesn’t, she will know what Ellie is saying is true.

The next morning, Ellie peels off the bandage to reveal an uninfected arm—proof of her immunity. It hits Dina hard, and in a rush of emotion, she blurts out her own secret: she’s pregnant, and all four pregnancy tests she’s been carrying confirm it.

The weight of these confessions—Ellie’s immunity and Dina’s pregnancy—draws them into each other’s arms. They make love on the theater floor, solidifying the next chapter of their relationship.

Later, during pillow talk, Dina admits she thought Ellie was dead after that bite—and with her death, the future she envisioned for herself and the baby died too. But now, she sees the three of them—her, Ellie, and Jesse (the baby’s father)—as a little family. Ellie smiles at that, seeming genuinely hopeful about the idea of becoming a “dad.”

When Dina notices the scar on Ellie’s arm, she asks if it was also a bite, and Ellie admits it was. She burned the wound herself rather than risk being executed or exiled by people who wouldn’t understand her immunity.

Their tender moment is suddenly interrupted by the crackle of the stolen walkie-talkie. Amid static and distant explosions, a name cuts through: Nora. She’s a member of Abby’s crew, one of the people responsible for Joel’s death—and for holding Dina hostage.

The girls scramble to the roof of the theater to get a better look, and instantly spot the smoke from the explosions billowing in the distance. This marks the likely location of Nora and the next stop on their revenge tour of Seattle. Ellie, now deeply concerned for Dina’s health and the baby, begs her to stay behind, but her bestie turned girlfriend refuses. From now on, they do everything together.

With the WLF distracted by their war with the Seraphites, Ellie and Dina have one critical advantage: the element of surprise. And that, plus protecting their future, might just be the most powerful weapon they have.