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The Independent
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
The Last of Us fans praise ‘perfect' casting of season two character after dramatic first episode
The Last of Us season two has introduced a handful of new characters, but there's one in particular that has become an immediate fan-favorite. The second season of Max 's hit post-apocalyptic series, based on the popular video games, sees Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey reprise their lead roles as Joel and Ellie. *Warning — Spoilers for episode one of The Last of Us season two to follow* In the first episode, titled 'Future Days,' the story picks up five years after the events in the season one finale, with Joel and Ellie now settled in Wyoming. There, Joel and Ellie have become part of the community. We are also introduced to Dina (Isabela Merced), Ellie's friend and fellow member of the Wyoming settlement, with whom she tracks down infected. In one scene, the two attend a dance where Dina takes Ellie by the hand, leading her to the dance floor. As they start dancing and exchanging flirtatious glances, Ellie leans in and whispers, 'Every guy in this room is staring at you right now.' 'Maybe they're staring at you?' Dina responds. 'Maybe they're jealous of you.' 'No reason to be. I'm not a threat,' Ellie says. However, Dina tells her, 'Oh Ellie. I think they should be terrified of you,' before leaning in for a kiss. The scene, which closely mirrors that of the original video game, has resonated with fans who lauded Merced's 'perfect' performance. 'She really played her part so well! That scene was so perfect!' a one X user wrote, with a second noting: 'She was cast so well!!!' 'Isabela Merced, you understood the assignment. you understood it so well that i cried. you did good, kid. you are dina,' a third viewer praised. 'is it me or is this a copy by copy of a scene in the game!?!' another asked in disbelief. 'i agree!! she was outstanding as dina. i was amazed by her expressions, her aura, just the way she portrayed her during this first episode she is absolutely fantastic! she IS dina!!!!' another added. Merced broke out as a child actor as the lead of Nickelodeon's 100 Things to Do Before High School (2014–2016) and more recently starred in the critically panned Madame Web (2024). She also starred as the titular character in the live-action Dora the Explorer adaptation, Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019), and played main roles in the romantic drama Turtles All the Way Down (2024) and Alien: Romulus (2024). While Dina's introduction has left many fans overjoyed, the introduction of another major season two character, Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), has left several others in 'mourning.' In a four-star review of the new season, The Independent 's Nick Hilton wrote: ' The world has ended over and over, on screens big and small, but it has rarely been as plausible – or compelling – as the barbaric wasteland in the second season of Last of Us.'
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Last of Us' Bella Ramsey: Isabela Merced's Dina Brings Out Ellie's ‘More Wild and More Free' Side in Season 2 — Watch Video
The Last of Us' Ellie is many things, but 'wild' and 'free' aren't the first two that come to mind. Not that we're blaming her — you try being orphaned by a mushroom-zombie pandemic and fostered by a gruff, grieving hermit and see how guarded you become. More from TVLine House of the Dragon Starts Production on Season 3: Sons of Anarchy and Fantastic Beasts Alums Join Cast What to Watch in April: Your Guide to 100+ Premieres Across Broadcast, Cable and Streaming The White Lotus: Fight Night! Who Came Out Swinging? And Who Ran for the Hills? In Season 2 of HBO's hit drama, though, Bella Ramsey's character strikes up a friendship with a character named Dina (played by 100 Things to Do Before High School's Isabela Merced). And, just like that, the audience gets to see a side of Ellie heretofore rarely revealed. It's even more impressive when you find out that the two actors didn't know each other at all before their first shared day of work. 'Chemistry is so difficult to force,' Ramsey tells me in the video above. 'Like, Craig [Mazin, series co-creator/showrunner] and Neil [Druckmann, series co-creator/showrunner] know what they're doing. They cast me and Pedro [Pascal], we'd never met each other.' Similarly, when Ramsey and Merced met on set, 'It really worked out.' Mazin says he wasn't surprised that Merced and Ramsey worked so well on screen, but he was pleased nevertheless. 'We chose her for a reason' he says of Merced. 'We had all the faith in the world that she would be a great Dina. But what you don't know, necessarily, is whether there's going to be that extra, impossible-to-predict spark. And I'm telling you? Action, one take, cut — [I sat] back and went, 'We're gonna be fine.'' Per the official synopsis, Season 2 will begin with a time jump: 'Five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.' Merced is one of several Season 2 additions to the show's cast; others include Kaitlyn Dever (Dopesick), Jeffrey Wright, Young Mazino (BEEF), Danny Ramirez (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Ariela Barer (Runaways), Tati Gabrielle (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Spencer Lord (Heartland) and Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek). The Last of Us Season 2: Everything We Know View List The new influx of characters makes for a whole host of new interpersonal dynamics, Ellie and Dina's chief among them. 'In between scenes, Isabela is very much like Dina, more wild and more free than me, in many ways,' Ramsey says. 'But I think Isabela definitely brought out that in me.' Merced agrees that the connection between her and Ramsey 'was there from the beginning, and I think the important part was nurturing that and making sure, as people who are paired up in almost every scene together, that I really had Bella's back,' she says. 'I wanted Bella to know that, like, I'm an advocate and I'm an ally… It was a matter of being a supporter, and that's what I feel like I gave and got.' The Last of Us returns for Season 2 on Sunday, April 13, at 9/8c. Until then, press PLAY on the video above to watch Ramsey, Merced and Mazin talk about Ellie and Dina's relationship. Then, hit the comments with thoughts about the upcoming season. Best of TVLine Summer TV Calendar: Your Guide to 85+ Season and Series Premieres Classic Christmas Movies Guide: Where to Watch It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, Die Hard and Others What's New on Netflix in June
