The Last of Us Season 2 is quickly approaching, and the cast has been reveling in dropping small hints for fans ahead of the April 13 release date. The new season of the video game adaptation will not only continue Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal’s magnetic story, but also introduce several new characters that appear in the second game as well. Alien: Romulus and Superman actress Isabela Merced landed the role of Dina, Ellie’s new love interest in Joel and Ellie’s new home, Jackson. While Dina already won the hearts of players as the steadfast companion to Ellie, Merced recently let fans know that they would get a more personal view of Dina in season 2 of the show.
The actress, who plays Hawkgirl in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman, is building an exciting career for herself, and her portrayal of Dina is said to give fans a new look into the character’s backstory. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Merced discusses a particular scene where Dina explores an abandoned synagogue with Ellie, leading Dina to open up and dive deeper into her Jewish heritage and specific backstory:

“Dina in the game doesn’t really have a lot of backstory …. It’s devastating and it’s also inspiring, like, ‘My people survived, so I can survive this.’ It’s really beautiful. We get to expand upon her story a little bit more in this season.”

Dina’s Jewish heritage and new backstory could be a poignant way for show creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin to comment on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Even though the story takes place in a world where the war we see now would never occur, Merced’s comment on survival already sounds like her expanded characterization will have some relevance to the suffering and struggle for survival that is happening in our world today. Just another way for The Last of Us to wreck us emotionally and make us contemplate our decisions.

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Season 2 Will Deviate From the Games Even More

HBO

More information into the mind of Dina might not have been on fans’ radars when theorizing about what awaits in season 2 of the HBO drama, but the differences around Kaitlyn Dever’s character Abby were on everyone’s minds since the show announced it would adapt the second game. In that game, you see, players assume the role of this new character, Abby, which — in Druckmann’s words — forces the player to sympathize and become emotionally connected with her as they fight to survive.
The Booksmart actress will also be premiering a new view of the character, different from what players experienced in the game. Dever’s character, unfortunately, already comes with its share of sexist haters due to her muscular physique in the game. But Druckmann is still set on translating the unexpected choices of the second game’s masterful storytelling into the show. While viewers can’t be put in the literal shoes of Abby, Druckmann and Mazin had to figure out a different way to achieve the audience’s sympathy, which could end up being the biggest change to the story. We’ll have to wait for the show to find out.
Source:
Entertainment Weekly

Custom Image By Yailin Chacon

Custom Image By Yailin Chacon

The Last Of Us

Release Date

January 15, 2023

Network

HBO

Directors

Craig Mazin, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb, Ali Abbasi, Mark Mylod, Stephen Williams, Jasmila Žbanić, Liza Johnson, Nina Lopez-Corrado