Any good feeling in The Last of Us is fleeting. After last weekâs episode cemented the love story between Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced), this weekâs installment, âWolves,â puts the pair right back into the thick of it. While the two got a taste of the ongoing war between the Seraphites and the Washington Liberation Front, aka the Wolves, Dina and Ellie get more than theyâve bargained for this time, running across both groups in a way that proves just how dangerous Seattle is, intensifying the already high stakes. Doubly so if, like Dina, youâre newly pregnant.
âWolves,â helmed by veteran television director Stephen Williams and once again written by series co-creator Craig Mazin, allows Ellie to offer Dina one last option to pull off the road before the going gets tougher. Instead of shying away, Dina doubles down, telling Ellie (and the audience) a harrowing story about her past. This powerful revelation not only proves why Dinaâs willing to go to the edge of the earth for Ellie but also underscores the strength of their bond, giving critical insight into the whys and wherefores of Dinaâs personality.
Isabela Mercedâs performance as Dina is one of season twoâs biggest and most welcome surprises, as the young actor is putting on a superlative showcase for her talents ahead of a big summer with turns in both Superman and a recently revealed appearance in the sophomore season of Peacemaker. In the wake of last weekâs barn-burner and this weekâs tension-filled episode, GQ sat down with Merced for a conversation around how Dina uses humor to deflect, motherly inspiration for her character, the importance of a queer love story, insight into that Peacemaker appearance, and much more.
GQ: How were you, Bella, and Craig working to ensure the love story between Ellie and Dina unfolded at a pace that felt even?
Isabela Merced: We definitely had a restructuring of the story from the game, and I really appreciated that. I love when adaptations change a few things, hence the name, but I also appreciated it as an actor. It gave me much more to chew on. The scene where I’m holding Ellie at gunpoint is so conflicting, so charged, and it comes to a really great climaxâno pun intendedâand ends with the really sweet scene between the two of us and Dina explaining where she’s at mentally, with the pregnancy, what’s going on there. It allows Ellie’s growth as a character to also shift simultaneously. Next episode, too, episode fiveâ¦you then start to understand why Dina, being pregnant, is still gung-ho about the whole revenge plot against Abby.
You mentioned elsewhere that when you and Bella where doing the sequence in the theater at the end of the episode that they [Ramsey, who uses they/them pronouns] helped navigate through those moments. Can you share some insight into just how they helped you?
Well, Bella’s really levelheaded, calm, and tends to be a bit more introverted, whereas I tend to be very extroverted. Having their energy balanced me out. We had each other’s back. I was always encouraging Bella to be more outspoken about what they need, when they need it, and to really play a bit more in the scenes. Even though Bella’s really good at being fun, I think when it comes to romance, it’s a different beast. But we felt really, really comfortable with each other. We had an allyship. Before we even started shooting, I called up Bella asking for advice as to what the set energy is like, how prepared should I be, and what do they prefer when it comes to any approach to the scenes pre- and post-production. Bella gave me a rundown, but overall, wasn’t making it sound like it was going to be that crazy. I just found that hard to believe, but they ended up being very correct about that. It was a very surprisingly relaxed and fun set to be on, despite the material that we’re working with.