‘The Last of Us’ Star Isabela Merced on Dina and Ellie Sex Scene

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from “Day One,” Season 2, Episode 4 of “The Last of Us,” now streaming on Max.

When Isabela Merced met with “The Last of Us” creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, she was familiar with the source material for the second season of the HBO drama, the video game “The Last of Us Part II” — but she had no idea what role they had in mind for her. “They just asked me general questions, trying to get my personality down,” she said in an interview earlier this week, during which she was fighting a cold, and began by apologizing in advance for any future coughing. Mazin and Druckmann immediately cast her as Dina — the Jackson-based best friend and love interest of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) — and Merced remembers thinking, “Oh my God, this is so much bigger than I thought!”

Dina is a major character in “Part II,” but since Merced received only one script at time for Season 2, it took her a while to realize Mazin and Druckmann had elevated her character to the series’ co-lead alongside Ramsey’s Bella. But their decision made sense to her. “Because Dina’s sort of a clean slate, and a blank page in a lot of ways,” Merced said, Mazin, Druckmann and “The Last of Us” writers were able to use the character to better facilitate the “transition from the game to the TV show.” And because Dina, as written for television, is a ray of light in Ellie’s sad, stressful life — which becomes exponentially sadder after Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) exacts revenge on Joel (Pedro Pascal), murdering him before Ellie’s eyes — only when she is with Dina does Ellie transform into the carefree character audiences knew in the show’s first season. “Like, OK, Ellie’s really fucked up and angry,” Merced said. “But whenever Dina’s around, it’s like she suddenly is able to access the joy that she once felt.”

In “Day One,” Season 2’s fourth episode, Ellie and Dina are cautiously navigating Seattle, where they’re on the hunt for Abby to take their own revenge. As the two of them cruise around on horseback through the city’s (historically queer) Capitol Hill neighborhood, they wonder about all the rainbow flags. “I don’t know — maybe they’re all optimists,” Ellie says.

The episode, written by Mazin, and directed by Kate Herron, is a colossus. Dina learns at last that Ellie is immune from cordyceps infection, after which they confess their feelings for each other, and have sex for the first time. Oh, and since Dina learns she’s pregnant early in the episode — her on again, off again boyfriend Jesse (Young Mazino) is the father — she tells Ellie about her plans for their future, as she’d envisioned them: plans she saw disappearing after Ellie is bitten by a clicker. “I thought you were gone, and then all of a sudden, this future I was imagining wasn’t going to happen — where we’re together and have a kid,” Dina says. “I don’t know if you even want that.” Ellie replies: “I want it with you.”

There’s no shortage of action in “Day One” either. Ellie is bitten at the end of an elaborate, stunts-filled sequence, as Ellie and Dina face both the Wolves and, after they descend into a subway tunnel, a horde of infected on the subway itself. They also witness the brutality of the Scars’ practices for the first time, when they come across the eerie, horrifying sight of a room filled with hanged dead bodies: Wolves that have been lynched and disemboweled.

What an unlikely episode to lead to such poignant professions of love, right? And yet, that’s “The Last of Us” for you. As the episode draws to a close, Ellie seems like her old self again, exuberantly celebrating: “So we’re all having a baby. Holy shit! I’m gonna be a dad.” But they know they’re in Seattle for a reason. The episode ends with Ellie and Dina, on the roof of the theater that’s become their refuge, looking toward where they think Abby must be. When Ellie tries to tell Dina she doesn’t need to go with her, that her pregnancy has changed things, Dina demurs. Dina reaches out her hand, says “together” — the final image is them holding hands, looking grimly into the distance.

Merced, who is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, began acting as a child, and has starred in movies such as 2019’s “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” and 2024’s “Alien: Romulus.” In a far-ranging interview, Merced discussed working with the show’s intimacy coordinator on Dina and Ellie’s first time having sex with each other, why the subway car sequence necessitated her developing a “secret sign language” with Ramsey — and what the show’s LGBTQ representation means for her as a queer actor.

When you got this role, did you understand how central Dina is to Season 2? It’s really the Ellie-Dina season. When did you figure that out?

I only got one episode at a time, so I was just learning as I went on. I think the writers wanted to change a little bit about this transition from the game to the TV show, and because Dina’s sort of a clean slate — and like a blank page in a lot of ways — they use Dina to bridge it. Also, Ellie’s really dark and really brooding in the second game, and I feel like they wanted to make sure to incorporate more of how Ellie was in the first season, and the first game. Like, OK, Ellie’s really fucked up and angry, but whenever Dina’s around, it’s like she suddenly is able to access the joy that she once felt.

I also think Dina’s helping Ellie grieve in a way — but also Ellie’s helping Dina grieve. I think Dina’s redirecting her grief and putting it on Ellie and being like, “Oh, I’ll help you.” Like that one friend who will help anyone but themselves is how I see Dina.

I didn’t expect it to be this big of a role, but I’m really glad. I also really love that they’re doing a slow burn with the romance as opposed to in the game, it was right away. I think they’re being really careful with how they’re presenting the Sapphic story, and the authenticity of it.

Totally. But it was clear to me from Dina’s and Ellie’s first scenes together in the Season 2 premiere that Dina is into Ellie — long before the New Year’s Eve kiss, even. The relationship just feels so lived in and real. How did you build that with Bella Ramsey?

Honestly, we didn’t really get a chance to build it. We were doing a lot of prep prior to the season and shooting it, and I was also filming “Superman” at the same time as the show. I was doing mostly physical training. Bella was doing physical training, stunts training, because Bella has that sequence with the Stalker in the first episode. So we really didn’t get much time to get there. I was just like, “OK, well, it is what it is.” I mean, I was nervous, I would say, more than anything. But day zero we went in, we shot that first scene where Dina comes to get Ellie for patrol and makes fun of her Converse. And Craig was super excited from that moment on. But I don’t think that was the day my anxiety was relieved. I think the day that my anxiety was relieved was during the camera test, and it just felt really right.

This story will run after Episode 4, but in Episode 3, clearly Dina wants something to happen in the tent. Is that how the two of you played it?

It was always them both dancing around their feelings, and I think that was what we wanted to be careful of. The director Peter Hoar was really careful about what emotion we showed and when — specifically, reserving the true emotions when we’re not looking at each other, and really putting on the mask when we are. That scene is really important, because it’s not only just adding to the tension that’s already there, but both of them probably feel guilty for feeling some sort of giddiness about their romance. And Dina feels guilty because she feels like she’s betraying Jesse; Ellie feels guilty because she feels like she’s betraying Joel.

There was a version where Ellie’s staring at Dina’s body, and it was sexual in a way? And you could see her wheels turning in her head. But I’m really glad they got rid of that, only because I think it’s just smarter when it comes to the overall telling of it. I think it’s a little less on the nose, and a little bit more nuanced — I really like that they’re spacing it out this way.

Ellie would truly have been killed minute one without Dina — like, thank God Dina goes with her. When they get to Seattle, they go into a music store, and Ellie sings “Take On Me,” which is a cutscene from the game. You told us at the junket that you loved that scene from the game, and were happy it was in the show. Can you talk about why?

I mean, I cried when I watched that scene, and I hadn’t known that I was playing Dina yet, so it was unbiased tears. Music has always been an access point to my emotions. It means so much to me for so many reasons.

I love that they incorporate that Ellie’s learned the guitar from Joel. It’s like her moment of happy grief, because there’s so many flavors to grief: There’s the sad kind, the kind that sneaks up on you, the surprise kind — and then the happy kind where you’re grieving the happy moments in a joyful way, and maybe you shed joyful tear. I think for many reasons, Dina is feeling emotional, because first of all, Ellie’s fucking beautiful and she’s adoring her in every way. But also I think she’s grieving Joel too in that moment. And maybe in my head I was like, “Has Dina ever heard this song before?” As far as she’s concerned, it’s the first time she’s heard this masterpiece, and it’s a private solo performance by the person she loves — about and for the person that the person she loves loves.

Was Bella Ramsey actually singing and playing?

Yeah, Bella Ramsey is a really talented musician, and also has their own songs that they’ve written throughout the years. And I had the pleasure of getting to hear that behind the scenes. We would sometimes bring a guitar, and play for each other.

The way Dina is looking at Ellie with such love, it feels so real. Can you talk about getting there?

I was excited to shoot it, and then I was also really emotional, because of the set design being so beautiful and it feeling a really truly sweet and tender moment in the show after so much darkness and loss. So I was very emotional that day. And also maybe it was my first day of my period — I don’t know, I think I remember it was. Whenever it’s the first day of my period, I’m just a well of emotions. It was really hard for me not to cry. And I’m always, less is more — so less dialogue is better, if you can say it with your eyes, say it with your eyes. And then less emotion on your face, or holding it back, is better. So I was struggling with that, actually, on the day, because I wanted to reserve everything a little bit more.

And at some point, even the director was like, “Hey, maybe try not to cry?” It was really, really hard for me. And so that was my struggle throughout the whole scene — just trying not to cry. I noticed when watching it recently that there was a switch from the loving look to a sadness in my eyes. I was trying to remember what I was thinking, and I think it was just like I wanted to incorporate that Dina isn’t fearless, really? She may seem like it. She may seem like she can handle a lot, and throughout the episode you learn that she can’t. But I wanted to give people a glimpse into that, because love is scary. So for her to feel these emotions, and then in real time be scared of them, was really important to me. Because I think that’s realistic.

In the opposite of that scene’s vibe, Dina and Ellie then come across disemboweled, lynched people who’ve been killed by the Scars. Did they have bodies there, or were they put in later?

That was actually fake bodies, but they looked really realistic and they were hung up on that wall. And it was absolutely terrifying and disgusting, and it really ruined my day to be there. Uncanny valley is a term for a reason: The brain can only take so much false information that’s appears to be real.

Yeah, exactly. I mean, was it as freaky to see that as it was when I saw it on screen?

Yeah, it was disturbing and yeah, the vibes were hostile for sure. It reminded me a lot of my experience with “Alien: Romulus,” where it was just one level of fear, then the next level, and then increasingly just building that just to eventually reach the full-fledged adrenaline rush that comes with survival. I’m glad I had that experience, because it definitely trained me for this.

With the scene in the subway tunnels, Dina and Ellie are actually saved from the Wolves by the infected horde — and Dina’s trying to count them, but she doesn’t have enough fingers. Where should I start with questions for you about the sequence? It was such a huge set piece.

It was massive. Oh my God. And it was definitely really challenging. I think we spent a week in there, I don’t even know. It felt like a blur. And whenever we could, we would just try to escape outside and get some sun. It was really, really dark.

And I just remember fun facts about that, I guess, would be that set dec is supposed to have some sort of soil and dirt as cooperated, but a lot of times they use the fertilizer, which has manure in it. But they didn’t have enough time to prepare, I guess, so they brought in the manure and it hadn’t had time to air out. So the majority of that experience, it smelled like shit. It was really disgusting. Also, Dina’s doing a lot of cardio, Ellie’s doing a lot of cardio running around. There are tons of infected, and it was actually just a crazy experience. So much happening.

Were those subway cars really rocking? Was it hard to keep your balance?

Yeah, they were actually rocking. I think they might’ve been on one of those mechanical stands, but also at the same time, they literally had the groups of people pushing on them. I could actively feel myself bouncing from one end of the car to the other, and then also having to shoot the guns in the right place — it was a really crazy sequence. It took a long time to do.

But because of that experience, Bella and I ended up creating a secret language — that was the sequence in which we created a secret sign language to just communicate with each other about what it is that we were comfortable with or uncomfortable with when it came to what they were asking of us. And then also if we needed to pee or if we needed to…

Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean, comfortable with physically?

Yeah, comfortable with physically. You don’t ever want to be that one person that goes, “Oh, I actually don’t want to do that” — because then as a young woman, you risk a reputation. So we would have to really be allies for each other, and we communicated first within the safety of us two, and then we would go, “Well, we’re going to both say that we don’t want to do it.”

In terms of stunts, or what kinds of —

Yeah.

So you could tap in a stunt double at a certain point if you wanted to?

Yeah, absolutely. They were always there, and most of the time HBO preferred that they did it. But Bella is someone very excited about the action, and maybe it’s because they’re younger than me, and I’ve been doing this for so long, I’m like, “Ah, I don’t get paid to do stuff, so I’m good! There’s somebody who has that job for a reason.”

Of course. Did you emerge unscathed? Were you OK?

Yeah, honestly, I was fine. I didn’t really feel unsafe ever. They were really on it. It’s the perks of being a part of such a big-budget production.

After Ellie is bitten, she says to Dina, “I would die for you. I would, but that’s not what happened” — since Dina doesn’t know that Ellie is immune. Can you talk about filming that scene?

Yeah, that was rough. That was pretty emotional. I think I just went to a really dark place to be able to feel that internal conflict, which I’ve never really felt that before. I think we spent maybe half the day doing that — it really wasn’t that long. And I really wanted the audience to believe that Dina might actually shoot her. So I had to feel that conflict or else — I mean, I just really like, if I don’t feel it, then no one’s going to feel it. That’s how my philosophy is.

Well, you did great. You have Ellie at gunpoint with tears running down your face — it was very effective, I thought. But was that what you mean about how it was hard holding those two things, like your love of Ellie and being like, “OK, yes, I would kill this person”?

Yeah, it was two extreme emotions fighting the other to win, and then me having to decide when I wanted to incorporate what and how. And going off of Bella’s performance, I think what Bella gave me was it felt really true and desperate, so I think that confuses Dina even more. And then also the line about, “I’m immune.” At first, Dina definitely does not believe Ellie, and is almost in a way, “If you’re lying, you’re a piece of shit. And if you’re telling the truth, you’re a piece of shit,” basically. She’s like, “How dare you?” In either circumstance, it’s a how dare you? situation. So I think there’s a lot of anger there too. It’s the anger, it’s the love, it’s the confusion. It’s the sadness.

And when Ellie doesn’t turn, Dina tells her she’s pregnant and kisses her, and then they have sex for the first time. Did you film that scene in different ways?

Yeah, I’m trying to remember what the chronology of it was. I think we definitely shot the buildup to the kiss and everything after the gunpoint scenario. We had a lot of time to shoot that, actually — more time than we did with the holding Ellie at gunpoint after the bite sequence. They really wanted to make sure the cinematography was on point, because you don’t see Dina for the first part of that because of the flashlight, which I think is really clever. And it gives me a chance to hype myself up, and really just feel anxious and get me to that place. And then the flashlight turns off, the torch is on. And that choreography was interesting, too, because it’s like, why does she turn off the flashlight and get the torch? How do I make that make sense? Because visually, it’s beautiful, but practicality-wise… But I do think it makes sense: I think Dina wants Ellie to see her fear and her face and whatnot. I’m really happy with how it went.

How did you navigate the sex scene? Did you work with the director Kate Herron on it, and was there an intimacy coordinator?

We worked a lot with an intimacy coordinator. Her name was Kathy [Kadler], and she was really great. She made us feel really comfortable, but also we had already worked together for more than half the season at that point. Ellie and I were really comfortable too. I think what we wanted to make sure was that more than anything there was some sort of consent in the scene, because they’re obviously both in very vulnerable positions. So we were very detailed about that scene. We all had ideas, right? Because we wanted it to be sexy. We wanted it to be emotional and charged, but also smart and show their relationship and how it’s going to change now that this barrier has been broken. Specifically, I wanted Dina to be the one to unzip her own pants, take Ellie’s hand and actively guide it down her body. Because even though Ellie is technically the one who’s on top, I think it’s showing they both have agency in this decision to take it to the next step. And I think it was beautiful. And I think, yeah, we made some really wise decisions there.

I do like that morning breath matters even in the apocalypse. Dina’s hair looks incredible the entire time, by the way. Are you watching it back, like, “Wow, this is hair that holds up!”?

Yeah, literally. Literally!

So they finally confess their feelings for one another. And when Ellie asks, “Why now?” Dina tells Ellie she wants to raise the baby with her, and that Ellie’s the one. How did the two of you bring such sweetness to that scene?

They finally have the truth out there. And when you do finally confess that — ego aside, problems aside, and then fear aside — it’s like your heart just opens up, and there’s this sweetness. Especially with women, once we’re comfortable with each other, it’s like we don’t have any fear with that expression of love. And I wanted to make sure, yes, the most tense part is over, but there’s still an intensity to their love for each other. I think everything felt so tender that day, even when we were shooting it, Bella and I were just so comfortable with each other. And also, we both have experience in queer relationships — you can just tell when a girl hasn’t kissed a girl before. You can just feel it. So both of us were already fine and comfortable, and so we could really explore. We added some kisses that weren’t in the original script. We added some moments that weren’t there just based off of our comfortability with each other.

The episode ends with Dina and Ellie on the roof looking toward where they think Abby is, holding hands — and Dina says, “Together.” I’ve seen the whole season, so I know how complicated things get, but it’s so powerful in that moment. As a queer person, what does it mean to you to have that kind of representation on such a massive show?

I mean, it’s awesome! No one actually thinks I’m queer, which is fine. I don’t really care. I’m an actor, so I can play anyone, right? But for it to mean so much to me personally is great and grand. And I just think about people from my hometown who maybe have never seen this side of me watching this and really getting to know me in a way, and understanding me and them really seeing it on a large scale. And then picturing someone maybe who was like me: Grew up Catholic, shoved down their emotions and maybe wants to be an actor — because you’d be surprised. There’s a lot of those specific archetypes in Ohio!

Specifically Ohio?

Yeah, or just middle America. That to me is really, really important, and awesome. And that’s what was so cool about the game and the source material: It was really ahead of its time. I mean, although we have to thank a lot of the lesbian love story to Halley Gross who was brought in for the second game and really was an advocate for Ellie and Dina’s relationship and really took lead when it came to the physicality and the romance of it — because I think Neil didn’t feel like he was the one that was capable of telling that story, or maybe even comfortable with it. So yeah, shout out Halley.

Things only get harder for Dina and Ellie in Season 3. How are you preparing for that?

It’s going to be weird acting like I don’t like Bella. It’s going to be hard, because I have such a sweet spot for them now. But I don’t know. I’ve tried to ask Craig, but I don’t think he even really knows yet fully how things are going to be. But I have my own input that I’ve already texted him about with suggestions as to how everyone reacts to the ending of Season 2, and how I think Dina — now that she’s changed so much from the game — how she would react to the events that occur. And I’m so excited to talk about Episode 7, because that to me is a huge shift for their relationship, and what happens when the truth is revealed.

Do you know when you’re starting production?

No, but I think it should be next year.

Can’t be soon enough!

This interview has been edited and (barely!) condensed.