Ellie and Dina have officially reached Seattle. However, almost insurmountable challenges in Ellie’s quest for vengeance present themselves, as the WLFs have taken over the city. Chief among them, a new threat (in the form of a familiar fan-favorite actor) emerges. All this, plus a very emotional and soulful callback, and more in this week’s The Last of Us.

The episode begins with a flashback to Seattle in 2018, 15 years after the Cordyceps pandemic began. We meet a bunch of douchey Fedra soldiers in a van (Hi Josh Peck!). They’re laughing about a horrible story of police brutality towards a “voter,” before one of the newer soldiers asks why they call them “voters.” Hidden in the corner, the one completely stone-faced soldier, the squad’s sergeant, reveals that the nickname “voter” is meant to be a mocking irony of citizens in a QZ because Fedra took away their rights to vote. This is Isaac Dixon, played with so much gravitas by Jeffrey Wright, reprising his role from The Last of Us Part II game, as he shuts down the stupidity of these Fedra soldiers.

The soldiers run into a blockade of school busses blocking their way. They know the angry citizens of Seattle have set that up for them, and are around waiting to confront them. While the Fedra soldiers get ready to come out guns blazing, Isaac tells them to stand down, so he can try and exit the van to deescalate the situation. The arrogant soldiers scoff at this but obey their commanding officer. Isaac gets out of the van and is immediately confronted by a mob of citizens, and their leader (played by phenomenal character actor Alanna Ubach) Hanrahan. Isaac calls for the rookie who asked about the “voter” question to escort him.

Isaac and Hanrahan chat, and confirm one another’s identities, confirming they’ve been communicating for some time. In an exchange of glances, we know they made an agreement, as Isaac coldly walks over to his van, pulls out two grenades, throws them into the back where the rest of his platoon is, and shuts the door, locking it to the sounds of their screams, as the explosions go off. The driver is able to escape but not before Isaac riddles him with bullets. He turns to the rookie and tells him to make his choice.

This is such a beautiful way to introduce us to the character of Isaac. Very few bits of dialogue. All showing. We see how cold and calculating he is. However, we immediately get the sense of frustration and, in many ways, a strong sense of right vs. wrong, as he sees it. It’s a character that has no reservation to pull the trigger if he has to. Almost like Joel in that sense.

Coming back to the present, Ellie and Dina are raiding a pharmacy for supplies. Dina catches wind of something and tells Ellie she needs to urinate. She returns to Ellie with a fair amount of concern on her face. Isabella Merced once more showcasing some wonderful subtlety in her facial expressions. The Seattle setting is filled with LGBTQ Pride flags and murals, showcasing the former, welcoming culture of the area (if only things were like this today). This is juxtaposed by tanks and corpses lying around everywhere. The corpses are the bodies of Fedra soldiers.

They see a building on a hill from afar with WLF spray painted on a giant satellite dish at the top. Clearly advertising the whereabouts of their location. Ellie, naturally and impulsively wants to go, but Dina reminds her that this is likely a bad idea, given they have a bigger vantage point and can see folks coming, and the non-discrete signs indicate they are prepared and want people to see where they’re based. Once again this really emphasizes how intelligently strategic Dina is, and how her dynamic with Ellie really works, as she’s able to shut down Ellie’s more volatile nature with rational thinking.

They decide to hole up in a music store for a while, which, if you’re a fan of the game, is a nice Easter egg. In the game you can go around testing different instruments and even playing guitar within the music shop, as you explore it. Here the two characters do the same. However, more than that, we get one of my personal favorite moments from the game. They seamlessly recreate the “Take On Me” serenade between Ellie and Dina. However, here it feels much more emotional, because we’re coming off the heels of Joel’s death. We know for a fact he taught her how to play the guitar. And though this is a sweet moment between the two, there’s a tinge of sadness in every note Ellie plays as she remembers Joel, which Bella Ramsey portrays beautifully. It’s a rare moment of tranquility preceding some of the dark times to come. The tears coming from Merced’s Dina as well showcase the beauty and the tragedy of these characters, their relationships with Joel, and where they are today.

It was a smart decision to showcase this scene alongside the next one, which is one of evil, darkness, and horrific torture. Isaac is interrogating and torturing a naked Scar/Seraphite captive with red hot cookware, and it’s brutal and sick. Wright plays the scene well, going from unassuming and calm to menacing in a short amount of time. It emphasizes the darkness that comes when vengeance consumes a human soul. And ultimately, that’s what the game, and this season is about. We see the rookie Isaac recruited is now a loyal follower of his former sergeant, as another WLF is disgusted by the horrific acts of the human violations being committed. Isaac, knowing his captive won’t divulge anything, shoots and kills him.

Dina and Ellie make it to the WLF HQ building they saw. They scout the place, and find several WLF corpses perforated by arrows and hung to death and disemboweled. Dina, once more, throws up, as she did in the previous episode. The point of this is to identify the way that vengeance and hatred has absolutely consumed both the WLFs and the Seraphites. There are no good guys in this city.

WLFs end up invading the building, forcing Dina and Ellie to hide. At this point in the game, one would have to strategize and stealthily move around to try and avoid the soldiers, and the scene really captures that same anxiety brilliantly. Ellie and Dina are discovered, and attacked but manage to escape into the rain in a thrilling sequence that leads into another even more thrilling sequence.

The chase leads them to an abandoned subway station. The WLFs give chase. However, in a highly suspenseful turn of events, Dina and Ellie discover they’re not alone. Dina believes she identifies three Clickers. However, she’s wrong, as the pursuing WLFs soon discover, there are dozens; flooding out from the tunnels all over. The WLFs are screwed but Ellie and Dina manage to make it into an abandoned train car, and manage to crawl their way through. Just in case you needed a reminder to crap your pants while watching this show, this episode offers one up with a brilliantly terrifying and action-packed moment.

Narratively, however, the moment is even more important, because it’s the inciting incident that allows Ellie to share something so intimate with Dina that she’s been told to keep secret forever. As Dina is caught and about to get killed by an infected Runner, Ellie shields her with her arm, allowing the monster to sink its teeth into her, much to Dina’s horror. They’re able to get away and run to an abandoned theater, that those who have played the game, would come to know well.

It’s sweet in the sense that it shows how much Ellie cares for Dina in shielding her. However, it creates a tense moment. Dina has no idea that Ellie is immune, and is horrified and completely ready to put Ellie down in the event she transforms. Luckily Ellie, of course, doesn’t. And Dina now knows the truth, becoming one of the only people in Ellie’s life to have found out.

In return, Dina shares something intimate with Ellie: she’s pregnant (with Jesse’s kid), hence the throwing up and urination. The juxtaposition between their incredibly miraculous survival, and the revelation of Ellie’s secret to Dina is enough for the two to finally make it official, and Dina kisses Ellie, as they make love. The next morning they wake up, and Dina reveals she fantasizes about a life with Ellie and her baby. She also reveals how she discovered she was Bi, but how her mother dismissed it, in a sobering moment that really pushes their relationship forward, but executed int he most realistic way possible. A well-shot and well-acted moment for sure that I think will resonate with many from the LGBTQ community, considering they’ve likely had similar conversations with their families.

Their moment of bliss is, once more, interrupted by a moment of violence, as they witness several explosions going off. They believe Abby is in a white building not far past the explosions. And though Ellie offers her an out, Dina decides to continue on with her so they can make their way to the building together as the episode cuts to black. Once again proving that this is a somber show and a brutal one, but one with a lot of heart filled with characters we want to root for.

Overall Score for 2×04: A-

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We have decided to move forward with recaps for The Last of Us Season 2 on a week by week basis. Check out our recap of Episode 2×03 right here.

As someone who is passionate about the game and the series, I feel it’s our responsibility to do what we can to combat the often cacophonous sounds of online trolls review bombing a show that features beautiful themes and incredible representation for POC leads like Merced, Luna, Pedro Pascal, and more, as well as brilliant LGBTQ+ representation. It simply does not make sense for petty individuals to get away with trying to destroy a work of art just because they don’t love what it represents and the messages it’s trying to convey. So if you’re not a fan of what we’re trying to do here, you can simply ignore this. However, for those of you who feel as strongly as we do, about continuing to promote diversity and amazing story telling within the nerd community, I encourage you to buckle up. Because we’re going to go through this harrowing journey together over the next few weeks.

Stay tuned fans!