The authors and actors of The Last of Us told us more about the creation of the love story between Ellie and Dina, as well as the psychology of the characters

The second season of HBO's hit series The Last of Us finally launched on 13 April, attracting more than 5 million viewers on the first night alone and introducing new characters. Showrunner Craig Mazin promised that the second season would be bigger in every sense, but he also wanted to keep the intimate and quiet moments. One of these moments was the tender first touch of Ellie and Dina's lips during the New Year's dance.

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In the video about the episode, The Last of Us creator and co-director Neil Druckmann talked about his vision of Dina and how Ellie tries to cope with the awkwardness of developing romantic feelings.

"Dina has become this interesting person that Ellie falls in love with, and throughout the episode we see that she's not only a friend, someone she respects and admires, but also someone she likes," Druckmann explained, "She doesn't quite know how to handle it because she's Ellie, she's awkward, and she's a teenager."

And Mazin said that there are things from the game that he knows he just wants to carry over one-to-one into the series because he loves them, and because he also thinks they'll translate perfectly. "There's one shot in particular, inside the church, where we see Ellie in the back and these beautiful lights and people dancing. It's very close to what we have in the game," said Mazin.

It's five years after the events of the first season, and Ellie is going through her teenage years, trying to find herself without relying on Joel for everything. Eventually she finds solace in Dina (Isabela Merced), and they develop a strong bond that grows into something more, but not without difficulties - including a love triangle with Dina's ex-boyfriend, Jesse (Young Mazino).

"Ellie thinks Dina is straight and in a relationship with Jesse," Ramsay added. "She's so afraid of her feelings for Dina and the destruction of a friendship that means a lot to her. There's definitely an element of self-protection - she needed to know how Dina felt before she made any move. She's still confused, even when Dina starts to make moves towards Ellie in that dance and leans in to kiss her. I think Ellie is still thinking: "Is this really happening?".

As a reminder, the new trailer for The Last of Us season two reveals the upcoming trials and shows a lot of action and tension.

Source: HBO