Episode 4 of The Last of Us Season II, aptly named “Day One” for its game-centric title card comparison from the game, “Seattle, Day One”, which was also used in the episode, continues the trek of Ellie and Dina towards Abby and the W.L.F. as they venture into an unfamiliar Seattle. It also introduces us to a new central character in Isaac, a classic infected attack, and beautifully recreates a fan-favorite scene from the game. Multiple heavily weighted plot points occur in the episode’s brief 45-minute runtime, making for a quick introduction to a new city, new faction leadership, and a new relationship through two huge reveals.
The first major bit of new plot that we get is in the episode’s open. We get to see Isaac for the first time in a flashback, a time when he had a leadership role with FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency). The scene highlights Isaac’s shift in proprietary alignment in brutal fashion. He knows that FEDRA has taken on an authoritarian presence, full of “a bunch of mindless assholes”, and decides to bomb them out of their squad vehicle, sans one new recruit, as they approach a group of unfamiliar citizens. This sets up Isaac as a figure that is decisively driven by purpose through his leadership and presents the origin story of the W.L.F. in a way that we didn’t get to see in the game.
After quickly getting Isaac onto our palates, we meet up with Ellie and Dina as they venture into uncharted territory in Seattle. All is quiet as they try to assess the situation while they venture through shops looking for supplies, moving towards a building with WLF plastered across its satellite array. Their looting eventually leads them to, ahhhh…the record store.
In a completely optional but beloved scene from the game, Ellie plays A-ha’s “Take On Me” on guitar while Dina smittenly sits and listens. This scene carries a lot of weight for multiple reasons, and the showrunners executed it with all of the care that it deserves, leaving it virtually untouched in adaptation. The scene reveals that even though we didn’t get to see it, Joel DID teach Ellie how to play guitar, a throwback to Season 1 when Joel mentions that he’d like to teach her. This is a touching tribute and reminder of their relationship, one that we miss. The other major reveal here is that this is where Dina realizes that she loves Ellie. Both Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced absolutely slay the scene, with Bella doing the full performance of the song and Isabela emotionally indulging in it. In a bleak time and in an unfamiliar place and situation, both the game and the show always find a way to present the real human moments, and this human moment sets a new path for both Ellie and Dina. Chef’s kiss.
The show circles back to check in with Isaac in the present day, where he’s seemingly leading a new era of what will become the W.L.F. In a haunting interrogation scene with a captured seraphite, we begin to see the motivations trickle out of Isaac through Jeffrey Wright’s performance. Although we don’t know much about his character yet, Isaac is clearly the determined leader of a group whose true intentions aren’t yet known. The casting of Wright seems spot-on thus far, with his grit-laden intelligence showing through as a man with something to prove not only to others, but also to himself.
As Ellie and Dina continue to explore for traces of the W.L.F., they come upon the TV station. An incredible open set is on display here, matching up with the game with the same amount of scale and chills. Finding murdered W.L.F. hanging from the ceiling brings back the same “What the hell?” reaction as when we played the game. Ellie realizes that the group that they saw in the forest were the ones who were most likely responsible, and we have a new layer of violence and conflict. This also sets up an intense escape scene when members of the W.L.F. show up. Both Ellie and Dina commit their first acts of violence against the group, killing two, and the action meat of the episode begins.
Escaping into the subway tunnels, we get to immediately reminisce about red-flare light and infected. One of the more memorable sections of gameplay, the show recreates the anxiety of an infected attack paired with being hunted by the W.L.F. As the two clash, Ellie and Dina are forced into the claustrophobia of the train cars as the infected bear down from the windows and doors. It’s an intense sequence and an impressive mix of practical and visual effects. We get some close calls and some slaying of infected before Ellie and Dina escape towards the exit for the episode’s next big reveal.
As Ellie and Dina hit their last roadblock of escape in the form of an exit turnstile, with Ellie just making it through, Dina gets caught in the gate with an infected bearing down on her. Just as the infected goes in for a bite, Ellie throws her arm in front of the monster in order to save Dina. The infected bites Ellie instead, and Ellie’s secret is out. This is played brilliantly by Isabela Merced afterwards, allowing the viewers to sit in her panic of not knowing that Ellie is immune and that she needs to kill her before she turns. We spend a good amount of time in Dina’s emotions as Ellie has to convince her that she is immune. This is obviously a different take than what we got in the game, since the game used airborne spores to spread and Ellie removes her protective gas mask. The approach hits just as hard in the show, if not harder, in the way that they chose to present the revealing of Ellie’s secret and how she saved Dina’s life.
The final reveal comes in the aftermath of everything that’s happened. Holed up in a very familiar theater, the two spend the night of uncertainty with Dina holding a gun on Ellie in case she turns. When Ellie is woken up, the two are quick to continue to assess their situation. This is where the episode moves extremely quickly through important character progression. In an earnest moment of honesty and vulnerability, Dina emotionally confesses to Ellie that she’s pregnant, and the couple immediately engage in their first intimate encounter. This moment mirrors the characters and the viewer together in a moment with not enough time to process. A bold move that plays out very well, amping up the passion of the moment. The pacing here actually seemed fine, with an exchange of huge secrets and deeper understanding, which is what love is. What follows seemed a bit rushed.
When the two wake up in the morning, they are immediately sewn together as a couple. And although this does happen, and “new love” can be the most exciting time of any relationship, it comes off as really sudden in the show’s narrative. What we don’t see from the past likely plays a factor here. We know that Ellie and Dina are best friends, and we know that recently there has been a little more going on as far as them innocently crushing on each other. But going from one extreme form of relationship to the other so quickly is a huge leap for two people to make, and “I’m gonna be a dad”, although I got a good audible chuckle out of it, seemed a bit rushed.
The episode closes with a call coming in on the walkie that Dina stole from a W.L.F. and the two rush to the roof to devise a plan. Ellie suggests that Dina stay behind since she’s carrying a baby, but in a moment of solidarity and commitment, Dina grabs Ellie’s hand and refuses, simply saying, “Together”.
As we prepare for episode 5, we can’t help but wonder, where’s Abby? Where’s Tommy? And where is Ellie’s mean streak for revenge?
The Birdict:
Episode 4, “Day One,” introduces a new central character, beautifully recreates a beloved scene, and dishes out two huge reveals, all within its short 45-minute runtime. Jeffrey Wright is fantastic as Isaac, piquing curiosity around his character, the haunting recreations of the TV station and the subway land and are extremely satisfying, and Isabela Merced has her best episode of the season. However, some pacing issues in relationship and character development leave us grasping to keep up.
The Barn 