The Last of Us Season 2 Dina Changes Should Have Been in the Game, and It’s Criminal They Weren’t

The Last of Us Season 2 is a shining example of how a live-action adaptation can thrive without being a perfect replica of the source material. Naughty Dog did not hold back with the story of the controversial sequel and introduced a handful of original characters like Dina, who becomes Ellie’s love interest in her quest for revenge. Dina is a capable companion, but her live-action counterpart highlights that and then some.

Isabella Merced was a welcome addition to the cast, and the showrunners made some creative changes that would have made her video game counterpart a better character. Showrunner Craig Mazin is all for following the source material, but will squeeze in a few ideas to tell this story on television much better.

Dina Is a Much Better Character in The Last of Us Season 2

In The Last of Us Part 2, Dina accompanied Ellie to Seattle because she was in love with her and supported her quest for justice. Joel and Ellie became welcome additions to the Jackson community and developed a strong bond with Dina. Merced’s version shows that she is an avid learner and takes every opportunity to learn something new from older survivors, which leads her to bond with Joel through the years and even become patrol partners.

The showrunners made one creative change by including a siege sequence at Jackson and swapping Tommy with Dina at the lodge. Her relationship with Joel adds more weight to her decision to join Ellie’s quest rather than being there to support her. Tommy’s stance wouldn’t change regardless of whether he was there, since he would naturally go after his brother’s killers.

The showrunners gave Dina an important role as Ellie’s source of information about their targets, thanks to her observation skills. Merced’s Dina remembered their names and even drew down the WLF insignia from their gear. This version of Dina has more skin in the game, especially since she feels partly responsible for what happened to Joel, and will not stop until justice prevails.

Dina has a much more personal reason for accompanying Ellie on their trip to Seattle, and this is a welcome change from the source material. The Last of Us Season 2 may not be an accurate retelling of the video game, but these changes are necessary to tell a great story for this medium.

For more Thumb Wars coverage, check out how you can respec your party members in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, or how casual TV audiences reacted to the brutal death scene in The Last of Us Season 2.

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