Tonight’s episode of The Last of Us was wild from the jump.
From the introduction of new characters (hi, Jeffrey Wright) to a pregnancy reveal to a hookup (finally) and then there was … Josh Peck, there’s a lot to unpack. And yes, the HBO drama still found a way to make Us cry about Joel Miller’s (Pedro Pascal) death.
Spoilers for The Last of Us below.
Peck, appearing as a FEDRA agent, gets the honor of opening The Last of Us season 2, episode 4 on Sunday, May 4. The scene is a flashback, taking place at the Seattle Quarantine Zone in 2018.
Peck’s character is telling a story to their fellow FEDRA officers when their rather terrifying sergeant (Wright) speaks up from the corner of the truck they’re all stuffed in the back of. The vehicle pulls over when Washington Liberation Front (WLF) members emerge onto the streets. The sergeant — who is revealed to be Isaac Dixon, current leader of the WLF — gets out of the truck and kills all the FEDRA officers, showing his allegiance to the rebellious militia group.
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In present day, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) are still on their revenge road trip in Seattle. The two come across some seriously outdated items in a pharmacy before continuing their hunt for Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and her crew.
While discovering Seattle, Ellie and Dina come across Pride flags for the first time, wondering if the people in the city “are all optimists.” Eventually, the duo come across a music store where Ellie finds a guitar and starts to play “Take on Me” by A-ha.
“All those lessons from Joel,” Ellie says to Dina after finishing the song. After Ellie puts down the guitar, the camera focuses on the instrument in an apparent memorial to the late character. (It still hurts, OK.)
Elsewhere in Seattle, Isaac is torturing a captured member of the Seraphites — remember the religious group that was murdered last week? That’s their name! — as part of their ongoing turf war. To quote Dina, “What the f*** is wrong with Seattle?”
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But of course, Ellie and Dina find themselves in the middle of said turf war while looking for Abby. The duo finds dead WLF members (and steals their radio) in an abandoned building, who were murdered at the hands of the Seraphites. Alive members of the WLF also discover the bodies, thinking that Ellie and Dina are responsible. After a whole lot of fighting, a pack of Infected gets woken up and starts doing that thing where they try to eat people.
Ellie gets bitten again (her bite count is up to four across both seasons) to save Dina before they escape into an abandoned hotel. Dina, horrified by Ellie’s actions, pulls a gun on her best friend. Ellie is forced to explain that she’s immune.
“I promise — a lot of times I wish this wasn’t true — I’m gonna wake up exactly as I am right now. Me,” Ellie says. After a whole lot of tears and a night of little to no sleep, Dina finally believes her friend’s story. Instead of reacting to the bite and immunity reveal, Dina shares a secret of her own.
“Ellie, I’m pregnant,” Dina says before kissing Ellie. The now-couple enjoys an intimate moment before discussing the severity of the situation at hand. Dina does eventually confirm — after showing her multiple positive pregnancy tests taken from the pharmacy earlier in the episode — that she is pregnant with Jesse’s (Young Mazino) baby.
“So, we’re all having a baby. Holy s***,” Ellie says. “I’m gonna be a dad.”
Romantic moment aside, they start listening to the stolen WLF radio and hear mention of Nora (Tati Gabrielle), meaning she knows where Abby is. The episode ends with Ellie and Dina agreeing to complete their mission “together.”
New episodes of The Last of Us premiere on HBO Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
