Below are mild spoilers for “The Last of Us Part II.”
As fans of the Naughty Dog game series already know, a young woman named Dina will have a crucial role to play in the show’s second season. After years of growing up together at the Jackson Commune, sparks will fly between Ellie and Dina, who kickstart a romance just before tragedy strikes their lives. Propelled by a quest for vengeance, the two then set out on a journey across the country: and thus, we have a new traveling duo.
Though Dina isn’t technically introduced until the sequel, the series has laid the foundation for that to change. Unlike in the game, by the time Ellie and Joel arrive in Jackson, the community is already well-established — which means that Dina, among others, is already present. So who’s to say the staring girl isn’t her? There’s just that one brief scene with nothing to truly confirm Dina’s identity: but her clothes, long dark hair, and interest in Ellie were more than enough to catch fans’ attention. And the fact that the camera gives her any time at all speaks volumes. So almost immediately after the episode aired on HBO, “Was the Dina” started trending on Twitter.
Is all of this just wishful thinking? Maybe. When asked, co-showrunner Craig Mazin refused to confirm that the staring girl is Dina on the “Last of Us” companion podcast, but his teasing response did add fuel to the fire. “It’s ambiguous,” Mazin told host Troy Baker. “Somebody’s staring at Ellie. I wonder who that could be, theoretically or not. We’ll find out, maybe one day.”