I can't believe The Last of Us Episode 3 dropped a big clue about Dina and we missed it

While I'm still reeling in the aftermath of Joel's death on The Last of Us Season 2, the recently released third episode dropped a surprising clue about Dina that was relatively overlooked initially. The recently released third episode of The Last of Us Season 2 provided a lot of breathing space to ensure that the audience is fully able to take in Joel's death on the show as a settled fact, thus focusing on Bella's time grieving the loss of her protective father figure.

During the course of the episode, it was revealed to Bella that Abby and the others among the group that killed Joel are currently living in Seattle, and that's where Bella sets out to go along with Dina. Amidst all this, the HBO show subtly established the fact of Dina's pregnancy.

Here's everything you need to know.

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What did The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 3 hint about Dina?

Bella's life was almost devoid of purpose in the wake of Joel's violent death. When the news of Abby and the rest of the WLF group currently being in Seattle found its way to Bella, she almost instantly decided to undertake a journey to the city and hunt them down. Vengeance drives Bella and gives her an altogether new purpose to live for. Bella enlists the help of Dina, and together the two decide to leave on their trip, first stopping to pay their respects at Joel's grave.

During the course of their journey, Dina and Ellie come across a few corpses, including that of a young girl, and it becomes clear that they are the seraphites who were presented earlier on in the episode. While Ellie herself is horrified at the scene of the corpses, Dina ends up vomiting. This is where the show subtly dropped the hint that Dina might be pregnant after all. This is further attested by Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, where Ellie realizes by the end of the game that Dina is pregnant and that Jesse is the father.

The subtle positioning of the hint proves the greatness of showrunner Craig Mazin's sophisticated storytelling. If I were not familiar with the game franchise, I would have considered that Dina's vomiting was a response to witnessing the gruesome dead bodies.

However, when I come to think of it, it seems unlikely that someone like Dina, who is battle-hardened and has been living through the Cordyceps infection for a long time, would resort to vomiting at the sight of a few dead bodies. It now remains to be seen whether Dina's pregnancy will come to assume a greater significance in The Last of Us Season 2 and the impact it would have on Dina's relationship with Ellie.

Isabela Merced, the actress who plays Dina on the HBO show, recently opened up to Cosmopolitan regarding this:

"I think there is a darker side Dina. That humor is sort of masking a darker side of her that eventually will be revealed and shared in moments of vulnerability with Ellie. But, you know, you have to build that relationship. Yes, they’re besties, but it is also the first time the audience is seeing it, so you have to be careful. A lot of who Dina is relies on how Ellie is and how they are together. There’s a Dina, there’s an Ellie, and there’s Dellie."

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What happened on the latest episode of The Last of Us Season 2?

The latest episode of The Last of Us season two opened with Tommy paying his last respects to Joel, and we also found Bella waking up screaming at the hospital where she is being treated for her injuries. We are then taken about three months into the future when it's spring all around and the Jackson community has recovered from the previous attack of the infected, rebuilding their settlements.

Bella is eventually released from the hospital once she starts responding favorably to the treatment, but not before she's subjected to a psychological exam. Bella aces the exam on account of knowing how to answer the questions put forth to her, especially since she's grown up in FEDRA school all her life. She then proceeds to attend the town council meeting held among the members of the Jackson community, wherein she pushes the agenda of exacting vengeance from the killers of Joel. She further argues that it will bring them closer together as a community.

By the end of the episode, Ellie and Dina set forth on their mission to find Abby and her crew, coming across the corpses of the Seraphites in the process.

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Isabel Merced speaks about The Last of Us and her character

The Dina actress recently shared her insights about her character and her experience of working on the HBO show. When asked about her approach to portraying her character, Merced mentioned

"I did my best, and if the fans hate it, regardless, I think I showed up to do the work and my goal is to be truthful under imaginary circumstances. I had a strong backbone of writing to depend on and amazing castmates like Izzy and Bella Ramsey. At the same time, it's such a subjective thing what we do. I am open to any opinion, and I think that's the beauty of it. I do have some confidence that people will resonate and to prepare, I went up to co-creator Craig Mazin and I was like, What should I do? He was like, You should be strong. So then I pursued strength."

The Last of Us star further added:

"I think it's important to take a stoic approach when it comes to these things. You control what you can control, and then everything else is out of your hands. That's kind of my approach to it. I think this was actually less challenging than Dora (in Dora and the Lost City of Gold) with respect to the IP. I feel like Dora was probably one of the most like challenging, because I wanted to really nail it. Like, that's my girl!"

The Last of Us Season 2 airs new episodes exclusively on HBO.