As Ellie and Dina enter Seattle, they learn that the Wolves are not the only threat in the city. In The Last of Us season 2 episode 4 "Secrets", a new villain emerges, one strong enough to nearly wipe out FEDRA.
But their opposition is nothing to underestimate. When Ellie and Dina find themselves in a bind, secrets are revealed, changing the dynamic of their friendship. Let's get into the recap. This post contains spoilers from The Last of Us season 2 episode 4 from this point forward.
Isaac's introduction
Season 2 episode 4 opens with a flashback to 2018 Seattle QZ, where a truck full of armed and ready FEDRA soldiers converse, telling lewd and disgraceful jokes. The youngest of the group, seemingly new, asks about the term "voters".
Their commander explains that people were called "voters" when FEDRA removed their right to vote. Coming to a barricade, the truck stops, noticing townspeople blocking their only means of escape.
The commander calls upon the youngest FEDRA soldier to greet the people. Upon using a codeword, the commander kills the FEDRA soldiers using grenades, revealing himself to have been a spy all along. He offers the young FEDRA soldier an ominous choice.
Flash forward to the present, 11 years later as Ellie and Dina arrive to Seattle on Day 1 of their journey. It doesn't take them long to discover the true nature of the devastation and ongoing war between the Wolves and the religious cult the Seraphites.
The commander we meet in the opening is Isaac, a man who is both calm and terrifying, as shown by his story of how he loved to cook and wanted to purchase an expensive cookware set. Ironically, he was able to acquire it after the apocalypse, an added perk to the end times.
He seemed to treasure it for both cooking and torture. His past is being told to a naked captive of the religious cult who refuses to reveal when the group will attack again.
While the audience doesn't know who is at fault, it seems the Wolves had overthrown FEDRA and then had a truce with the religious cult. Now it seems the religious cult, the Seraphites, or Scars, are getting the upper hand as the tortured man claims that every day more Wolves seem to join them.
This truth is enough for Isaac to kill him, in which we learn of the two men waiting outside, one is the young FEDRA soldier from the beginning of the episode.
Ellie and Dina's close call
Ellie and Dina begin to scavenge, searching for supplies and medicine when Dina finds something off-screen. She deflects Ellie's concerns when they return to Shimmer to continue their travels.
They manage to rummage through an abandoned music store where Ellie finds a perfect, brand new, untouched guitar and begins to play A-ha Take On Me, moving Dina to tears (same). So far any mention of how Joel has affected Ellie's life has yet to play out in flashbacks.
They spot an obvious WLF sign, and thanks to Dina's critical thinking, they agree to approach the area at night. But when they search the next building, following a trail of broken glass and blood, they find several armed soldiers hanging dead from the ceiling and gutted by the religious cult, as per evidenced of the same symbol painted on the wall.
Dina promptly vomits again, before more armed soldiers arrive. The two split, trying to evade them, but in the process Ellie gets into a scuffle with one, with Dina killing another. They escape the building, finding a small crawlspace under a blocked wall leading to the subway. The soldiers notice and call for backup.
Ellie and Dina hardly enter the subway when the echoes of infected can be heard, thanks to a flare that touched fungal growth, prompting the hive mind to act. As the soldiers are easily overcome, Ellie and Dina seek refuge in an overturned subway car as the infected strike fast, vicious and hungry.
The duo struggles to escape through the rooftop, killing infected as they go, and manages to find the stairs exiting the subway.
Dina learns of Ellie's immunity
But as Dina gets stuck in the turnstile gate, with infected closing in, Ellie saves her friend's life, allowing the infected to bite her arm. Finally getting through, the two rush to an abandoned hotel, blocking the doors.
The tone shifts when Dina pulls her gun on Ellie, ready to shoot her. Ellie has no choice but to confess that she is immune. Cautious and scared, Dina doesn't believe her, so as a compromise, Ellie rests in a chair far away enough, allowing them both to rest to prove she's immune. The plan works, Ellie doesn't turn, and this relief prompts Dina to initiate a fierce make-out session.
The two connect on an intimate level, where Dina reveals she is pregnant with Jesse's child. She admits she had always been attracted to both men and women, but was raised to only like men.
She knew Ellie liked her, but didn't feel the need to act until the near-death experience. The moment is ruined when the walkie-talkie they swiped from a dead soldier begins buzzing, followed by the sounds of gunfire and explosions outside.
Moving to the roof, they find evidence of an attack in the area they need to go. Although the mission has turned even more treacherous than expected, Dina and Ellie agree to face it together no matter the cost.
The Last of Us season 2 episode 4 review
With only three episodes left, I'm beginning to wonder when the flashback sequences will come into play. It's wonderful to hear how Joel taught Ellie to play the guitar and how he probably taught her about the astronauts who tragically died reentering the Earth's atmosphere, but I want to see it.
The teaser and trailer for season 2 unveiled a lot of flashback scenes (which for me was the giveaway Joel was going to die), including the moment Joel and Ellie's relationship fell apart. Will these be reserved for the season finale?
Season 3 has already been greenlit, so it's becoming unlikely that Ellie's revenge against Abby will occur now, especially with the introduction of Isaac and the Scars. Tommy and Jesse have yet to enter the fray of Ellie's revenge, but that doesn't mean this season is suffering from a lack of plot, no far from it.
It has been heartfelt, engaging, terrifying, and playing out like a well-written and immersive story. It's character-driven with the right amount of pacing, continually pulling me in and leaving me wanting more. I can't think of many television shows that have done the same successfully.
The Last of Us season 2 releases new episodes Sundays on HBO and Max.