We never really got to see the town of Jackson in the first Last of Us game, but the series had turned it into a thriving community by the time Joel and Ellie get to it. During the lunch scene, we see Ellie telling off one of the kids looking at her, and some suspect that she could be a cameo from someone in The Last of Us Part II.
As fans have pointed out online, the girl with a braid that Ellie tells off could be Dina a.k.a. Ellie’s love interest in the sequel.
https://twitter.com/codykenoboob/status/1627497753885675521
There’s even some dialogue from Part II where Dina describes seeing Ellie for the first time, trying to steal as much food as she could. It’s not exactly what happens in the series, but showrunner Craig Mazin has noticed the similarity and has mentioned it in the podcast by saying, “That doesn’t mean that that’s Dina, but it doesn’t mean it’s not.”
The posts even got the attention of Dina actress Shannon Woodward:
Oh damn was that Dina
— Shannon Woodward (@shannonwoodward) February 20, 2023
It’s definitely a neat Easter Egg, and with The Last of Us having been renewed by HBO, it’s only a matter of time before we meet Dina.
We don’t know when the series is going to start adapting Part II, but I already have a feeling that we’re going to get the season finale without having the big finale with the Fireflies like what happened in the game.
For now, watch out for new episodes of The Last of Us on HBO Max every Sunday.