Characters of The Last of Us (TV series)
Dina
### Dina

[thumb\|right\|upright\=0\.7\|[Isabela Merced](/wiki/Isabela_Merced "Isabela Merced") is set to play Dina.\|alt\=A 20\-year\-old woman smiling at the camera](/wiki/File:Isabela_Merced_on_vlogbrothers_2022_%28higher_def%29_%28further_cropped%29.png "Isabela Merced on vlogbrothers 2022 (higher def) (further cropped).png")

**Dina** ([Isabela Merced](/wiki/Isabela_Merced "Isabela Merced")) is Ellie's romantic interest and Jesse's ex. She is a freewheeling spirit with a loyalty towards Ellie, which is challenged by the world's brutality. Merced's casting was announced on January 11, 2024\. Before being cast, Merced had watched the first season but not played the games; Mazin and Druckmann recommended that she watch gameplay of *Part II* on YouTube, but she opted to play it instead, doing so in a weekend before meeting the writers, which she felt made her more familiar with sets during production. Merced felt Dina's light and playful personality matched her own. After the first day of filming, she considered her chemistry with Ramsey "palpable". She made a [playlist](/wiki/Playlist "Playlist") for Dina and Ellie, and often played a song by [Adrianne Lenker](/wiki/Adrianne_Lenker "Adrianne Lenker") on set to establish the tone of their relationship. Merced filmed the second season alongside *[Superman](/wiki/Superman_%282025_film%29 "Superman (2025 film)")* (2025\), which she found difficult but worthwhile as a fan of the [science fiction](/wiki/Science_fiction "Science fiction") and [superhero](/wiki/Superhero_fiction "Superhero fiction") genres.


Why did Isabela Merced choose to watch gameplay instead of watching YouTube videos?