HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2 has been reeling fans in with its constant twists and turns and impeccable storytelling. While fresh faces are coming into the picture, like Jesse (Young Mazino), Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), and Gail (Catherine O’Hara), there’s one actress who’s been making quite the impression with The Last of Us viewers: Isabella Merced. Her performance as Dina in the critically acclaimed TV series has been praised by many, as she takes on the role with the compassion and strength delivered in The Last of Us Part II. While it’s hard to feel distracted during “The Path” episode, given the circumstances of Ellie and Dina’s escape from the Jackson settlement, some noticed a small easter egg regarding one of Merced’s previous performacnes.
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Merced has taken Hollywood by storm in recent years, having appeared in Transformers: The Last Knight, Madame Web, and Alien: Romulus, as well as her upcoming role as Hawkgirl in James Gunn’s Superman this summer. The actress was announced to portray Dina in The Last of Us Season 2 in January 2024, and has been captivating viewers with her take on the character since the season premiere a few weeks ago. Given Merced’s resume, there’s one role that the actress took on that seemingly made its way into the latest episode: Dora the Explorer in 2019’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold.
The Last of Us Season 2’s Latest Episode Made a Sly Reference to Merced’s Dora the Explorer Role
RELATED: Isabela Merced’s Most Intense Fan Base Wasn’t The Last of Us or Alien: “Dora Had Me in a Chokehold”
In “The Path”, Ellie is preparing to leave Jackson to head to Seattle to exact her revenge against Abby following the murder of Joel. Of course, Dina knew that Ellie was going to leave, so she took time to plan their treck to Seattle and the necessities needed to survive their trek northwest. After her minor confrontation with Ellie, she pulls out a map of the route to Seattle and details the road and what they will need to make it there. As she approaches the end of her talk, she says that Ellie will need “Boots,” to which the camera pans to Ellie’s converse shoes.
While it could’ve been a coincidence, The Last of Us fans took to social media to bring up the moment and why it’s secretly hilarious. On a Reddit discussion post on the r/thelastofus subreddit page, one user wrote, “Dina the Explorer over here, couldn’t help but chuckle when she whipped out the map and shortly after went ‘boots’.” Another user replied, “She mentioned a backpack a second later. You can take Isabella Merced out of Dora but you can’t take Dora out of Isabella Merced.”
It’s funny to see the similarities within these moments, as Dora the Explorer goes nowhere without her trusty backpack, map, and Boots, her monkey companion. Funnily enough, Merced previously noted in an interview with ComicBook how the fanbase for Dora had her “in a chokehold.”
Did you notice this moment in the latest The Last of Us Season 2 episode? Do you think it was a coincidence? Let us know in the comments below!
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