The Last of Us Episode 4 Recap; SPOILER ALERT!
The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 4 – titled “Day One” – is a bold narrative shift. The story leaves Jackson behind and plants its feet firmly in a crumbling Seattle, where new enemies, rising tensions, and a deepening love story take center stage.
We begin with a chilling flashback to 2018. Seattle is still under the grip of FEDRA, and in the back of a van, a soldier tells a crude joke about “voters”-a dehumanizing slur for oppressed citizens. The moment turns somber when we meet Isaac, played by Jeffrey Wright, a FEDRA sergeant who turns against his unit in a brutal ambush, cementing himself as a future leader of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF). It’s the perfect cold open: morally ambiguous, violent, and loaded with world-building.
Ellie and Dina Step Into the Fire
Back in the present timeline, Ellie and Dina begin their journey through post-apocalyptic Seattle. Their banter gives way to something deeper when they take shelter in an abandoned music store. Here, Ellie delivers a tender rendition of “Take On Me” by A-ha – a beautiful callback to her memory of Riley from Season 1. It’s also a silent confession of love. Dina’s tearful reaction says it all.
Ellie, shaped by Joel’s lessons, is no longer just surviving – she’s connecting, feeling, risking emotional vulnerability. It’s a side of her we haven’t seen in full bloom, and Bella Ramsey absolutely nails the scene.
The Wolves and the Seraphites
This episode doesn’t waste time. It’s not just about Ellie and Dina’s growing connection – it also introduces a larger war between factions. Isaac, now leading the WLF, tortures a captured Seraphite (the religious, cultlike enemies from the game). Despite brutal interrogation tactics, including burns and threats, the prisoner refuses to break.
His response: “Every day, a Wolf leaves you to take Her into their heart.”
Isaac’s answer: a bullet to the head.
This moment not only highlights the ideological divide between the WLF and Seraphites, but also how far Isaac has strayed from his earlier principles. It’s The Last of Us at its best – morally messy, dark, and complex.
Blood, Guts and Gut-Punches
Ellie and Dina continue their mission and stumble upon a gruesome scene inside a WLF-marked news station: mutilated soldiers strung from the rafters, victims of Seraphite revenge. It’s a visual horror, reinforcing the cycle of violence these factions are locked into – a mirror of Ellie’s own personal vendetta.
Things escalate fast. Ellie and Dina are spotted and forced to flee, ducking into the city’s underground subway tunnels. There, they face infected hordes in one of the episode’s most chaotic action sequences. The claustrophobic, grimy set design makes every encounter feel lethal. But the real danger comes after the battle.
The Truth Comes Out
Dina gets trapped and nearly bitten. Ellie intervenes – but her immunity secret finally comes to light.
“I’m immune,” she blurts out, raw and cornered. It’s the moment she’s dreaded, and the emotion is palpable. Dina, understandably shocked, responds not with judgment, but with vulnerability of her own.
She’s pregnant.
The next sequence – Ellie and Dina making love on the floor of a deserted theater – is tender, awkward, and emotional. Critics might call it abrupt, but it fits the series’ ethos: when life is short, love must be immediate.
A New Chapter (and New Stakes)
By the time morning hits, reality comes crashing back. The WLF’s Nora is located. Ellie is ready to chase her down, but Dina, now expecting a child, won’t let her go alone. The episode ends with the two united, determined, and stepping deeper into danger.
With just three episodes left, Episode 4 is a soft reboot of sorts. It resets the stakes, introduces major new players, and deepens the emotional core of the show. Love, loss, vengeance – it’s all colliding, and it’s going to get messy.
