SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details about the season 2 premiere of The Last of Us.
From the moment fans of The Last of Us video game see the strung lights above Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) head in a church with music playing while people dance in the background — they immediately know what is about to happen.
It has been over two years season we have seen a drop of content from the the series adaptation of the video game starring Ramsey and Pedro Pascal. And what better way to kick-off the season and satiate fans thirst with one of the most memorable scenes in video game history.
In a near shot-for-shot recreation from the GLAAD Media Award-winning video game The Last of Us: Part 2, the series features Bella and Dina’s (Madame Webb‘s Isabela Merced) dance floor kiss which was interrupted by a man who throws a homophobic slur at the couple. Joel (Pascal) steps in and things almost get violent. After the dust settles, Ellie is the opposite of grateful as she jabs him with a “I don’t need your f**king help!”. Nothing is resolved and everyone leaves heartbroken… but that kiss was still a moment!
The season also features Beef star Young Mazino as Dina’s ex, Jesse and Joel’s therapist Gail, played by Catherine O’Hara. Gail is not a character from the video game series, but was created for the series — which is why we don’t see her in the video for the aforementioned video game scene. However, Gail is featured in the TV version of the scene.
Ashley Johnson and Shannon Woodward, the original voices of Ellie and Dina respectively, can be heard in the above scene where the kiss originated. Johnson and Woodward recently reunited at the 36th GLAAD Media Awards to speak about the importance of LGBTQ representation in video games before they presenting Outstanding Video Game to Dragon Age: The Veilguard.