Was that Dina in The Last of Us Episode 6?

In The Last of Us Episode 6, Ellie snaps at a “staring girl” in the Jackson commune, and viewers think she’s more important than a random kid – so, was that Dina?

The new episode takes place months after the traumatic conclusion of Henry and Sam’s story, with Joel and Ellie making their way to Jackson, the commune where Tommy lives with his wife Maria.

Shortly after they arrive, and Joel and Tommy reunite in an emotional embrace, they sit down together for a hot meal. Ellie was born and raised in the QZ, so she doesn’t behave like a normal child would (swearing, wanting to have a gun, etc).

As they chow down, Ellie catches a girl staring at her from across the room. She doesn’t take to it kindly, snarling “What?”, and the girl runs away. The question is: was that Dina?

Spoilers for The Last of Us to follow…

Did Dina appear in The Last of Us Episode 6?

It hasn’t been explicitly confirmed – but yes, that was Dina in The Last of Us Episode 6.

As per the credits, the “staring girl” was played by Paolina van Kleef. There’s no denying that she looks a lot like Dina, but it’s unclear whether the same actress would return in Season 2, which will begin adapting The Last of Us Part 2’s story.

In the latest episode of The Last of Us podcast, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann described the girl’s appearance as an Easter Egg.

Co-showrunner Craig Mazin added: “It’s ambiguous. Someone’s staring at Ellie… I wonder who that could be, or not – we’ll find out one day.”

Who is Dina in The Last of Us?

Dina is Ellie’s partner in The Last of Us Part 2. She lives in Jackson, and they fall for each other over the course of the game, with Dina accompanying Ellie on her mission. She’s voiced by Shannon Woodward in the game.

We won’t go into too many other details, but Druckmann said on the podcast: “In Part 2, there is a story about the first time Dina met Ellie that’s very similar to what happens here.”

In a short piece of dialogue in Part 2, Dina and Ellie speak about how they felt when they first arrived in Jackson. “I was so overwhelmed by all the people,” Dina says.

“I was overwhelmed by all the food. I remember my first week just gorging myself. Stuffing food in all my pockets like it was gonna run out,” Ellie says, to which Dina reveals: “I saw that… I did, I remember thinking, ‘Who’s this string bean girl stealing all the jerky?”

Van Kleef’s Instagram has been flooded with comments asking if she’s the show’s Dina, but it still hasn’t been confirmed at the time of writing.

The Last of Us Episode 7 will be available to stream on February 26 in the US and February 27 in the UK. Check out the rest of our coverage here, and coverage of the newest episode below:

Episode 6 review | Ending explained | Did Joel die? | What song plays at the end? | Tommy and Maria explained | Monkeys at the university explained | Can dogs smell Cordyceps?