In the world of prestige television, few series have left as significant a mark as “The Last of Us”. Based on the acclaimed video game by Naughty Dog, the HBO adaptation—created by Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin—delivers an emotionally resonant story of survival and connection in a post-apocalyptic landscape.
Season two finds Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in new territory—both emotionally and geographically—as the story transitions to Seattle, introducing new characters and shifting dynamics in the aftermath of Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) devastating choices. Episode four, titled “Day One”, stands out as a turning point. Directed by Kate Herron (“Loki”, “Sex Education”), the episode sees Ellie and her companion Dina (Isabel Merced) thrust into the bloody conflict between the fanatical Seraphites and a brutal militia.
It’s a harrowing and emotional installment that deftly balances action, horror, and intimacy—something Herron is no stranger to navigating. “All my favorite genre stuff, even if it’s set in the most fantastical world, is grounded,” she shares. “This episode gave me characters that are relatable, like the moment in the music store.”
With Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey returning to the heart of the story as Joel and Ellie, the series continues to be a powerhouse of storytelling in its seven-episode second season, having previously garnered multiple Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor, and Lead Actress. What began as a story about a grieving father figure and a young girl immune to a deadly fungal infection has evolved into a deeply layered exploration of grief, love, identity, and the toll of violence.
Herron blends her experience with character-driven comedies and large-scale set pieces to create stand-out moments that linger well beyond the screen. Whether orchestrating a tense escape through storm-drenched streets or directing a tender guitar serenade that lays the groundwork for queer romance, Herron crafts each beat with care. “We had to see Dina how Ellie is seeing Dina,” she explains. “That was really key for me—to give the audience that perspective.”
Awards Focus spoke with Kate Herron on joining “The Last of Us” midseason, working with actors Bella Ramsey and Isabel Merced to bring Ellie and Dina’s blossoming relationship to life, how she helped shape one of the series’ most terrifying sequences, and offers candid insight into what it was like to experience the episode alongside friends—gamers and non-gamers alike.
Awards Focus: I’m curious what your relationship was to the video game before joining the project as a director this season?
Kate Herron: In lockdown, I bought a PlayStation, and this was the first time that I played “The Last of Us” in the prequel game. Then, I rolled right into the second game. I remember that it just completely blew my mind on basically what a video game could be. I think it’s one of the smartest pieces of art on empathy ever made. I loved how so many of the characters just lived in this gray space. I would be really on side with someone, and then something would happen, and I’d be like, “Oh, actually, are they a good person?”
AF: I’m not a gamer, mainly because I just didn’t grow up playing video games in my home, so I came into the series as a TV lover and find the series so grounded in humanity.
Herron: What you just said, that for me is the beauty of the TV show, right? It should be like that. If you’re adapting anything, you should have stuff for the fans, and it has to also work for people who don’t know anything about the source material. That’s what I thought was really fantastic about the first season.
AF: How did you come to direct the fourth episode of the season, and what were you most excited about exploring?
Herron: I had no idea I was going to do episode four. I met the creatives on Zoom, and I remember I was really early, and so was Neil [Druckmann]. I remember just talking to Neil about the game, and the really nice thing about it for me was that I thought if I don’t get this job, at least I got to talk to Neil for five minutes.
I honestly just spoke to them about the first season of the show. I’d directed “Sex Education”, which has a lot of intimate scenes, and in terms of like action, I had done “Loki”. I’m very comfortable doing action and special effects, and I honestly just felt like I got to have my cake and eat it. I wanted to do Ellie and Dina’s story. In the game, they get together really early, and even if you don’t know that and you’re watching the show, you have that moment in episode three where they’re in the tent and it’s like they’re not going to get together. That conversation is relatable.
All my favorite genre stuff, even if it’s set in the most fantastical world, is grounded, and this episode gives me characters that are relatable, like the moment in the music store. There’s something really beautiful in that moment because Joel teaches Ellie the guitar, so immediately you are connected to Joel, who’s obviously not there, and there’s a sadness in it. But you know, he did teach her to play really well, and that’s what’s really important with Ellie. There’s a real beautiful moment where I know the actor Issy [Isabel Merced] said, “You know, I feel like this is where Dina does fall in love with Ellie,” which was really key for us but also, at the same time, not to give so much away that the kiss doesn’t feel like a surprise at the end. There were a lot of tones to manage in this episode, but for me, as a director, I was very excited to do it.
AF: As a non-gamer, the season is a little jarring with so many new characters introduced, and it was this episode that really solidified Dina not just as a character, but also as someone who has been living in this world and surviving it too.
Can you talk a bit about that moment as Ellie sings and the camera holding on Dina’s face? What was that like to film?
Herron: It was a joy because I had these two brilliant actors. Bella [Ramsey] is just fantastic, and they’re really talented with music anyway. Then, you have Issy, who’s got different levels. We did some takes where I said to them both, “Okay, let’s do one take where if you are looking, you only look at the other person when they’re not looking at you.” So, it’s a more shy kind of take. But I think that Issy just has such a fantastic face and just gives you so much emotionally, so you want to hold her. As an audience member, you’re kind of with Ellie and trying to work out, “Wait, what is Dina thinking? How does Dina feel?” She puts all her cards on the table in some way because when you’re watching her, you’re like, this is not just friends. There’s something deeper going on here. For me, it was just about creating the space to do that.
AF: How was the moment in the video game transposed for the series? Were you able to make some stylistic choices to enhance the moment?
Herron: The way I filmed it, I had stills from the game because it is a very iconic moment from the game. But it had to work on both levels. So, that scene needed to feel like this little intimate, safe enclosure away from the outside world. I asked Craig [Mazin] if I could add a Caterpillar too, because I just loved the idea of nature thriving. These characters live in a very harrowing kind of landscape, and there are infected, but also people are just as dangerous as we definitely learn in this episode. It was very important to have this moment to tell the audience, “No, you are safe here. You don’t have to be scared. I’m not going to scare you.”
This was just about enjoying the song with Dina as Ellie is playing guitar.
AF: What was it like working with the production designers and getting to the framing with the lighting and design that we see on screen as Ellie sings?
Herron: It was just mind-blowing because we were talking about the world being overgrown and the aesthetic of the show, but we really wanted to show the beauty of that overgrowth. It was about finding flowers and things to go around, and obviously working with my brilliant DP Catherine Goldschmidt for that light that hits Ellie. It was about honoring the source material.
AF: How did your experiences as a television director prepare you for joining production in the middle of a season of a show and creating a working relationship with the cast and the crew?
Herron: Oh gosh, I’m so used to it. I think it’s so funny because on a show like “Sex Ed”, I came in later, but I did half the show, so I had a lot longer with everyone, and so it was a bit different. Whereas with “Loki”, it was just me. It’s a very different kind of situation. I just try and spend time with everyone, and I love the game. I think a big part of it is that Neil and Craig just really backed me in terms of what I wanted to do this episode.
And just for me, it was about making sure the cast all felt comfortable, like obviously we had an intimacy coordinator for our scene in the theater, but also equally our scene with Isaac because Ryan [Masson], our actor who plays the prisoner, he’s naked in that scene and it’s a very emotionally harrowing thing to film for the two actors. I’m always trying to make sure my cast feels comfortable. Also, when you’re coming in halfway, everyone I’m working with had just done all these other episodes, so it was really important as well just to give an injection of energy.
AF: As a gay man, I find it really interesting how queer love and lust are depicted on screen, and Dina and Ellie just have this hunger for connection with each other. What were the conversations around how far you could go with the intimacy coordinator?
Herron: The best way to describe to people about working with an intimacy coordinator is that it’s the same as having your stunt coordinator or a dance choreographer. It’s about talking through exactly what the moves are and what people are comfortable with. I think for us emotionally, it was always very important that you did not see the kiss coming. And I think a big part of that is Dina is in shadow, and so I’m always thinking about how do we put the audience in the position of the character I want them to be. We have to see Dina how Ellie is seeing Dina.
A lot of it was also just talking with the cast about the emotion of it. But you are right, they’ve come out of this very high adrenaline situation where they thought they were both going to lose each other. Then, the next morning, we find out Dina is pregnant, and we understand now why she has been acting the way she has. It’s always about truth, I guess, with everyone.
AF: How do you manage audience expectations against finding the truth of the moment? What you’re saying about putting the audience in the position of the character feels so immersive, and gave the scene where Dina points the gun at Ellie such urgency. Was that something that was difficult to balance?
Herron: For me, it’s about keeping it in real time. You’re with Ellie saying, “I know that this looks bad, but this is the reality of the situation, and I’m not going to change, and I have to explain this to you.” Also, Joel has died at this point, and if you don’t know the story, all bets are off. I think in some ways, as a director, there’s a slight advantage. The most important thing as a director, obviously, you need your brilliant team and brilliant cast, but it’s always about how do you get the audience to where you want them to be. I think if you cut out of the real time at that sequence, it would cut all the tension out of it and all the questions that you have watching it. We had this massive space at the theater, and I said, let’s put as much distance between them both as possible. It is just chess basically.
AF: The action sequence in this episode is also one of the most harrowing of the season. Are you storyboarding along with the other heads of department?
Herron: I always storyboard. I love storyboards. I did the TV station scene as a storyboard just because of how I wanted it to feel. I liked the idea of them crawling around, and we feel like we’re with them, which was always key. And then the subway scene I did as a pre-vis sequence. I remember everyone was away filming episode two, and I was just alone in the office, and I was talking to a pre-vis artist, Micah. I gave him a shot list, told him what I wanted it to feel like, and we were building that, and it was really fun.
But for me, you always have that as a jumping off point. And then talking with your director of photography and then your stunt team, because your stunt team will present you with something, and then you’ll be like, “Oh, that’s great. Let’s integrate that into this idea.” It was always a collaboration and discussion. The TV station scene in the game is during the day, and it’s still very disturbing. But I loved the change to nighttime with the storm because it’s just scarier. It gives you that real-time running from this TV station in the rain, and the story, and it automatically feels so big and dramatic. I wanted to gradually build up that tension to where Ellie and Dina are both attacked, and then they’re running.
AF: I do scare easily but that scene was pretty terrifying.
Herron: I love horror, so I was excited because I don’t often get to do stuff like that. I just wanted to scare people, basically. I remember playing the game and being so scared. I remember seeing the red flares, and as a director, that’s so visual. Then, I was just running for my life, and I was terrified. I really wanted to make people feel the same way I did when I played the game.
AF: How did you conceive of moving Isaac through that giant gap in the years and showing the audience who he’d become?
Herron: Jeffrey [Wright] plays that character in the game, so he knows that character so well. But in terms of how I was going to approach it, when I filmed him, I wanted to film him in the truck, but you don’t know, obviously, who he is yet. It is important to feel confronted with this character, but also feel completely like this is your hero, your protagonist. Like you are going to be on the side with this guy. Because I think that’s what I love about “The Last of Us” is that you’re always finding interesting characters.
I keep comparing it to Drew Barrymore in “Scream”. We didn’t know if we were going to have a very well-known actor playing that role. But then, when Josh [Peck] was interested and we realized it makes it even richer and more fun. You see that turn and you see that menace of Isaac and it’s really important that you see that because you see what Isaac is capable of and also the kind of world that Isaac lives in so when you join him much later, you don’t know what’s happened in between those years yet but you do get a sense of what’s at the core of this person.
AF: I think it’s interesting that you mentioned before how an intimacy coordinator was used for the torture scene because we often hear about how they’re useful in sex scenes, but not so much for when a character is nude. Can you talk a bit about their role in that scene and how that helped with the actor’s comfort while filming the torture scene?
Herron: I always think that it is nice to have the intimacy coordinator there because if the actors are filming something that’s very harrowing, like a torture scene, having the intimacy coordinator there is very helpful in that sense, just as a support network if it is needed. I spoke a lot with Jeffrey and Ryan [Masson] about who holds the power. It’s always like a tennis match. So it was fun for us and the actors to work that out.
I watched the whole episode with my friends, and I remember that scene, and one of my friends was like, “No, wait, who’s he talking to?” And then there was this kind of chill in the room, and then obviously we reveal who he’s talking to. So, it was satisfying to hear that shift work, but I think that was always something I was trying to do across, you know, always subvert expectations of who you think a character is, which for me is the power of the story.
AF: What was it like to experience the episode through your friend’s eyes?
Herron: It was more warning people who know my work and are friends with me and my family that it’s not a comedy this time, and it’s a little bit different in some ways. It’s heavier than what I’ve done before. The nicest thing is if you can watch something you’ve directed with an audience, it’s the best if it works. If it doesn’t work, then it’s very depressing. It was just nice to show people and hear them scream at the clicker at the window.
A lot of my friends I was watching with, they know the show, but they didn’t know the game. So, like when they finally kiss at the end, they were like, “Oh my god, they did it!” You don’t often see stories told in a show that’s this big, you know what I mean? You might get a moment, but it’s very played down. You don’t get a proper scene like this, or it’s like niche content. I was aware of the responsibility, but also felt very lucky to be part of putting that together for the story, that this has to feel true and authentic because you just don’t often get to show this in a show with this scale.
AF: You’ve got such a wealth of experience in the TV space, but was there something that you took away from the experience on “The Last of Us” that you’ll be taking with you in the future into other projects?
Herron: So Craig, when he writes scripts, he puts in the script what the character is thinking, and I love it, and I’m already putting it in all my scripts. I just think it’s so helpful because in some ways you don’t want to lead the actor, but when you are first writing a script, obviously that’s just going to the producers or the studio. So, I think in that way it can be very helpful.
It can put people in your head where they see what you’re going to do with the cast when you get this up on its feet. So yeah, I’ll be stealing that because I think it’s great.