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‘The Last of Us’ Season 2, Episode 4: Why Ellie Sings ‘Take On Me’

Ellie sings “Take On Me” to Dina in “Day One” as a tentative romantic gesture. The guitar also recalls Joel’s lessons, while the song’s earlier use evokes Riley and the game.
Opened Runtime3 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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Ellie sings “Take On Me” to Dina as a tentative romantic gesture in the Seattle music store. The performance gives the two women a private moment amid the danger around them, while the guitar connects Ellie to Joel, who taught her to play. The scene holds those feelings together: Ellie’s intimacy with Dina is expressed through something she learned from someone she lost.

Why does Ellie sing “Take On Me” to Dina?

In “Day One,” the fourth episode of Season 2, Ellie finds a guitar in a Seattle music store and sings a-ha’s 1985 hit to Dina. The moment is an overture toward Dina, even though Ellie does not directly name her feelings. The Ringer reads the song’s lyrics as a way for Ellie to communicate what she is too shy to say aloud; that is a critical interpretation, not a stated explanation from the show’s creators. The Ringer’s episode recap makes that reading in the context of the scene.

Episode director Kate Herron described the moment as revealing a real emotional attachment, saying, “I can see Dina is in love with Ellie.” Cinematographer Catherine Goldschmidt characterized the scene as “love blooming.” Her description helps explain why the song feels like a pause from the surrounding threat: the focus shifts briefly from survival to the relationship taking shape. Herron discussed the scene with the Los Angeles Times, and Goldschmidt discussed its visual approach with TV Guide.

Is Ellie singing about Joel?

Not primarily: Ellie performs for Dina. But Joel is present in the scene through the guitar and the memory of the lessons he gave Ellie. After Dina praises her playing, Ellie says, “All those lessons from Joel,” and Dina replies, “He taught you well.”

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Goldschmidt confirmed that Joel taught Ellie the chords, while Herron noted that a guitar naturally brings him to mind because he taught Ellie to play. Herron also described the feeling of a loved one remaining present after death: “When someone passes away, it’s almost like they’re always present.” The instrument lets Ellie’s grief and her new closeness with Dina occupy the same moment; it does not turn the song into a message directed at Joel. Herron discussed the guitar’s connection to Joel with TV Insider.

What does the song have to do with Riley?

“Take On Me” has an earlier association with Ellie and Riley: the song appeared during their mall date in Season 1. Ellie also performs it in The Last of Us Part II, the game that supplies the guitar scene adapted for the episode. Its return can therefore bring Riley and the game to mind while still serving the immediate Dina moment.

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That layered connection is an interpretation of the song’s recurrence, rather than a single explanation attributed to the production. The Ringer notes the Riley callback and the game connection, while TheWrap’s interview with the show’s music supervisors discusses the song’s appearance in the game.

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Was the scene in the game?

Yes. The guitar performance is an adaptation of a scene from The Last of Us Part II. TV Guide reports that the production wanted to keep the moment close to the game. The surrounding television story and the pacing of Ellie and Dina’s relationship are shaped for the series, however; the available accounts do not establish a full shot-by-shot comparison.

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The performers differ: Bella Ramsey sings as Ellie in the series, while Ashley Johnson performs the game version, as reported by TheWrap. That is a concrete difference between adaptations, not a verdict on which version is more affecting.

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