SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Season 2, Episode 4 of HBO‘s The Last Of Us.

Ellie and Dina’s slow burn finally ignites in Sunday night’s episode of The Last of Us.

The pair spend most of their first day in Seattle exploring the city and trying to figure out the best way to find Abby while also piecing together clues about the complicated conflict between the WLF and the Seraphites. They notice a WLF call sign on the radio station satellite and decide to start their search for Abby there, but it’s not long before things go awry.

Inside the radio station, they find the disemboweled bodies of several WLF soldiers hanging from the ceiling. They’re barely able to realize that this was done by the Seraphites when another wave of WLF soldiers flood the room. They manage to escape the radio station (having killed two soldiers in the process) but still have the WLF on their tail, so they descend into the transit tunnels, which quickly become overrun with Infected.

Ellie is ultimately forced to reveal her immunity to Dina when, as they’re escaping, she must save Dina from an Infected. Dina isn’t easily convinced, though, and holds Ellie at gunpoint for most of the night to make sure she doesn’t turn. Awakened by Ellie swiping a bug away from her face, Dina starts to cry as she realizes that Ellie is telling the truth. Stunned, Dina then reveals that she’s pregnant with Jesse’s baby.

She drops the gun and kisses Ellie, and the pair share a moment of both physical and emotional intimacy as they finally reveal their true feelings for one another.

“I appreciated it so much, because you just don’t really get that a lot in sapphic content,” Isabela Merced, who plays Dina, told Deadline of the slow burn to get to this point in their relationship. “I think a lot of people over sexualize sapphic content in film — media, I guess, in general. So I’m really glad that it was slow burn.”

In the interview below, Merced spoke with Deadline about this pivotal episode for Ellie and Dina, and what it means for the rest of their mission in Seattle.

DEADLINE: Did you feel from the beginning like Dina was a character you could relate to, or was she difficult to tap into?

ISABELA MERCED: I definitely related to her, and I would say in good ways. Obviously, I referenced Shannon Woodward’s performance a lot, and Shannon is cool as hell. She really brought a lot of her natural charisma and charm [to Dina]. Also, I was saying this earlier, it’s kind of realization I made throughout the filming of the season, but it was interesting finding a balance between her playfulness…mixed with her level headedness and her decision making skills, and her boss attitude. In order to find that balance, I kind of reference my own mother a lot. She’s very level-headed, very smart, very logical, but also really, really sweet and tender. So it’s cool, like I’m referencing a mother to sort of portray a mother in a lot of ways.

DEADLINE: This version of Dina is very humorous and, for all her loyalty to Ellie, she does really push back on her when needed. I know a lot of that comes from the writing, but did you also think at all about how you wanted your performance to be different from the game?

MERCED: I mean, a lot of that was in the writing. I can’t credit myself too much. A lot of these, really, I think smart decisions to change and deviate from the game were because of Craig [Mazin]. Honestly, most of the time I was just saying, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I want to say this a line, just because it’s a little too revealing of the character.’ I wanted to hold her cards closer to her chest most of the time. He always listened to me. I think there’s a lot of changes, actually. I mean, in this episode alone, there’s so many changes. I would say the music shop scene is probably the most loyal to the game, and then everything else is, the reveal of Ellie’s immunity and the reveal of Dina’s pregnancy, is completely different. There’s this really sweet aftercare scene where they’re kind of just holding each other, and it’s really just so beautiful. It was also beautiful to film. I think the only other time that I felt that magic to it when we were filming it, where you kind of know it’s going to be great — and that rarely happens ever — but the only other time I felt that was during the dance scene in the first episode, and it ended up being great. So my fingers are crossed that it’s going to be real tender and pull at people’s heartstrings.

DEADLINE: Do you think Dina’s motivations on this mission are evolving? She says in the last episode that she loved Joel, too, and it makes sense that she would want to get justice for him…but how much of her commitment to it is also giving Ellie what she wantsinherently changing it, but, you know, approaching it differently.?

MERCED: She has that sort of loving devotion to Ellie. I don’t think she would be able to get rid of it even if she tried. It’s kind of like this pull to her, and I hope that comes across in the chemistry that we have on screen. But at the same time, I think Dina’s intentions eventually get revealed in a lot of ways, and there’s more to come. She still has a lot of cards that she’s holding close to her chest, I think, for a good reason. And I think Ellie does too. I think they’re both kind of lying to each other, in a way, and that’s what makes it so interesting, once you’re done with the season, to go back and watch, because then you’ll see the moments where we have to actively decide whether or not to lie to each other. So yeah, I think it’s going to be really rewarding for people who are huge fans of the game but also want something new. I think they deviated from the story in the right ways, not necessarily inherently changing it, but approaching it differently.

DEADLINE: The scene where Dina is holding Ellie at gunpoint is a really emotional one. How did you prepare for that scene, and what’s your take on Dina’s headspace in that moment?

MERCED: That was new. That wasn’t part of the game, and I really liked that. I mean, it’s directly paralleling the scenes with Riley in Season 1. It’s way too similar to that scenario. They’re a little bit older now. Ellie has more of an understanding. Ellie has done this before, in the most f*cked up way. So I think Dina being so out of the loop is kind of like, okay, A) you’re either lying to me which sucks and is terrible, or B) you’re telling me the truth, which sucks and is terrible. There’s no really good option. She didn’t really know what to believe. Why would Ellie lie to her? Turns out Ellie’s a f*cking liar. Also, I think what’s really cool about being secondary to the protagonist is that a lot of times, I am the audience kind of witnessing her. So I had to go through so many emotions throughout that scene, and I just had to make sure that they were chronological, I guess. A lot of that’s thanks to the direction from Kate [Herron], but also from Bella. I was guided a lot by Bella. We were guided by each other. So I think I wanted people to really think that I might have shot her.

DEADLINE: Also in that scene, Ellie tells Dina ‘I would die for you.’ That’s a really big admission for Ellie, even if it is said under duress. How do you think it makes Dina feel?

MERCED: I would say she’s overwhelmed. I feel like they’ve said that kind of stuff to each other in many other ways, in many other moments. So it’s like something that they both know, but it’s not really been said properly, and definitely not under the right circumstance.

DEADLINE: At this point, what do you think that they mean to each other?

MERCED: I mean, I really think, personally, that they’re in love. In my mind, that’s what’s happening. I think in their minds right now, it’s kind of like a first big love experience. There’s a maturity to it now, because I think they’ve seen so many vulnerable parts of each other. That’s what I would like to think in my little fan mind.

DEADLINE: It’s been a bit of a slow build to get to this point in their relationship, which I feel differs from the game a bit. Did you appreciate that?

MERCED: I appreciated it so much because you just don’t really get that a lot in sapphic content. I think a lot of people over sexualize sapphic content in film — media, I guess, in general. So I’m really glad that it was slow burn. I’m glad that it was tasteful and potentially, hopefully, maybe, Emmy winning sapphic content. I really think that we lack that…and I think it’s important for young queer people to see that.

DEADLINE: How is this moment for them going to impact things moving forward?

MERCED: I would say they’re on a different level completely, and there’s a new kind of loyalty there. So anything moving forward, the stakes are so much higher, because it’ll hurt that much more to lose the other person. So I think now sh*t has hit the fan. They’re dealing with a whole army. They’re dealing with a baby. It’s gonna get real. It’s gonna intense. They are invested now.