Why Didn't Dina Return to the Farm? | The Last of Us Part 2
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Frankly, I think Dina never left. But I can't prove it. Instead, there is dialogue about her bad back that hints she may have indeed left the farm. There's also evidence that someone continued to live at the farm. The details point to Ellie. The details also say Dina and Ellie got back together. So if they got back together, and Ellie still lives at the farm, why didn't Dina come back?
For one thing, Ellie wanted space to "fix" herself before returning to Dina. For another thing, most separated married couples who start "seeing" each other again, kind of "date" before they go back to living together. But most importantly, Jesse's parents had been asking for more access to JJ which meant that "living together again" for Ellie and Dina means living in Jackson. Not back on their farm.
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"The Devil is in the details", they say. In a Naughty Dog game, key exposition is found in exploring its environment, scenes, dialogue, and gameplay mechanics; because good writers 'Show, Don't Tell'.
Got questions about the TLOU2 story, narrative, and themes? I love sharing knowledge about professional writing, storytelling, and my favorite video game.
"The theme of Part 2 is Love... it's ending is more hopeful than people realize" (Neil Druckmann, 2020).
#EllieAndDina #TheLastOfUsPartII #LGBTQRepresentation #GamingCouple #DinaAndEllie #thelastofuspart2 #dina #ellie #elliewilliams #tlou2 #f4f #wlw #shorts #videoessay #gaming
There would’ve been no way for Dina to survive at the farm on her own anyway, especially with raising JJ.
I mean she probably got some help of the people in Jackson to get all the way to town
I knew she’d leave, she’s with a newborn in the middle of nowhere with almost no weapons, a nice a catch for the bandits
True. And those were only a couple of the good reasons Dina had for choosing to try to pull things together for herself and JJ.
Dina didn't understand Ellie that much. She tell Dina she can't sleep or eat. And she’s having flashbacks. It’s a word for it, but I don’t know how to spell it, but yeah, understand Dina point of view. Ellie abandon them, but she didn’t had a choice cause that I guess vengeance something like that eat her alive, but I know Ellie made a dumb choice I don’t understand if they talk about it why Dina didn’t come back like Dina had to understand. Did Dina read her journals or something like that? They should not settle in relationship because of that and I’m not blaming Ellie for this, but she should’ve told Dina about her mental health. Like I’m 50 and 50 with greeting with them. I hope part three of it they go back together again or because they been through a lot. But I’m still confused about dine
I think Dina knew a bit about Ellie’s struggles but I doubt she knew everything
I think it would be pretty out of character if Dina left Ellie. She is willing to go to the ends of the earth with Ellie going to Seattle even though she was pregnant. I think it’s logical that Dina left to go to Jackson because she was feeling alone and needed someone JJs grandparents to help her mind JJ. Living on a farmhouse without Ellie would probably make her worried and regret allowing Ellie to go to Santa Barbara so she moved to Jackson and is waiting for Ellie to return. We don’t know how long the trip to Santa Barbara and back to the farmhouse is but judging by Ellie’s hair being longer and her clothes being changed I’d say it was a significant amount of time. Ellie doesn’t call for Dina or look for her at the farmhouse which makes me think that she already met Dina on the journey back and is just visiting the house to have some time alone to reflect on losing Joel and finally forgiving herself for treating him poorly. As you mentioned she also has the bracket which Ellie wore during Seattle day 2. She might have packed it in the bag but then why didn’t she wear it? I like how ambiguous this ending is but if you really look at the details it shows a happy ending for Ellie and Dina.
The details in the game and the games narrative structure agree with your observations.
Also, the devs say the bracelet wasn't in Ellie's backpack or her pockets.
@@oriomenoni7651 first, you get to hold your own view. In the same way that this channel and other viewers get to hold our views. You don't get to be disrespectful. Please adhere to community guidelines as you word your comments.
Second, the reappearance of Dina's bracelet implies that she is NOT done with Ellie. Game devs have confirmed Ellie did not take the bracelet to Santa Barbara. Which means Ellie has it in the Epilogue because Dina gave it to her again.
Additionally, the following items are not in the art studio nor in the farmhouse in the Epilogue: the buck head (which is a direct reference to Part 1 Ellie ... Go Bighorns) that hung on the farmhouse wall, Anna's note, Riley's pendant, Joel's watch, Joel's revolver, Ellie's box of journals, and Ellie's sketch of her holding newborn JJ.
No. Ellie does NOT leave the past behind. In fact, she leaves the farmhouse with Joel's moth insignia still tattooed on her arm, wearing Dina's bracelet, and carrying a recent sketch of Dina and JJ, along with a completed drawing of Joel playing his guitar in her journal.
@@TraceBravowhat if Ellie went back to Jackson and Dina gave her back the bracelet as a parting gift? Like she did the first time they parted, wishing Ellie good luck. And I think some things are missing because those are things Dina chose to keep and take back to Jackson.
I know Dina is Ellie’s ride or die but I believed Dina when she said she was done… Dina is a strong woman and yeah she is loyal but I think she also knows what she deserves. And she didn’t deserve to be left behind like that. we have to think about how Dina felt. Ellie was like JJ’s father figure and she left her child behind. Of course Ellie missed him and Dina (as obvious in her journal) but she still made that choice to leave, knowing very well that Dina may not forgive her for that.
I think that was kind of the whole point of the story to be honest. That the loss of Joel and need for revenge consumed Ellie. She is left all alone like her worst fear, and my theory is that in part 3 she becomes a hardened recluse like Joel.
The only objection I have to that theory is that Ellie did choose forgiveness (sparring Abby). But I don’t know if that’s enough to erase her mistake. We shall see.
I just think it would make Dina look weak and it would be a disservice to her character if she were to get back with Ellie to be honest… when said she wasn’t gonna do it again she meant that. As much I’d love to see them back together, I don’t think it will happen.
@@Saltykaylee Thanks very much for watching the video and taking the time to share your thoughts.
These videos are meant to point out the writers' intentions using details in the game. The writers use visual clues to indicate that Dina has already forgiven Ellie.
But Neil Druckmann has said that his interpretation doesn't have to mean anything to players. Art is subjective. Your experience is your own.
I could point out that Dina does not need the buck head that was hung on the wall because its symbolism is specific to Ellie. I could ask point out that Dina doesn't need Ellie's journals. I could point of that narrative gives Dina's bracelet a specific meaning that is not related to Loss or Friendship.
But me pointing out those things doesn't make your interpretations less valid.
Thanks for making this video i haven't felt so close to a videogame before and this one brings closure to an aching heart.
I'd like to believe that Ellie returned to the farmhouse, finding Dina gone but Dina having left her sheets(which Ellie folded before she left for Jackson again) in case she came back, which Dina assumed Ellie would(in my mind) if she wasn't dead. Ellie lived there until she was ready(seeing her lack of a reaction to finding the farm empty in the epilogue) and put Dina's bracelet back on because she decided she was worthy of her love again and left for Jackson.
I think what you said is probably true, but I would have liked to see them get back together :( I would EAT up some content about that in part 3 which is very likely tbh
I too did not appreciate not getting to see them reconcile on screen.
Based on the story play in the game, Dina LEFT the farm BECAUSE Ellie went after Abby, AGAIN. Ellie doesn't know this until she arrives back to their farm after she was done. You're forgetting the "cutscene" where Dina and Ellie are arguing about Ellie's leaving.
Thanks for watching. Thanks too for sharing your thoughts. That cutscene is discussed in other videos. This video is about what happens afterwards, in the Epilogue.
@@TraceBravo But there's nothing in the epilogue cutscene that suggests she stays on the farm, the game ends with her walking towards the gate as seen through an upstairs window, (like she's leaving).
@@djs12007 well the Epilogue does show clean bed sheets and a pillow in Ellie's bedroom, along with showing Ellie's green jacket hung up where Dina's back pack used to be.
@nathaann8790 thanks for watching the video and raising this. If Dina only took her and JJ's things then we should be able to find the buck head, and Ellie's box of journals in the art room. They aren't there.
Added to that, Ellie gives up on the revenge quest when she frees Abby.
@@TraceBravo I don't know about your game version, but mine shows "Ellie" finding her box of artwork in the upstairs room of the farmhouse. this is just before she goes downstairs to try and play her guitar. You have to make her go up the stairs. (Never saw a Buck's head though).
It was very selfish of Ellie to leave Dina and JJ at the farm unprotected. I didn’t even think about that until just now and I’ve played TLOU 2 9 times
A lot of characters do things uncharacteristic of them for the purpose of telling a subpar story
It was selfish, yes.
Tough I believe that when someone is in such a state of trauma, there is not much you can do.
Ellie, at this moment believes that sadly, the only way of ending her suffering is to end Abby.
Thank you for going in depth with it. Ellie went through so much and with how ambiguous the ending was, I always felt empty after the game ended. Also, you really had to use this background music huh 😢 Always makes me teary eyed
Appreciate your work!
Thanks so much watching this video. I appreciate your time.
The feeling you got at the end of the game is intentional. The ending of Part 2 is the opposite of Part 1. In Part 1, we feel good at the end because we don't immediately see that Ellie is losing faith in Joel. Whereas in Part 2, we feel bad because we don't immediately see that Ellie is doing much better in her relationship with herself and others.
This makes no sense to me. The game's theme is about how vengeance makes you lose gratuitously. Dina even says if she goes back to look for Abby they're done. Ellie loses her fingers, she can't play Joel's song anymore, which was the only thing she had left of him. Thats why she leaves his guitar on the house. How on Earth does that match with her being forgiven offcamera by Dina and returning back to Jackson with her?
Thanks for watching the video. It's appreciated. It's always interesting to hear perspectives on this amazing game.
Let's remember that Druckmann told us that the consequences of vengeance is NOT the theme of the game. The ability to see from our enemy's perspective is the point. Druckmann added that HOPE is the overlying theme.
That said, Owen and Abby "return" to their a relationship, and so do Ellie and Dina. The game is big on "show, not tell", which is why we get to see the bracelet in the end. Likewise, Ellie's journal SHOWS us the renewed status of her relationship with her family, and a picture of Joel playing guitar on the farmhouse porch. A place he had never been. Those details are meant to SHOW reconciliation.
@@TraceBravo i mean Owen did die after that lol
@@SomadeCristal lol...now you're moving the goal post. But that's not a problem because the point still stands that Owen's love for Abby endured. She also holds on to him by writing to him (although he's dead). Ellie fares a bit better.
In short, it's Owen who turns his back on Abby in the aquarium. But it's Owen we SEE pleading to have Abby again. Likewise, it's Dina who turns her back on Ellie in the farmhouse. But it's Dina's bracelet we SEE on Ellie's wrist again in the Epilogue.
@@TraceBravo i guess we'll have to wait till TLOU3 to know the outcome, but thanks for replying :)
It's always good to debate with other people that see the value of this fantastic game and don't thoughtlessly trash about it
I’m guessing she went back to Jackson because it’s probably the only place safe away from the dead, as well as bandits and raiders
The only thing about that is both Ellie and Dina would have to deal with Tommy and the fact that he hasn’t properly grieved Joel and is still consumed with revenge.
@TheAngelofFate17 So true! That's a great point 🌟
Dina's a mum now and she needs someone she and JJ can rely on. Ellie was so obsessed with revenge to the point that she was willing to put killing Abby first over taking care of her family.
Thanks for watching the video. Appreciated. The game also raises this point you make.....and answers it. The game shows us Ellie letting go of that obsession. Literally. Halley then says Ellie retains some of her humanity (beach fight commentary). Neil adds that it allows her to see that there are other things worth fighting for (porch scene commentary). Ellie returns home already knowing Dina has gone. Neil ends by saying that there was redemption for Joel and there can be redemption for Ellie. Ellie enters and leaves the farmhouse wearing Dina's bracelet (a totem Neil says represents Dina - not luck. Hillcrest commentary). Indicating Ellie has reconciled with Dina.
Can’t wait for tlou 3
Also can’t have enough of this channel
Plewseeeeeee post as soon as you can :))))))
Thank you for this motivation. I really appreciate it. I'm getting over a really bad cold. 😘👍
Dina left and probably left Ellie too. Perhaps they're on speaking terms in Jackson but I'd imagine that's all there is to it. It's the only way the ending and its vibe makes remote sense. Ellie wearing a bracelet doesn't really mean anything. The wearing of mementos can be a one way street.
Thanks for watching the video.
I feel that the ending was just that, right after Santa Barbara, she wore the bracelet for a sense of comfort, she came back to the farm after Santa Barbara, straight after, finding everything gone, she leaves to someplace we'll see in part 3 I don't think there was anything before this and Santa Barbara.
Thanks for watching the video. Appreciated. Lots of ppl share your thoughts on that. The game shows she did not leave the farm with the bracelet nor have it in Santa Barbara. But she is wearing it when she gets back to the farm. So that's the clue that she has seen Dina before this trip to the old house.
@@TraceBravo that's a fair point, I wouldn't be surprised if she just packed it in her bag, not wearing in Santa Barbara due to pain? Idk wearing something of your lovers who you just abandoned while doing the very thing they didn't want doesn't seem like Ellie
@@Mossy_green devs said it wasn't in her bag.
@@TraceBravo did they? First time I'm hearing this
@@Mossy_green was able to ask this question when I saw them in Orlando at the opening of Halloween Horror Nights last October 2023. They said that video games are visual mediums. An example of an item of clothing that we don't see leaving the farm but is presented in Santa Barbara are Ellie's sneakers. An example of an artefact that we don't see leaving tne farm but is presented in Santa Barbara is Joel's watch. These demonstrate that if Ellie had the bracelet in Santa Barbara, it would also have been shown in Santa Barbara.
That's why we need a part 3
Thank you for the insight to the question at hand..I don't get it..what happen to always being there for one another..did I miss something!?..Respect!!!
I really love your comment. The game sets up Dina as the most loyal person. Then ppl want us to interpret the scene the night Ellie leaves the farm as Dina giving up on her.
Even if Dina broke up with Ellie that night, the bracelet suggests she forgives Ellie. So Dina does turn out to be loyal after all.
@@TraceBravo Yup!
@@mxtgaming6885 when is your next live stream?
I am surprised that they even moved there in that farm at all just on their own like that. No one would be there to act as a form of backup, no weapons of any kind except for maybe a couple of handguns, maybe a rifle and a few grenades or whatever, and what? A pitchfork, knives and so forth?
Too many bandits and such can easily sworn Dina and JJ and kill them both without breaking much of a sweat. Meaning that Dina will be outmanned and outgunned. Even if Ellie decided to plant her butt there and stay put and setting this revenge aside, it’s still going to be the same deal, but just one extra body. The only way they’d be able to put up with it is if there’s only 2~3 bandits trying to break in but Dina and Ellie noticed and shot them or gave them a warning shot to leave and it was successful.
Dina gave Ellie an ultimatum “you leave & im gone.” Ellie is damaged goods now and I dont think she returned to Jackson out of fear that her traumatic episodes would be harmful to Dina & JJ. Ellie probably became a smuggler & mercenary like Joel was.
Thanks for watching the video. Appreciated. Question: Wasn't Ellie''s "trying to be like Joel" what caused her C-PTSD to begin with?
@@TraceBravo Yes, and I think not ultimately avenging Joel would have kept her in a state of despair. A downward spiral that she would not be able to break. Ellie would need to ask for help but she’s too proud. So she would isolate & maybe keep doing what seems to come naturally. Not saying it’s right just where I see her headed. If they continue to a LOU 3 I think Abby & Lev have found the fireflies & a doctor working on a cure. They ask Abby to find Ellie & bring her back ultimately closing the loop & Ellie finding purpose.
@@chaoticstylez you make some good points.
I'd love to see a third game that looks at Ellie's journey back from Santa Barbara. As it might display how she finally accepts her grief or meets someone along the way to bounce off of.
Like a DLC! ❤
In the Epilogue, Ellie's journal implies that after letting go the Fireflies cure her. I would love to see that happen!! We see how she got infected. So let us see her being cured.
She went back to Jackson
Yep
I always find it like Dina left Ellie & took AJ. They're not back together. Ellie just lived out her days mostly alone in that farm.
Thanks for watching the video. Appreciated. Lots of ppl think as you do. I am just not one of them because the details seem to indicate otherwise. It's okay that we have different interpretations of it.
I would like more future videos to have this voice, it sounds good. Is it ai?
it's not ai. it's my voice. thanks for the compliment.
@@TraceBravoare you ai
I don't know but I think, Joel's death has impacted me more than Ellie. I don't know again but Abby took her revenge for her dad's death. But Ellie couldn't get that thing. She prolly stays in the trauma till today.
A lot of ppl feel like you do.❤️. It is comforting to know that in the epilogue, Ellie is finally able to draw Joel again. She draws him sitting on her old farm's porch playing guitar. She is finding healthy ways to deal with her trauma.
Also, you don't have to live without Joel. He is alive and well in the No Return mode.
@@TraceBravo your reply makes me feel a lil better 😩. But poor ellie, having two of her fingers missing she can't play the guitar well. TLOU has left me a feeling of emptiness, but it really is a masterpiece.
@GAMINGBYAGAMER yeah. I know that feeling. It's that feeling that led me to start making these videos. As I made them, I began noticing that the developers put clues to show us that things work out for Ellie. In the end, Ellie is okay.
She had to lose those gingers for her to chill out, tho. She was doing way too much! 😂
I find it hard to believe that, they’d fully break up, after all JJ is also Ellie’s kid she helped raise him from birth so it’d be unfair and out of character for Dina to take JJ from Ellie although I could see TLOU3 starting with a divorced Dina and Ellie sharing custody but obviously want them be together Dina is great
You'll notice in the Director's Commentary that Haley's statement about Ellie's things being left in the farmhouse "to rot" caught Shannon by surprise. Shannon played Dina as a character who is fiercely loyal to Ellie.
Haley is also the person who said Ellie would have killed Lev in Santa Barbara while Neil said Ellie was bluffing. Haley also says that Dina left Ellie things in the farmhouse, while Neil later says it was Ellie who put them there.
Speaking of Neil, he says that in his mind, Ellie leaves the guitar at the farmhouse because it is trauma triggering for her. However, Ellie enters and leaves the farmhouse wearing Dina's bracelet. Ellie also leaves with a new drawing of Dina, JJ, and Joel playing his guitar in her journal.
Regarding the bracelet, Neil addresses the argument that the bracelet is just a lucky charm by telling us (in his Hillcrest commentary) that the bracelet represents Dina - not luck. If Ellie is leaving everything else in the farmhouse because she is leaving it all behind, then she has no reason to keep Dina's bracelet. But she does keep the bracelet. Which is our visual cue that their romantic relationship is repaired.
i really think dina left the house of her own accord and is living in jackson during the ending, unaware of ellie's condition. ellie took the bracelet when she left for santa barbara, and her wearing it at the end is a plea for reconcilitation. dina rightfully thought that ellie would die in santa barbara and gave up on their relationship altogether, leaving the house and keeping ellie's room untouched as a sign of respect. ellie's departure hurt dina profoundly and forgiving her would be very hard.
so, no, i don't think they've reconciled at the end. ellie went to the house because it had indeed become her home over the years, but upon finding it almost empty and leaving all of her possessions behind (not just the guitar, but every object in the room), she is finally detaching herself from whom she's been over the years and from her hateful obsession with her immunity and trauma.
Thanks for watching the video and for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate that. I fundementally disagree with the view that Ellie and Dina have not reconciled, but I am aware why many ppl hold that interpretation. For my position, I have noted that several out of bounds videos and the in-game references, like Ellie's artifacts in Santa Barbara, show that Ellie didn't take the bracelet from the farm. The Director's Commentary also says that Dina shows a willingness to leave Ellie, but it does not say that she actually breaks up with Ellie. Druckmann later implies that it is Ellie who puts her own things in the room. It's for those reasons I maintain that they are back together. The beauty of this game, though, is that we can both be right.
@@TraceBravo that's pretty cool, i didn't know about that. it's good to know that maybe ellie hasn't lost everything.
also, so much respect for making a channel just about this game. it's a gem and more people need to see that.
@@Pedro-xz6wt I really appreciate you saying this. You have no idea how encouraging what you have said is. Thank you 🥰
have you played the remaster with the director's commentary yet?
Thanks for watching this video. it's appreciated. Yep. I have watched the remastered with the Director's Commentary on.
In the commentary, Halley talks about Dina showing a willingness to leave Ellie's obsessive behaviour behind. Later, Neil talks about Ellie putting her stuff in the room to avoid triggers while Ellie is shown walking away still wearing Dina's bracelet. Neil, Halley, nor Ashley do not say that Ellie is alone. Their commentary does not contradict this video.
I can't find the note in the house.?
@@Thekappa1845 did you mean the journals, or did you mean Jesse's mom's note?
@@TraceBravo yes
@@TraceBravo yeah the note jesse's mom
@Thekappa1845 it is in the Farm chapter. It is on the dining table as you (playing as Ellie) tour the house (holding JJ) while Dina is in the kitchen.
@@TraceBravo i might have start over on the game .
she took a chair 😢
😅 bleak.
I find it hard to believe that them both ended up together again, specially considering that Ellie chose her revenge over the love of Dina, that's not something that people are willing to tolerate besides that the devs saying that the bracelet was not on Elie's items doesn't mean they are getting back together, I believe she left the bracelet in a significant place of the house to give a closure to what she was feeling, just think about, what evidence did she have tha Ellie would come back alive? None, even with the help of 3 other members of Jackson they had no chance, Tommy was totally disabled, Dine ended up with a severe concussion and an arrow on her shoulder, Ellie half dead and Jesse totally. She left the bracelet at the farm meaning that she had moved on, otherwise why would she leave all of Ellie's belongings at the farm if she was so desperate to have her back. 😊
Thanks for watching the video. Appreciated. You kind of mixed up things that Ellie did with things that you think Dina did so I wasn't sure how to respond. But I really do understand your take on this. Lots of ppl feel as you do. The Director's Commentary says Dina shows a willingness to leave Ellie behind. The bracelet shows that ultimately she doesn't leave Ellie behind. Forgiveness is as big theme in this game as well.
I actually love to know how they got & afford those farm animals
lol! Good questions. They traded something for them. According to dialogue from Abby, then Tommy, and later from Joel, the Post-Outbreak economy is based on trade and barter. The house they most likely just found empty. The game shows us loads of houses that ppl just move into.
@@TraceBravoMy guess is the comics that were collected in TLOU part one, bet they are worth money in trading
@@SpeedyGonzalez58 lolol....man, that is an interesting thought!
I feel sorry for the Animals
Poor Ellie she looses absolutely everything because of Joels actions 😢
Lots of folks say that Ellie loses everything, but the narrative says that she keeps her humanity, and she returns to Dina.
@@TraceBravo I kinda blame Joel for lying to her about the Fireflies and the massacre which also leads to Abby killing him and later Jesse
@@hsd287 agreed. Joel made a bad call on that one.
The main question is what nobody asks: Where are the sheeps? Dina and the kid have munched all?
😂 Dina and JJ most likely did not eat the sheep. I say this because they left the tomatoes. The vegetables are easier to pick, and eat than butchering the sheep. Odds are they sold the sheep.
Well that explains everything
I think dina when back to jackson so bBy is protected at all times see if ellie returns exlpain whT she did .
The writers of the game say that you are right.
@@TraceBravo I never wring it make sense because baby is so little can't protect itself
hoping in part 3 ellie goes back to dina
👍bracelet says she already has❤️
Only 1 question left, are all their farm animals okay???
The scene in the Waking Up chapter of the guy showing his kid how to cut up meat at the butchery and later Ellie telling JJ they should eat the sheep popped into my head as I read your question. Pretty sure Ewegene, Daisy, Todd and those chickens are not okay. But Japan is probably ok tho.
I want to see this Tommy to
I'm guessing you're towards one or the other ends of 'the spectrum?'