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One of the most iconic scenes in The Last of Us Part 2 is where Ellie does an impromptu concert for Dina playing A-ha’s 1980s “Take On Me.” When planning out Season 2, showrunner Craig Mazin knew he was going to include that moment, but also wanted to make sure he did it right. With Episode 4, fans got to see the scene recreated with Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced in their respective roles.
Talking on Sony’s Creator to Creator, Mazin, Ramsey, and Merced, along with co-stars Gabriela Luna and Young Mazino, talked about the early days of production and casting, but also trying to be as game-accurate as possible for the most important scenes.
“I was hoping the music shop scene would be included,” said Merced. “That was really special to me and left a mark on me.”
Mazin confirmed that it was Ramsey playing and singing the song themselves: “Bella did all this tremendous work because they’re very good at playing guitar and singing while playing guitar…I play guitar, but I’m not that good. So you had a lot of time practicing. They show up, and crush it, but you sort of go ‘now you have to be not too good.’ You have to fall into real, especially with that first part where Ellie’s just playing to herself until Dina comes in.”
Luna talked about playing that part of the game, where you have to utilize the controller’s touchpad and strum to match the cords to activate the scene. He also said that he played a few of his songs using the touchpad and wondered if Ramsey had as well, since they also write their own music.
“Talking about that scene though, I remember getting to see you react was so beautiful,” Ramsey said to Merced. “I remember where your emotions were so close to the surface that day. I remember it was so beautiful to watch your reaction to it when I wasn’t on camera…that was a really special day.”
Merced agreed, saying, “I think you have an old man’s soul, and when you have an old soul, even though they’re young, when you sing, it sometimes comes out. I feel like your voice was piercing my heart. And it was much harder not to cry in that moment.”
New episodes of The Last of Us air Sundays at at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET on HBO and Max.
