The Last of Us series is all about telling powerful, human stories and for the most part, Ellie and Joel were at the heart of those tales. In the 2020 sequel, Ellie and Joel played huge roles once more, but we were also introduced to a number of new characters. As prominent as Ellie, was Abby: two sides of the same coin. In an ideal world both Ellie and Abby would have probably got on well, kicking ass in the post-apocalyptic world.
However, Ellie and Abby weren’t to be, but this article isn’t about Ellie, Abby, or even Joel. It’s about these supporting characters that I would love to know more about. Naughty Dog, please give us The Last of Us Part 2 DLC expansions starring Dina and Jesse.
Before I continue, I will be doing my best to keep spoilers to a minimum. So if details seem vague, that’s because I don’t want to spoil anything for those that are yet to play The Last of Us Part 2. That said, if you’ve not finished or played The Last of Us 2, then why are you here? Go play it!
The characters I’d like to see more of in an expansion are Jesse and Dina. Both of these individuals are caring and charismatic, and they both seem to be sweethearts to those that they care about. However, when it comes down to it, they can be as ruthless and as badass as any survivor of this Clicker-infected world.
Unfortunately, other than what we learned in The Last of Us 2, there’s not a great deal we know about Jesse and Dina, and I’d love to learn more. This is why I believe that if The Last of Us 2 would get its own story expansion, a story for either of the duo should be considered.
Now I know that Naughty Dog has made it quite clear in the past that The Last of Us 2 won’t be getting a story expansion, but we’re talking hypothetically here, so humour me. That said, just because Naughty Dog claims that something won’t happen, doesn’t mean that it won’t. But again, we’re talking hypotheticals right now.
Both Jesse and Dina support Ellie on her quest for revenge without a second thought. For me personally, in what is a tale of bloodthirsty revenge, Jesse and Dina bring a much more grounded human aspect, the voices of reason if you will.
Around the year 2033, despite not knowing each other, Jesse and Dina moved to the Jackson settlement and became important members of its community. At some point before the story of The Last of Us 2, Jesse and Dina dated on-and-off, which had huge implications on the campaign.
In terms of pre-Jackson, Dina once told Ellie that she first killed someone after a man tried to kill her mother. We also learned that Dina’s faith is in Judaism. There may have also been snippets of information on Jesse in conversation or hidden documents, but there’s not much else to go on for either of the characters.
This is why I believe Jesse and Dina would make for an interesting expansion, at least from a story perspective. Perhaps even if they just received small pieces of story DLC each offering some added backstory, it would help us to feel an extra connection with the duo.
For better or worse, out of all the characters in The Last of Us 2, Jesse and Dina were two of my favourites. They were cool, rational, and had loyal personalities, but when it came to a showdown, they knew how to throw down! Plus, Jesse’s tale came to a very questionable end which perhaps didn’t do his character the justice he deserved.
It’s likely that if The Last of Us Part 3 happens, whether you like her or not, Abby will probably play another leading role, as well as in any potential story DLC or expansion for The Last of Us 2.
However, as we’ve already learned quite a lot about Ellie, Joel, and Abby, I’d like other characters to have their stories told and I would love those characters to be Jesse and Dina. I want to know more about what makes them tick, how they were before the Cordyceps pandemic, and how this new world changed them before we met them.
Again, I know that we’ll not likely get a story expansion, but in the unlikely event, I think Jesse and Dina are worth a shout.
Be sure to let us know what unlikely expansion you’d like to see for The Last of Us 2 across our social media channels.
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Featured Image Credit: Naughty Dog