From quiet glances to jump scares, Kate Herron reveals how she shaped the tone of one of the most pivotal episodes in The Last of Us. Herron came to the series as a fan of the game and its first season, drawn to its mix of horror and character drama. In Episode 4, she focused on letting Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced find the subtler beats between Ellie and Dina, while keeping the danger of their surroundings close at hand. The episode is defined by those details and its careful tension — pairing intimacy and peril without losing sight of its characters.
HBO Photos: HBO / Liane Hentscher
Girls on Tops: Set the scene for us… What led to you deciding you wanted to be a part of Series 2 of The Last of Us? What made you want to dive into that world?
I love the video game and was so impressed seeing how they adapted the story in season one. I reached out to them about season two and if they would want me in the mix for it.
Girls on Tops: This show’s led by some of the biggest names in TV and gaming. What do you think it was about your perspective or instincts that made Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin (co-creators & co-showrunners) feel you were the right director for Episode 4?
I can't speak to exactly why but, personally, I was very excited as this felt very much in my wheelhouse of being character-focused in a big genre setting and emotion-led. It also allowed me to really dig deeper into getting to craft a big action sequence and lean into my love for the horror genre, too.
Girls on Tops: Were there any little moments - glances, silences, gestures - that weren’t in the script but came out naturally during filming and ended up changing how you saw the characters?
I would say definitely in the "Take on Me" scene where Ellie sings to Dina. It didn't change how I saw the characters, but it was beautiful seeing what the actors brought to life here. We filmed this on our first day which was intimidating as it's a very memorable moment from the video game, but seeing how Bella and Isabella approached this moment was really special. This is why I love working with actors, because until you're on camera/set it's all preparation, but seeing what they do always elevates the work. I love the surprises you can find when filming, a different read on a line to what you expected or a reaction to a moment.
Girls on Tops: You’ve talked before about emotional truth being central to your directing - how do you go about creating the space for actors to find that, especially in the quieter, more vulnerable scenes?
For me it's about creating the space to make sure I am filming it efficiently, so when we get to the actors' close-ups we have that room to explore if we want and not rush, but also that I am going in with a very clear idea of what we are after. The joy of it for me is exploring the different levels within that and not rushing your actors in finding those great moments.
Girls on Tops: How did you work with Bella and Isabela to find that very particular tone between Ellie and Dina - somewhere between survival mode, new love, and all the unspoken tension still sitting between them?
As you said, it always comes back to emotional truth and making sure we weren't giving the game away in places and then working on my side to see how I can elevate the story. For example, the kiss in our episode had to be a surprise. Having Dina's reaction to Ellie, hidden by the shadows, was so important here so the audience were as much in the dark as Ellie was with how Dina felt. Will she kill her? Will she not?
Girls on Tops: What kinds of conversations did you have with Jeffrey Wright about Isaac that helped shape, or maybe even shift, how his character came through on screen?
Jeffrey's performance in the game is exceptional and Isaac is a force of nature, so for us it was important that he came in with a huge amount of energy and that the character felt powerful. His storyline, in my episode, is also a key place where the theme of cycles of violence is explored, so we spoke a lot about power. It was very important to me in the interrogation scene for example, that the prisoner hadn't given up. It had to feel like he still had a fight in him.
Girls on Tops: Do you think TV directors get more creative authorship than people often give them credit for - especially on episodes like this one, where the tone and emotional weight feel so distinct?
Oh, absolutely. Loki is slightly different as I was running that but whenever I've jumped into work on an episode with a showrunner, the best people I've worked with embrace the fact that it's a collaboration. As a director in TV, you are there to serve the showrunner, but your presence isn't undervalued. This was my experience with Craig Mazin, showrunner of The Last of Us - both of us were very attuned to what tonally we wanted the episode to be and feel like, but I could also still pitch ideas (for example in the action sequence, the jump scare etc.); likewise on the job I just finished directing - Margo's Got Money Troubles - with showrunner David E Kelley and writer Eva Anderson. The work is always better for it.
