Episode 5 of “The Last of Us,” which HBO Max began streaming two days early on Feb. 10, sees Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) on a quest to flee Kansas City and proceed their journey west. They’re aided by Henry (Lamar Johnson) and Sam (Keivonn Woodard), two Kansas City natives determined to flee. As we realized in episode 4, Henry collaborated with FEDRA when it nonetheless held energy within the metropolis, and now Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) and her group of rebels are intent on searching him down and killing him.
“The Last of Us” is based mostly on the online game of the identical identify, and Sam and Henry do seem in it and finally endure the identical destiny they do on the present. But the collection considerably modifications their path to that ending. Ahead, we’re breaking down the modifications the present made and its impact on the TV collection.
Changes “The Last of Us” Made to Sam and Henry’s Plot
“The Last of Us” TV collection subs Kansas City for Pittsburgh, however that is simply the beginning of the modifications to Sam and Henry’s plot. In the sport, Henry and his youthful brother, Sam, are a part of a bunch of survivors from Hartford who determined to journey west to seek out the Fireflies resistance group. In Pittsburgh, they conflict with hunters, and Joel and Ellie assist them escape.
In the TV collection, Henry and Sam have lived in Kansas City for a very long time and, like everybody else there, have been topic to FEDRA’s fascist oppression. Henry ultimately reveals to Joel through the fifth episode that Sam was recognized with most cancers, and solely FEDRA has the wanted treatment. So Henry turned in Kathleen’s brother — the chief of the rebels and an unbelievable individual — to avoid wasting Sam’s life.
Joel and Henry lead their group to the outskirts of Kansas City by tunnels below the town. The tunnels was once filled with the Infected, however Henry realized from FEDRA that every one the zombies are gone, and it is protected. But a second in episode 4 hinted that wasn’t true, and Infected have been looming all alongside.
Kathleen’s Death in “The Last of Us”
A insurgent catches the quartet in an deserted home within the suburbs. Henry, Sam, and Ellie cover behind a automotive whereas Joel goes into the home to confront the person, who’s taking pictures at them with a rifle. Joel tells him that if he guarantees to cease taking pictures and lets them get away, he will not shoot him, however the man goes to shoot Joel, so Joel kills him. Unfortunately, the person had already radioed Kathleen and the rebels, who’re virtually there. Joel watches from above with the person’s rifle and shoots a insurgent driving a large tank. The tank crashes right into a home.
Henry turns himself in to Kathleen and asks her to let the children go. She refuses. She additionally tells Henry that Sam was meant to die, so he ought to have accepted his destiny.
And that is when it occurs. It seems, there have been tons of Infected ready underground, they usually enter by a gap within the floor created by the crashed tank. The rebels attempt to battle them off with their weapons however fail and are shortly overtaken. Kathleen is viciously killed, however Joel, Henry, Sam, and Ellie make it away.
Sam and Henry’s Death in “The Last of Us”
In the sport, Sam is secretly bitten by a zombie through the escape however does not inform anybody till the an infection settles in and he assaults Ellie. The present places a spin on this, making all of it much more devastating.
After escaping the rebels and the zombie horde, Joel and Henry discover an deserted motel to spend the evening in. Ellie and Sam discuss of their room collectively, and Sam tells Ellie he is petrified of changing into a monster and asks her if she thinks Infected are nonetheless themselves inside. He reveals to her that he was bitten throughout their escape.
Ellie tells him that her blood is medication as a result of she was bitten and by no means modified. She covers his chew with a few of her blood, comforting them each just a little bit. He asks her to remain awake all evening with him, and she or he agrees.
But Ellie does go to sleep, and when she wakes up, Sam is within the first stage of an infection and assaults her. They barrel into the room the place Joel and Henry have been sleeping, and Henry shoots and kills Sam, saving Ellie. Then Henry, panicked, factors his gun at Joel and Ellie earlier than altering his thoughts and killing himself whereas Joel begs him to not.
Joel and Ellie bury their our bodies. Ellie does not need to speak about it and needs to maintain transferring, however she leaves Sam a observe that reads, “I’m sorry.”
Is Sam Deaf within the Video Game?
Another important change the present made is that Sam is deaf, as is Woodard, who performs him. Sam and Henry talk utilizing American Sign Language, and he and Ellie bond over their favourite comedian books and utilizing a magic slate notepad.
Video-game Sam can be just a little older than his onscreen counterpart. (Woodard is 9.) The Daily Moth, a information web site that delivers information in ASL and covers deaf information particularly, wrote in December 2022 that to their data, Woodard is the primary Black deaf younger actor to be featured in a TV present from a significant studio. Woodard informed the outlet of his message for different younger Black deaf folks: “You do not must be afraid! Don’t be afraid to attempt it out. Because that is what my dad and mom informed me – to not be afraid to check out. I used to be a bit afraid at first, however I went forward and overcame that, auditioned, and received the position with ‘The Last of Us’! I used to be mind-blown.”
Episode 5’s Impact
Sam and Henry are a foil to Ellie and Joel’s relationship. They have a detailed brotherly bond, and Joel nonetheless resists the bond he is forming with Ellie. Henry’s actions to maintain him and Sam alive are additionally morally grey, the identical method Joel has acted in generally brutal methods to maintain himself, Ellie, and previously his brother (Tommy Luna) and Tess (Anna Torv) alive. The episode additionally ties thematically into what Bill (Nick Offerman) wrote in his observe to Joel in episode three. Bill informed Joel that they are the kind of males who defend the folks they love, and Henry needed to try this too. But all of it ends in tragedy; safety is unimaginable, and Joel has by no means recognized that extra. Ellie and Sam’s connection additionally brings out how younger she is, however they stay in a world the place youth and pleasure are a hazard, the place completely satisfied reminiscences flip into painful ones. Her time in Kansas City has modified her eternally.
Plus, the second when the zombie horde comes out of the bottom will not be solely terrifying, but it surely additionally ties into the concept people spend a lot time combating as factions that they do not come collectively when it issues. Kathleen knew concerning the zombie menace in episode 4, however she put all her assets towards discovering Henry out of revenge. Kathleen and Henry are each victims of the fascist FEDRA system, however they let their variations divide them, resulting in tragedy.