The Last of Us Episode 5 ending explained: What happens to Henry and Sam?
Get the tissues out because the latest episode of The Last of Us is another emotional rollercoaster that’ll leave you shocked by the time the credits start to roll. So far, the HBO adaptation of Naughty Dog’s beloved video game has been a huge success, with viewership numbers increasing week after week. The post-apocalyptic series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), an unlikely duo traveling across the United States. Along the way, they make a few friends and a few enemies, and it’s difficult not to get attached to each of them.
The Last of Us Episode 5, “Endure and Survive,” takes place in Kansas City in the fallout of Joel and Ellie getting caught by a group of survivors who just took down FEDRA. The first chunk of the episode focuses on Henry (Lamar Johnson) and his Deaf little brother Sam (Keivonn Woodard), who are trying to flee from Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey).
SPOILERS ahead for The Last of Us Episode 5.
The Last of Us breaks our hearts again with Episode 5
In attempts to get out of Kansas City, Henry and Sam team up with Joel and Ellie to find a way to escape. Though their plan isn’t perfect, the four make it out alive and form a strong bond. Henry and Joel have both had to make difficult decisions for the sake of the ones they love, while Sam and Ellie strive to find good in the only world they’ve ever known. The relationship-building in this episode is fantastic, which makes the ending all the more heartbreaking.
In the final 10 minutes or so of the episode, the four characters decide to hole up at a deserted motel for the night, now safe from Kathleen and her crew. But they don’t all make it out unscathed, sadly, as Sam confides in Ellie that one of the infected bit him on his leg. The two communicate through Sam’s magic slate paper saver, a little notepad he uses to write messages on, and Ellie reveals her blood might be able to save him, since she’s immune to the fungus that has turned so many people into zombies. She cuts her hand and rubs some of her blood on his bite, hoping with all of her might that it’ll actually work.
Do Henry and Sam die in The Last of Us Episode 5?
The next morning, however, the situation escalates from zero to 100 when Ellie awakens to find Sam sitting on the edge of his bed, facing away from her. When she slowly walks over to see if he’s okay, he jumps up and starts attacking her, having advanced to the first stage of infection. He chases her into the next room where Joel and Henry are sleeping, and as they get up Henry grabs his gun and points it at Joel. Understandably, he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Sam, but as he processes what’s going on, he knows there’s only one thing he can do. Sadly, Henry has to kill his brother. He shoots Sam, which knocks him off Ellie, and then points the gun at Joel.
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Realizing what he’s just done, Henry makes another split-second decision, putting the gun to his head and shooting himself. His sudden death is very traumatic for Ellie especially, who looks at him in horror as tears stream down her face. Though we don’t know exactly what was going through Henry’s mind, we know that he just had to kill the one person he’s essentially been living for, which is unimaginably terrible. The decision he had to make is one that would be hard to live with.
Joel and Ellie bury the bodies. As they’re getting ready to leave, Ellie places Sam’s magic notepad in the dirt with the message “I’m sorry” written on it. I’m certain she’ll carry guilt with her over this for not being able to save Sam, though that definitely was not her responsibility.
Fans of the video game were no doubt getting emotionally prepared to watch Henry and Sam’s death scene play out, which goes down exactly the same way in the show as it does in the game. It’s extremely upsetting and will change Joel and Ellie’s journey together forever.
All five episodes of The Last of Us are available to stream on HBO Max, with Episode 6 set to release next Sunday, February 19.
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