Every episode of The Last of Us, ranked worst to best

2. Episode 5, “Endure and Survive”

When you hear “zombie TV drama,” you’re probably expecting episodes like “Endure and Survive.” Joel and Ellie are stuck inside Kansas City, hunted by survivors who want their blood. They meet up with another pair of survivors, Henry and his younger brother Sam, and must work together to make it out alive.

The episode has everything. We get tender moments as the foursome gets to know each other, with the innocence of Ellie and Sam reminding the older characters what they’re fighting for even as the situation turns increasingly dire. We have a great villain in the ruthless Kathleen, who thinks Henry wronged her and won’t stop until he’s dead. We have a huge action set piece with tons of infected, the biggest such scene we get all season. We even have some humor at the top as Joel tries and fails to be welcoming to Sam and Henry. “That’s just the way he sounds, he has an asshole voice.”

So “Endure and Survive” is a well-rounded episode of TV. What really kicks it into overdrive is the ending, where Ellie sees that Sam has been infected and tries to cure him using her blood — an act so purehearted it’s almost saccharine — only for him to turn the next morning. Henry shoots his own brother and then shoots himself while Joel and Ellie watch.

The Last of Us is all about love; between siblings, friends, lovers, parents and children, and more. Love is important — we need it in our lives, or we’ll shrivel and die — but it also makes us vulnerable, and can lead us down very dark paths. Sam and Henry love each other, but their story ends in tragedy. And it won’t be the last time.