Breaking down the new episode of 'The Last of Us' in all its details and nuances.
Imagine: you wake up, and a 10-year-old boy has a gun pointed at you. What do you do? That's exactly the scene that ends Episode 4 of 'The Last of Us' for Joel and the viewer. Who is this boy, what did Henry do wrong, and most importantly, how to hide from Kathleen? Episode 5 will tell you.
Previous recaps:
Warning: spoilers for Episode 5 of 'The Last of Us' follow below
Meeting New Characters
Sam
Sam (Keivonn Woodard) is a typical nine-year-old: he reads comics, draws superheroes, loves to play ball. Sam is also deaf, which noticeably reduces his chances of surviving in a world of infected and clickers that rely on sound. But Sam is lucky; his older brother Henry looks after him.
Henry
Henry (Lamar Johnson) is a young man whom FEDRA officials have branded a collaborator (in other words, an informant), facing a difficult ethical choice: turn in the leader of the Kansas City resistance, Michael, a noble and great man, to the Agency, or let his younger brother die of leukemia. Henry chooses the former, thereby signing his own death warrant in the eyes of Michael's sister, the very same Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) – the current leader and, coincidentally, Michael's sister. Henry understands this, so he prepares a Plan B: in case the Resistance wins – flee the city.
How Did the Episode Begin?
The story of the fifth episode begins precisely with the victory of the Resistance under the effective and uncompromising leadership of Kathleen. The series doesn't deny itself the pleasure of showing the madness people are capable of when oppressed by a military tyranny for 20 years. They rejoice and kill FEDRA officers.
Henry and Sam managed to escape. They are hiding in the attic that Kathleen's people found in the fourth episode.
Henry witnesses Joel fighting off the Resistance members who attacked our main characters. Catching Ellie and Joel off guard, waking them with the barrel of a gun pointed at their heads, Henry proposes they work together.
How to Leave the Prison? Through the Tunnel, of Course
Henry says the only way to leave Kathleen's territory is to go through the underground tunnels. This could be dangerous, because 15 years ago FEDRA herded all the infected from the city down there, and they still roam there. But Henry assures Joel and Ellie that there is a section where no one is – it was cleared by the Agency. The heroes have no choice but to trust him.
Contrary to expectations and the sagging floor in the 4th episode, the section indeed turns out to be clean. Narratively, it serves as a kind of safe haven where children freely play football and laugh, and adults are freed from judgment and mutual animosity, sighing heavily over the moral choices they had to make.
Fear Old Men with Rifles and Girl Clickers
Having emerged from the underground, the heroes happily walk along the road leading away from the city. Suddenly, they are shot at from the tallest house on the street. Sneaking into the house, Joel eliminates the elderly sniper, but he has already called for backup in the form of the enraged Kathleen and her soldiers. They are ruthless, they want to kill not only Joel and Henry, but also Sam and Ellie.
And then the ground rumbled! Or rather, the soil could no longer withstand the onslaught of the trapped infected, who, breaking free, swiftly attack the soldiers and our heroes. And, of course, in this epic and tense scene, we meet the one fans of the game have been waiting for…The Bloater! A huge and impenetrable monster, the final stage of infection. It is created, as always, with care and great love for the original.
At the beginning of the episode, Joel roughly drew boundaries, telling the brothers that he is not Ellie's father, but in this scene, he acts exactly like one. Despite the girl's jabs in the third episode about the man's poor shooting, Joel doesn't miss a single shot while Ellie runs past soldiers and infected; he precisely and even meticulously clears her path.
Having fought off the attack, our heroes try to run, but Kathleen catches up to them. Despite her brother Michael's last words asking her to forgive Henry, she still tries to shoot the young man, but a Clicker in the body of a little girl devours the would-be avenger (by Jung?).
Scorpions and Loneliness
The heroes stop in a safe place. Sam asks Ellie why she isn't afraid of anything, to which the girl replies that she is always afraid, especially of scorpions and being left alone. Sam shares his fear of turning into a monster and losing himself, revealing an infected bite to the heroine. Ellie tries to heal her friend with her blood. Unfortunately, it doesn't work; the next morning, the infected boy attacks the girl, and Henry, saving her, shoots Sam in the head. Lost and desperate, Henry shoots himself in the head as well.
Joel and Ellie bury the brothers and head east.
Impressions
The fifth episode is dynamic and brutal. Moreover, its brutality lies not only in the plot but also in how it treats the viewer. In the confrontation between Henry and Kathleen, you don't know who to empathize with. The motives of both are understandable and logical. And as individuals, they are both far from positive characters, but they are charming due to the plot and the acting. If Kathleen is a confident and ruthless leader towards her enemies, then Henry is an opportunist, ready for both meanness and self-sacrifice, just to save his brother.
And between two fires, the most innocent and bright one inevitably suffers, namely Sam.
At the same time, the series remains lyrical and sentimental. The hardened Joel, who at the beginning is categorical about Henry's way of survival, calling him a rat, later becomes sympathetic and accepts the young man's path. The empathetic Ellie, pressing her palm to Sam's leg in naive and very touching attempts to heal the boy – these details are like hope that humanity should prevail.
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