Anybody complaining that The Last of Us doesn’t have sufficient zombies in it should shut up with the discharge of the season’s fifth episode, “Endure and Survive.” After an exhilarating, tension-filled escape from Kansas City, Joel, Ellie, and a few associates discovered themselves up once more a whole bunch of zombies of all sizes and styles. And even so, that was removed from the scariest a part of one other glorious episode.
Episode 5 of The Final of Us, “Endure and Survive,” started previously. It takes a couple of minutes to understand however the scenes of carnage we’re witnessing are the individuals of Kansas Metropolis rising up and taking energy away from FEDRA. However they’re not simply taking again energy, they’re beating and torturing the troopers. We see a few of this by way of the eyes of a person and a baby who you might recognize from the end of the previous episode. They’re the individuals holding up Ellie and Joel at gunpoint and we’ll quickly come to know them as Henry (Lamar Johnson) and Sam (Keivonn Woodard), the individuals Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) has been looking for. They converse primarily in ASL as Sam is unable to listen to.
Kathleen hasn’t discovered them but although and questions a room of individuals she calls “informers” about them. These are individuals who Kathleen claims would rat on fellow residents to FEDRA to get sure luxuries. She’s about to kill all of them when considered one of them says he is aware of the place Henry and Sam are. They’re with a health care provider named Edelstein, however he doesn’t know the place. Glad, Kathleen leaves the prisoners and tells her military that discovering Henry and Sam is the primary precedence so they need to begin on the lookout for them and Edelstein. As for these informers? Kathleen orders them to all be executed, which occurs in a chilling offscreen method.
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Henry and Sam sneak across the metropolis and make it to a secret area protected by the physician we noticed Kathleen questioning in the previous episode. His identify, you guessed it, is Edelstein (John Getz). He brings Henry and Sam into his hidden attic area and figures out that with the meals they’ve obtainable, they’ll’t final greater than 11 days. Within the subsequent 11 days, they should discover a manner out of Kansas Metropolis. To try to guarantee his youthful brother—they’re siblings, because it seems—Henry lies and says he’s not scared, so Sam shouldn’t be both, and offers him some crayons to brighten the in any other case drab area.
Let’s take a fast pause right here. If you remember in last week’s recap, I discussed that that episode could be made much more rewarding after seeing this one. Nicely, in final week’s episode, we realized that Kathleen captured and killed Edelstein for not saying the place Henry and Sam are (although we didn’t understand it was Edelstein then) after which we noticed that she really finds his hidden attic area which has already been all adorned. So The Final of Us is filling in some tiny holes from the earlier episode in a extremely elegant manner.
Ten days go and Edelstein is gone. (We all know he’s not coming again however the characters don’t know but.) Sam is hungry however Henry is holding out hope for the physician’s return with some meals. When he’s not again the subsequent morning (day 11) Henry tells Sam that Edelstein might be useless (good guess) and they need to go away (good instincts). However, as a result of they’re each scared, and Sam paints an orange masks on all of the superheroes he attracts, Henry paints an orange masks on his brother too.
They’re about to exit the entrance door when Henry hears a bunch of capturing and screaming outdoors. He peeks out and sees a blue truck crashed right into a constructing and a devilishly good-looking man with a mustache and a flannel killing the attackers. In fact, it’s Joel, and we’re seeing the events of the previous episode from one other viewpoint. After seeing what Joel is able to, Henry tells Sam their plan to flee has modified.
It’s night and Sam and Henry are climbing the identical steps we noticed Joel and Ellie climb within the earlier episode. We all know what’s about to occur—they’re about to carry up Joel and Ellie and gunpoint—however now understanding their backstory, and understanding they don’t have any bullets, any worry we might have felt for Joel and Ellie shifts. We all know it is a big bluff by Henry and Sam and so our worry transfers to them. Once more, simply actually good, fascinating storytelling that connects us to every essential character.
Lastly, we’re again on the finish of the earlier episode, and after a tense second the place Joel’s asshole voice virtually ruins every thing, a reluctant truce is made. Henry explains that he’s essentially the most needed man in Kansas Metropolis however he thinks Joel might now be the second and thinks they need to work collectively.
Joel and Ellie give Henry and Sam some meals and you’ll see that whereas Joel remains to be very cautious concerning the scenario, Ellie is anxious to have one other child to be a child with. She virtually immediately begins joking round with Sam and shortly, the pair are laughing collectively, which warms each Joel and Henry’s hearts.
Henry reveals that he has Joel and Ellie found out. They had been looking for a excessive level to see a manner out of the town. He tells Joel that he is aware of the way in which out of the town and has devised a plan to make use of underground tunnels to flee with out Kathleen or her military discovering them. Joel is reluctant once more as a result of a) Henry reveals he was an informer and Joel doesn’t like that, and b) those tunnels are the place all the town’s contaminated are. Nevertheless, Henry doesn’t imagine that to be true anymore. A FEDRA supply of his mentioned the tunnels have been cleared. However, in case they aren’t, he is aware of Joel is a way more succesful man than he’s when it comes to safety. “I present the way in which, you clear the way in which,” Henry proposes, and Joel agrees.
As the 2 males and two children head into the constructing, The Final of Us had a rigidity and power it hasn’t but. That’s as a result of for the primary time, the viewers is aware of that the characters even have a plan and we’re going to observe them execute it. Are there contaminated within the tunnels? Will Joel must kill them? Does Henry know what he’s speaking about? Will Kathleen discover them? All of this circles in our minds because the 4 of them head down under the town.
Henry was proper. The tunnels appear to be clear and, quickly, they arrive up upon a room that’s sort of like a daycare, adorned with every kind of drawings and child’s toys. Ellie and Sam instantly dive in and the group decides possibly it’s not such a foul thought to take a break to allow them to emerge from the tunnel a bit of nearer to dusk.
Sam and Ellie play soccer and skim comics as Henry explains to Joel precisely why he’s not simply needed, however on the run. He explains that Sam was identified with leukemia and the one medication that might assist him was managed by FEDRA. So as to get the medication to avoid wasting Sam, Henry needed to commerce them one thing massive. And so he traded the whereabouts of the chief of the resistance motion in Kansas Metropolis, an important man that he admired who simply occurs to be Kathleen’s brother.
Henry feels responsible about this however Joel, and the viewers, aren’t so certain. Sure, he needed to mainly sentence a buddy, a person he admired, to dying. Which is terrible. However the flip aspect is that his little brother, the one particular person relying on him on this world, would die if he didn’t. Is Henry the unhealthy man? He appears to suppose so, however we’re not sure we agree.
In the meantime, Kathleen goes residence. She’s standing in her childhood bed room when her second in command Perry (Jeffrey Pierce, who voiced Tommy within the unique video games, do you know that? I didn’t) strolls in. She tells him concerning the ways in which her brother, Michael, would make her really feel secure and liked. Michael was such a tremendous particular person, the truth is, that earlier than he was killed by FEDRA, he advised Kathleen to spare Henry. To point out him mercy. So, Kathleen believes, her brother wouldn’t approve of every thing she’s finished. Perry, who has been taking all this in, says that whereas everybody liked Michael, his kindness didn’t get something finished. It was Kathleen that took Kansas Metropolis again, they usually’re there for her.
This scene, whereas small in stature, was big in thematic ramifications. To see Kathleen—like Henry, like Joel—battle together with her personal morality is actually what this entire part of the present has been about. There’s good and unhealthy in all of us and we select which aspect to set free.
That scene was additionally the right dose of calm to arrange what was about to occur. Joel, Ellie, Henry, and Sam make it by way of the tunnels unscathed and emerge into the residential space on the outskirts of city. A couple of extra blocks and Henry thinks they’re residence free. Everyone seems to be chatting and completely happy when bullets begin whizzing by their heads. There’s a sniper on the finish of the highway and Joel leaves his associates behind cowl in order that he can care for it.
Joel makes it to the home and finds a comparatively older man behind the rifle. Joel pleads with him to simply give him the gun and wait—he’ll be spared—however the man doesn’t hear and turns to shoot, so Joel is compelled to kill him. For a second, it looks like all is nicely as soon as once more, besides Kathleen is on the radio. The sniper advised her the individuals had been there and he or she’s on the way in which.
Now solely is Kathleen on the way in which, she’s bringing her military. Lead by what can solely be described as a snow plow for automobiles, Kathleen and her staff arrive in really bombastic style. Ellie, Henry, and Sam run for it as Joel shoots with the sniper rifle. Finally, he hits the driving force of the plow, which crashes right into a home after which explodes.
Kathleen yells to a hiding Henry to come back out, which he says he’ll if she lets the youngsters go. She says no and tells him that possibly Sam was presupposed to die. That he’s not price risking every thing for. However earlier than the dialog can finish, that burning truck collapses into the bottom. Bear in mind final week when Kathleen and Perry had been scared about the bottom shifting? And bear in mind earlier on this episode when Henry defined FEDRA moved the contaminated underground? Is all of it coming collectively for you?
Quickly, an avalanche of contaminated come pouring out of the bottom and for the subsequent 5 minutes, The Final of Us turned the full-fledged zombie present individuals in all probability anticipated it to be. Ellie, Henry, and Sam try and run as Joel covers them by way of sniper rifle from down the highway. However Kathleen’s military is getting eaten up. Actually. We even get our first take a look at one of many fan-favorite characters from the online game, a Bloater. It’s massive, it’s gross, it’s sturdy, and although Perry efficiently saves Kathleen from him, he’s not so fortunate. RIP Bearded Will Forte.
Ellie hides in a automobile however is adopted by a clicker who strikes like one thing out of The Ring. Joel continues to cowl her. Lastly, simply when Henry, Sam, and Ellie suppose it’s secure, Kathleen catches up with them. She’s about to shoot when that very same clicker who was after Ellie jumps on her again. RIP Kathleen and RIP Kansas Metropolis—as the contaminated, pondering they’ve killed everybody on the town, run again in direction of the town.
Determined for relaxation, Joel, Henry, and the youngsters discover an previous resort. Ellie and Sam act like every thing is okay, which Henry and Joel suppose is likely one of the greatest components of being a child. What they don’t see although is Ellie and Sam speaking about their fears and, finally, Sam revealing to Ellie he’s been bitten. She reveals him her wound and explains that her blood could also be medication, so she cuts herself and wipes it on him. Ellie guarantees to remain up all evening to observe over Sam.
Ellie falls asleep although, and when she will get up, finds Sam already awake. She walks over to him however he’s gone. He’s contaminated. Sam assaults Ellie they usually smash by way of the door into Joel and Henry’s room. Henry grabs the gun however hesitates to do something as Ellie is being attacked. Shortly although he shoots Sam within the head, killing him. “What did I do?” he retains saying by way of worry and tears. Joel asks him for the gun again however Henry places it to his head and pulls the set off. The guilt of not simply shedding his brother, however having to do it himself was an excessive amount of.
It’s a strong, heartbreaking, scary second all rolled into one and it performs out in a really purposeful manner. As an alternative of us seeing Henry commit suicide, we watch Ellie’s response to it. Via that, we see her worry, her horror, and precisely what this world is doing to her innocence. It’s an enormous second for Ellie, to so shortly lose one thing you had been starting to like.
Outdoors, Joel and Ellie bury their associates and Ellie leaves a be aware on Sam’s grave: “I’m sorry.” She really thought possibly her blood might assist him. Or that she ought to have been a greater protector when the contaminated rushed them. However, Ellie immediately isn’t the Ellie of the day earlier than. She’s tougher, extra jaded, and issues are simply getting began.
“Endure and Survive” (named after the catchphrase of the comedian e-book Ellie and Sam learn all through the episode, which I’m now realizing I didn’t point out up so far) was phenomenal. The way in which Henry and Sam’s story stuffed in gaps from the earlier episodes and recontextualized feelings, the philosophical conversations highlighting the present’s central themes, and, in fact, the massive, badass motion sequence stuffed with contaminated. As nice as The Final of Us has been, this felt just like the episode the place issues lastly got here all collectively, and there’s nonetheless virtually half a season to go.
Watch episodes of The Final of Us, together with the most recent one, right here.
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