The Last of Ushas been an emotional journey that improves upon the story of the game with a ton of smart creative choices. While the gradual relationship between Joel and Ellie is the show’s centerpiece, it’s mined a ton of drama from the unique survivors they encounter along the way. The latest duo mirrors Joel and Ellie’s story with a dark twist.
“Endure and Survive” addsa lot to the comparable chapter of the game. New subplots, new characters, and a completely new motivation for its main characters. Though the story has changed a lot, it’s tough to argue that the new take on the story isn’t a massive improvement.
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The Last of Us: What happened to Henry and Sam?
The beat-by-beat story of Henry and Sam’s brief journey follows a lot of the major events from the game, but it diverts in many ways.Joel and Ellie maketheir way into Kansas City as a detour on their long cross-country journey. They find the Midwestern metropolis completely free of fascist government enforcers but overrun by the dangerous paramilitary group that overthrew them. After an altercation, Joel and Ellie are held at gunpoint by Henry and Sam. They discover that their new acquaintances are being hunted by the locals and resolve to band together for the moment.
Kansas City isunder the heel of Kathleen, the sister of the revolutionary leader who freed the area. Henry earned her ire and the hatred of every other citizen by turning that leader in for execution by FEDRA. Henry made that choice in desperation, as he was otherwise unable to get medicine for his brother Sam’s unique condition. Henry, Joel, Sam, and Ellie make their escape, only to be hunted down by Kathleen’s army. In the battle, a sinkhole full of infected opens and swiftly reduces Kansas City’s population.Joel’s skills and Ellie’s braveryhelp the heroes survive and escape the doomed city. Unfortunately, once they arrive in their new home for the night, Sam reveals that he was bitten during the fight. Ellie keeps his secret, allowing him to turn in peace. When he attacks in the morning, Henry is forced to put down his brother. Racked with grief, Henry then takes his own life.
What do Henry and Sam mean toThe Last of Us?
Like most of thesurvivors Joel and Elliehave encountered on their long road trip, Henry and Sam’s story ends poorly. It doesn’t begin very well either. Henry’s decision to save his brother dooms a good person to death and brings the entire city against him. Kathleen’s stance is unique, arguing that Sam’s death was fate and that interrupting it was unnatural. Her perspective is skewed due to her connection to the deceased, but she seems to genuinely believe that killing otherwise innocent people to protect someone is wrong. This brings Henry and Sam’s story into conversation with that of Joel and Ellie.
Much ofThe Last of Ushas been about the lengths people will go to when their loved ones are on the line. The show argues, alongside Kathleen, that the willingness to do anything to defend someone important isn’t always a positive trait. Is it really worth it to kill countless others for the life of a single person? Does love for one person justify the lack of concern for every other life? Is that level of devotion to someone just another form of selfishness? These are the questions that followJoel as he reluctantly becomes Ellie’s guardian. Ellie is special, she could be the cure to the infection that ended the world. Her utilitarian value to society, however, gradually becomes secondary to her value as a person Joel cares about. This concept is tested again in Henry and Sam’s tale.
Henry was willing to sacrifice a great man to save his brother. He put himself in danger, but he also sacrificed someone else’s life to save a person he valued more. From his perspective, he had to make that choice.From Kathleen’s, he’s aselfish murderer. To get Ellie where she’s going, Joel has killed many and will kill more. The series follows people willing to burn the world down to protect the people they care about, and that concept will only become more central to the story as it goes on. Henry is a reminder to Joel, a glimpse into a reality in which he cares enough about Ellie to risk everything. He’s also a brutal example of how that relationship can end.
Henry and Sam are yet another exampleofThe Last of Us’scentral theme. It’s a story about people who will do anything for love, often to the detriment of themselves and the world around them.The Last of Ushas done a beautiful job with extremely unpleasant material and the story will only get darker from here.
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