Let's discuss The Last of Us episode five

eurogamer.net:

Last week, I said that episode four of The Last of Us was clearly setting the stage for something bigger, and, oh boy, was I right.

As with previous episodes, episode five (known as Endure and Survive) is brilliantly acted by all involved. The show continues to blur the line between good and bad: if you do bad things for a good reason, does that make you a bad person? Or does it all depend on whose lens you see a story through?

This episode sees a definite pick up in action and momentum for Joel and Ellie's story, and as always leaves plenty of things for us to pick apart and discuss. Let's get into it.

THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE SHOW AND THE GAME SERIES IT IS BASED ON. ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS OF SUICIDE BELOW. PLEASE READ ON AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

While episode five stays largely faithful to the game's story, there are a few notable differences I would like to jump straight into, particularly Henry and Sam's backstory.

In the game, the brothers are trying to make it out of Pittsburgh alive while being chased down by the city's merciless hunters. Save for some mentions of other members from their original group, that is really about as deep as their backstory goes.

In the show, however, we spend some quality time with Henry and his younger brother Sam (played by Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Woodard respectively) before their eventual meeting and alliance with Joel and Ellie.

In the episode's opening scenes, we learn that Henry is wanted by the Kansas City revolutionaries (namely Kathleen) because he gave inforamtion about the rebellion to FEDRA. He became what the revolutionaries call a «rat» or a «collaborator». The reason he did this, it transpires, was to help his younger brother.

Prio