Episode 5 of “The Final of Us,” which HBO Max began streaming two days early on Feb. 10, sees Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) on a quest to flee Kansas Metropolis and proceed their journey west. They’re aided by Henry (Lamar Johnson) and Sam (Keivonn Woodard), two Kansas Metropolis natives determined to flee. As we discovered in episode 4, Henry collaborated with FEDRA when it nonetheless held energy within the metropolis, and now Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) and her group of rebels are intent on looking him down and killing him.

“The Final of Us” is based mostly on the online game of the identical identify, and Sam and Henry do seem in it and finally undergo the identical destiny they do on the present. However the sequence considerably adjustments their path to that ending. Forward, we’re breaking down the adjustments the present made and its impact on the TV sequence.

Adjustments “The Final of Us” Made to Sam and Henry’s Plot

“The Final of Us” TV sequence subs Kansas Metropolis for Pittsburgh, however that is simply the beginning of the adjustments to Sam and Henry’s plot. Within the sport, Henry and his youthful brother, Sam, are a part of a bunch of survivors from Hartford who determined to journey west to seek out the Fireflies resistance group. In Pittsburgh, they conflict with hunters, and Joel and Ellie assist them escape.

Within the TV sequence, Henry and Sam have lived in Kansas Metropolis for a very long time and, like everybody else there, had been topic to FEDRA’s fascist oppression. Henry ultimately reveals to Joel throughout the fifth episode that Sam was identified with most cancers, and solely FEDRA has the wanted treatment. So Henry turned in Kathleen’s brother — the chief of the rebels and an unbelievable particular person — to avoid wasting Sam’s life.

Joel and Henry lead their group to the outskirts of Kansas Metropolis by tunnels beneath the town. The tunnels was stuffed with the Contaminated, however Henry discovered from FEDRA that every one the zombies are gone, and it is protected. However a second in episode 4 hinted that wasn’t true, and Contaminated had been looming all alongside.

Kathleen’s Demise in “The Final of Us”

A insurgent catches the quartet in an deserted home within the suburbs. Henry, Sam, and Ellie disguise behind a automotive whereas Joel goes into the home to confront the person, who’s taking pictures at them with a rifle. Joel tells him that if he guarantees to cease taking pictures and lets them get away, he will not shoot him, however the man goes to shoot Joel, so Joel kills him. Sadly, the person had already radioed Kathleen and the rebels, who’re virtually there. Joel watches from above with the person’s rifle and shoots a insurgent driving a large tank. The tank crashes right into a home.

Henry turns himself in to Kathleen and asks her to let the youngsters go. She refuses. She additionally tells Henry that Sam was meant to die, so he ought to have accepted his destiny.

And that is when it occurs. It seems, there have been tons of Contaminated ready underground, and so they enter by a gap within the floor created by the crashed tank. The rebels attempt to struggle them off with their weapons however fail and are shortly overtaken. Kathleen is viciously killed, however Joel, Henry, Sam, and Ellie make it away.

Sam and Henry’s Demise in “The Final of Us”

Within the sport, Sam is secretly bitten by a zombie throughout the escape however does not inform anybody till the an infection settles in and he assaults Ellie. The present places a spin on this, making all of it much more devastating.

After escaping the rebels and the zombie horde, Joel and Henry discover an deserted motel to spend the night time in. Ellie and Sam discuss of their room collectively, and Sam tells Ellie he is petrified of turning into a monster and asks her if she thinks Contaminated are nonetheless themselves inside. He reveals to her that he was bitten throughout their escape.

Ellie tells him that her blood is medication as a result of she was bitten and by no means modified. She covers his chunk with a few of her blood, comforting them each a bit of bit. He asks her to remain awake all night time with him, and he or she agrees.

However Ellie does go to sleep, and when she wakes up, Sam is within the first stage of an infection and assaults her. They barrel into the room the place Joel and Henry had been sleeping, and Henry shoots and kills Sam, saving Ellie. Then Henry, panicked, factors his gun at Joel and Ellie earlier than altering his thoughts and killing himself whereas Joel begs him to not.

Joel and Ellie bury their our bodies. Ellie does not wish to speak about it and desires to maintain shifting, however she leaves Sam a notice that reads, “I am sorry.”

Is Sam Deaf within the Video Recreation?

One other important change the present made is that Sam is deaf, as is Woodard, who performs him. Sam and Henry talk utilizing American Signal Language, and he and Ellie bond over their favourite comedian books and utilizing a magic slate notepad.

Video-game Sam can also be a bit of older than his onscreen counterpart. (Woodard is 9.) The Each day Moth, a information web site that delivers information in ASL and covers deaf information particularly, wrote in December 2022 that to their data, Woodard is the primary Black deaf younger actor to be featured in a TV present from a significant studio. Woodard advised the outlet of his message for different younger Black deaf individuals: “You do not have to be afraid! Do not be afraid to strive it out. As a result of that is what my dad and mom advised me – to not be afraid to check out. I used to be a bit afraid at first, however I went forward and overcame that, auditioned, and received the function with ‘The Final of Us’! I used to be mind-blown.”

Episode 5’s Influence

Sam and Henry are a foil to Ellie and Joel’s relationship. They’ve an in depth brotherly bond, and Joel nonetheless resists the bond he is forming with Ellie. Henry’s actions to maintain him and Sam alive are additionally morally grey, the identical means Joel has acted in typically brutal methods to maintain himself, Ellie, and previously his brother (Tommy Luna) and Tess (Anna Torv) alive. The episode additionally ties thematically into what Invoice (Nick Offerman) wrote in his notice to Joel in episode three. Invoice advised Joel that they are the kind of males who defend the individuals they love, and Henry wished to do this too. Nevertheless it all ends in tragedy; safety is unimaginable, and Joel has by no means recognized that extra. Ellie and Sam’s connection additionally brings out how younger she is, however they dwell in a world the place youth and pleasure are a hazard, the place comfortable reminiscences flip into painful ones. Her time in Kansas Metropolis has modified her ceaselessly.

Plus, the second when the zombie horde comes out of the bottom will not be solely terrifying, nevertheless it additionally ties into the concept that people spend a lot time preventing as factions that they do not come collectively when it issues. Kathleen knew concerning the zombie risk in episode 4, however she put all her sources towards discovering Henry out of revenge. Kathleen and Henry are each victims of the fascist FEDRA system, however they let their variations divide them, resulting in tragedy.