Welcome back to the blog, readers. By the time you see this, everyone should have seen episode 5 of the best show on television right now: The Last of Us. After 4 episodes, I am utterly shocked with how good it is. Can it continue after a fifth? Stick around as I give my thoughts on episode 5, titled "Endure and Survive" and once again directed by Jeremy Webb.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
I don't know how they do it. Every week, I am more and more impressed with this show. It is criminal at this point. Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann are knocking this damn show out of the park. I am running out of positive things to say at this point. So sorry if I sound like a broken record here. And this episode is probably my favorite of the series so far.
First I want to take a second to heap all the praise in the world on Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for their performances as Henry and Sam. Something I didn't know was that Sam wasn't deaf in the game and they changed that and his age, so he could look up to and rely on Henry to help him survive. Johnson absolutely delivers as the older brother and caregiver; being an older brother myself, I resonated more with this version of Henry. When he has to dive into emotion, he absolutely does. And his emotional final scene is nothing short of earth-shattering. Woodard, being deaf himself, gives probably my favorite child performance in a long time. The way he can deliver emotion without uttering a single word is evident that he can be a great actor if that's something he wants to continue to pursue. And his scenes with Bella Ramsey are just gold. More on that in a bit.
Speaking of Ramsey, she is becoming more and more like Ellie every week. I don't know how you can immerse yourself into a well-established character so well that you actually become the character. Like it's actually insane what she's doing. Her whole thing in this episode is her relationship with Sam. It feels so genuine because of their performances, and you can see Sam bringing out the child-like nature of Ellie. Remember, she's only 14 years old and grew up in a world designed to take away emotions. Her scenes with Sam in the bunker are just icing on the cake. Their interacting and playing to alleviate pressure speaks miles to how great human connection is in this world. One standout is when they are discussing comic books and the mantra of "Endure and Survive." We'll talk more on that later.
I had said last week in my review of episode 4 that I was intrigued by the characters of Kathleen, played by Melanie Lynskey; and Perry, played by Jeffrey Pierce. We get more time to flesh out these characters and after this episode, they are just as compelling as our leads. Kathleen has a score to settle with Henry after he sold out her brother to FEDRA to get medication for Sam's leukemia. And Perry just plain old has a thing for her. You can tell. When Kathleen tells her story about her brother to Perry, I could feel her pent-up rage. Someone who she looked up to as a kid and throughout her life was taken away and that is relatable. It draws upon an overarching theme that I will discuss in a bit.
Clearly the standout moment of the episode is the big action scene at the end of it. It starts as a sniper attempts to pick off Joel, Ellie, Henry and Sam. I love how similar it felt to the game in the airy tension builds, and Joel uses the same strategy we do in the game to get into the house and take out the sniper. A nice touch to make the sniper an old man working for Kathleen, which sets up the real meat of the episode. Henry tells Joel and Ellie that the resistance that overthrew FEDRA in Kansas City lured all the Infected underground in tunnels that were built well before Outbreak Day. When Kathleen and her forces come, all hell breaks loose. Joel, from the house, shoots the driver of the lead vehicle and it crashes into a house and sinks into the ground, giving the Infected a way up above ground. What happens next is utterly brutal. Hundreds of Infected rise up from the ground and overrun Kathleen's militia, including a child Clicker (played by a real contortionist) that kills Kathleen and the fucking Bloater!!!! The Bloater looked incredible and looked awesome when it completely ripped through everyone including Perry. The frantic action is some of the best I've seen in a while.
I think the overarching theme of the episode is how pain and grief can cause even the best of people to do the worst of things. When Kathleen is telling Perry about her brother, she mentions that her brother would have wanted her to forgive Henry for what he did. But Kathleen is adamant in her ways and deduces that revenge is the only option. She was once a good person, like her brother, but this world forced her to make decisions she normally would never make, turning a good person bad. It kind of parallels Joel's journey thus far. A kind-hearted, loving father and family man who adapted to the world and became a cold-hearted man who would go to whatever lengths he could to do what was necessary. And I found that very poignant.
Another thing I wanted to point out was the title of the episode: "Endure and Survive." First mentioned by Sam and Ellie when they are talking about their favorite comic book, the phrase is the catchphrase of the comic. However it means a lot more than that. Some people believed that the phrase was talking about Joel and Ellie and the journey that they go on together, but the true meaning lies with the other characters that we follow: Henry and Sam. Sam could not survive, and Henry could not endure without Sam. What a tragic end to two great characters.
"Endure and Survive" is a prime example of what a fantastic show can look like. Another home run of an episode anchored by four stellar performances and an action set piece that will take your breath away. Thank you for sticking with me on this one, and I will see you next week for episode 6.
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