Due to the Super Bowl, The Last of Us aired its fifth episode on Friday, giving fans the entire weekend to watch the episode whenever they got free to experience it. The episode was one of the series’ most emotional and impactful ones. At this point, we might be saying that every week. But what made this episode so important on the grand scale was the arrival of two key characters from the game, Henry and Sam. They had an important role to play, even though their roles were tied to one episode and ended in tragedy.
In ComicBook.com’s “The Last of Pods” podcast series, actor Lamar Johnson talked about what it was like being on the show and its content. One thing he was also quick to note was that it didn’t take long for him to get the role and then fly out to film:
“I saw The Last of Us, HBO, and I saw Craig [Mazin] and I saw Neil [Druckmann], and I was like, ‘Oh, okay, alright. I know this is gonna be something special,'” Johnson recalled. “I auditioned for the role and the turnaround was pretty quick. I think I sent in the tape Monday. I got the call Wednesday that I had got the job, and then by Saturday I was on a plane to Calgary. So, it was pretty quick.”
That’s shocking because typically, it’ll be a much longer process to get the role and then get into filming. But not with this show! The full episode featured Johnson discussing the ins and outs of making the series and what it was like doing that ending scene.
Spoilers ahead.
As noted by the creators during the “behind the scenes” section of the episode, Henry and Sam were meant to be a “mirror” to the relationship that Joel and Ellie are starting to have. Henry and Sam are brothers, and Henry risked everything to save Sam’s life, and they’re on the run because of it. Yet, at the end of the episode, Sam gets infected, and despite getting an infusion of Ellie’s blood, which has a cure, Sam turns and tries to kill her.
Henry is forced to kill his brother, and then he kills himself, scarring Joel and Ellie.
As Craig Mazin notes, Joel knows that’s their fate and that he’s slowly becoming like Henry, as he’ll do whatever it takes to defend Ellie. A feeling that will have great consequences in the episodes to come.
