Inside The ‘Emotionally Taxing’ Final Moments of ‘The Last of Us’ Episode 5
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The following story contains spoilers for The Last of Us Episode 5, "Endure and Survive"
EVEN THE Super Bowl can’t stop the intensity of The Last of Us. The fifth episode, “Endure and Survive,” brings the HBO series past the halfway mark with a stunner of an installment that features the biggest action setpiece since the premiere and a shocking conclusion. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. After the conclusion of last week’s episode, where Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) wake up at gunpoint, we’re introduced to their new friends: Henry (Lamar Johnson) and his young brother Sam (Keivonn Woodard), who are the men that Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) and her troops are scouring Kansas City to find. In order to save Sam from cancer, it turns out that Henry had to rat to FEDRA and turn over Kathleen’s brother in exchange for the medication. Now that Kathleen is in charge of K.C., it’s time for Henry and Sam to pay.
After convincing Joel and Ellie to help get them out of the city, Henry and Sam are almost free—until they fall into a trap set by Kathleen in a residential part of town. Right as Kathleen is about to exact revenge on Henry, a massive Cordyceps invasion occurs, including the debut of the dreaded and massive Bloater. It looks like the quartet made it out safely, finding solace in an abandoned motel—until Sam reveals to Ellie he’s infected. Despite Ellie's attempts to use her un-infectable blood to save Sam, the following day he's fully turned. He growls and attacks Ellie, spilling out into the main room, where in a moment of shock, Henry shoots and kills him. Henry had to act quickly, but immediately feels extreme regret; despite Joel and Ellie's contentions, Henry then points the gun at his own head and pulls the trigger.
“There are so many emotions that wash over him," Johnson says to Men's Health in an interview. "But if I was going to choose one, I would just say, shock. He was just in shock.” It’s especially exciting for Woodard, who is part of a six-generation deaf family and is the first Black Deaf young actor to ever be featured in a television series or major project.
Men’s Health spoke with both actors over Zoom (Woodard speaking with the assistance of an ASL interpreter) about that chilling final scene, how the two cultivated their on-screen brotherhood, and much more.
Men's Health: That last scene in the hotel is really impactful. Lamar, can you talk about the experience of filming it?
Lamar Johnson: We shot that scene over the course of a couple of hours—it was quite emotionally taxing. It was about trying to be as present as possible. I wanted to run away from trying to recreate or do a carbon copy of what the actor did in the game. I wanted to take that and honor it, of course, but then also interpret it in my own way and add nuance in the ways that I felt would serve the scene that is present in front of me.
It was a very emotionally taxing day. But the environment was given to me. I had Keivonn there, I had Bella there, I had Pedro there, and they're all giving me everything I needed. Keivonn was just completely committed to his Clicker role.
Keivonn, what do you remember about that last scene?
Keivonn Woodard: I was distraught.
Was it tough for you to act? How did you find your way through it?
KW: I was able to act during those scenes. I didn't want my character to die, so I was disappointed to find that out.
Lamar, how did you and Keivonn build your relationship throughout the shoot?
LJ: It was really easy to bond with Keivonn. He's a super enthusiastic, energetic kid. I tell people, the first day that we met, we're running around the production offices playing tag; that just explains how easy it was to connect. We really bonded over video games like [horror game] Five Nights at Freddy's.
We'd just bond. Because the relationship was very important. It is Henry and Sam—that relationship between them and that bond—that people really fall in love with. Which is why the ending is so tragic. Keivonn was very open to connecting. When you have two people on the same page, it typically works out.
Keivonn, what did you like about hanging out with Lamar?
KW: Playing. We played with the camera on our phones. I really enjoyed the conversations we had.
Did you take a lot of selfies together?
LJ: Yeah, we got some photos we've taken—but closer to the ending.
KW: Oh, and we played with the Switch as well.
LJ: Yeah, Nintendo Switch.
Lamar, as someone who has played the game, what was it then like to be on set and see Pedro and Bella bring life to Joel and Ellie in this way?
LJ: It was amazing. It felt like I was playing the game, but the game came to life. The attention to detail with the set decoration—the production on this was absolutely phenomenal. They really didn't spare any detail. It really just looks and feels so good. I think this is the most practical set that I've ever been on. Most of what you see was there, with occasional blue screen here and there. For the most part, it was all real. So all the abandoned cars and the vehicles and the buildings—all these things, they really did that. It was impressive. As a fan of the game, to now actually have experienced the show in real life, it was an amazing experience, really.
Lamar, can you walk me through Henry's thought process immediately after he shoots Sam?
LJ: He didn't know what he just did, because he even asked that question: "What did I do? What did I just do?"
It just happened so fast, and at that point, it's already too late. He's very regretful. There are so many different layers. At the end, ultimately, he chose to take his life, because Sam was his purpose. Sam was his will to live. With Sam gone, he no longer has a will to live. I like to believe that he grew up a man of faith and a God-fearing man. So for him, he was like, "Okay, Sam's in heaven. I'm joining him."
It's tough. It's sad. But what's the alternative? The alternative is him living life miserable. Maybe he can try and get over that, but he's going to think about it every single day. Almost all of his life, he's been the sole caretaker, provider, and protector for Sam. Now, you no longer have that duty, you no longer have that job. It's like doing the one thing that you absolutely love to do and someone takes that away from you. How do you feel about that? Can you keep it going? But [when] it's as deep [a loss] as a sibling, a family member—the last family member you have—it's a tough thing to stomach. All of these things happening, and then also just seeing his body. It was tough.
At that point, there's nothing left to endure and survive for.
LJ: Exactly. What am I enduring or surviving for? My survival was to protect him and keep him safe. But after all we went through—protecting him from cancer, going through all the Clickers and the Bloater and all that crazy stuff—he dies by my hand. He can't live with himself. He would not be able to live with himself if he decided to keep it going and give Joel the gun.
Kevionn, what was it like to be in that big action sequence?
KW: Oh wow. It was really scary. When I was running between the cars trying to get to the house, it was like I was running for my life for real.
How did you practice and figure out how to be a good infected?
KW: I practiced my facial expressions and my body movement. I practiced to get into that role.
Was it fun? Did you enjoy it?
KW: No. [pauses] Just kidding, just kidding. Actually, it was.
What did you do in-between takes to keep things light? Was it playing with the Switch? Playing with your phones?
KW: We'd be acting, and then in between, we'd be kidding around and roughhousing. It wasn't much fun. Just kidding, it was lots of fun. We would go raid crafty for snacks. It was good.
LJ: To piggyback off of that, it was mainly banter between me and Keivonn, Pedro, and Bella. Between takes, we bonded and connected, like Keivonn said. We go to crafty; we get snacks, treats, and stuff. We kept it fun, we kept it light. But there, obviously, are a lot of heavy moments in the show. We had to also understand that. We have to lock in and be in a certain mental space and headspace in order for us to approach those in a real way.
Keivonn, I've seen Bella in the comments of your Instagram posts. It looks like you guys have carried on the relationship you build on the show. What was it like working with her?
KW: We still keep in touch. She's improving with her signing. Sometimes, we'll video chat. She feels like a sister to me. We joke around; she'll be like, "What's up, boy?" and I'm like, "Oh, what's up, girl?"
Lamar, what was the thing that you latched on in the script when you first read it that made it accessible to you?
LJ:I think just with a bit of added backstory to these characters, you understand where they came from, and now why they're running. Why are these characters running and it's so dire to get out of Kansas City? Why are they trying to escape? But now we know. It lends itself to the story because now you have this idea of who Henry is, and then you actually meet him and Sam, and you get the full story. Then you're like, "Hmm, okay, well, is he a bad guy? He is not a bad guy?"
I think it speaks on morality, right? A lot of these characters are battling with what is the best thing to do here—especially in a world that is so tough. It's so tough to survive in and live in. Not only are you trying to escape Clickers, Runners, Stalkers, and Bloaters, you're also wanting to escape looters and scavengers. It's just a tough world to live in. I think in terms of some moral decisions, I was really happy to get a bit more insight on where he was and who he is, really. Also to know that Henry has never killed anyone before. He's never actually, by hand, killed someone. Ellie has more experience than him. It's good to really understand this character and understand where he comes from.
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