At the end of The Last of Us episode five, I turned into the Leo pointing meme.
“Endure and Survive” follows Henry and Sam, played by Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Montreal Woodard, as they hide from Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) and eventually team up with Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey). The two groups share a common goal: get the hell out of Kansas City. Henry, Sam, and Ellie survive an infected swarm — shout out to the Bloater — with help from super sniper Joel, and take refugee in a motel.
It’s while Sam and Ellie are bonding that he reveals that he’s been bitten. Ellie believes her magic blood can cure him, but it doesn’t work like that. Sam attacks his new friend, causing Henry to shoot his brother — and himself. The episode ends with Joel mourning the siblings in a familiar scene: it’s the first shot in The Last of Us trailer.
Cue the meme.
That’s some tragic context right there. And the final shot in the trailer?
Cue the meme again. The trailer editors must have liked this episode.
“It took me a couple of days to come down from that,” Johnson told Uproxx about shooting the shooting the showdown and swarm scene. “I remember after that day going home and still sort of being hyperemotional. Your brain knows that you’re acting and it’s not real, but your body doesn’t, so your body still feels things. But I’m really grateful to have had that opportunity to stretch myself.” You can read the rest of his interview here.