Endure and Survive is Episode 5 of The Last Of Us.
Spoilers Below
I give detailed, blow by blow details as I review. If you want to skip the spoilers jump down to the Scoring!
If you have watched Endure and Survive let me know if you agree with my scoring below.
Freedom (Flashback)
Endure and Survive opens with a mob chanting “Freedom, Freedom” before the scene devolves into a violent mob. The Boss Lady is looking for her child. She is pissed at the Fedra loyalists. She wants them to tell her where Henry is. After telling her Soldier to kill the captives one of them chimes up. He knows where Hendry is. Or at least his general whereabouts.
As Bossy Lady leaves she tells her men to kills the captives and burn the bodies. It’s faster than a trial.
We then jump to Henry, the doctor, and his guardian. They are in the attic we saw in Episode 4. We see Henry’s Guardian give him crayons to draw with.
Days pass. Henry and his Guardian are running out of supplies. When the food runs out Henry’s Guardian is forced to leave the attic. They need to find supplies.
They morning they decide to leave merges with the Joel and Ellie timeline. Henry and his Guardian are about to walk out onto the street when Joel’s truck crashes into the building and a gunfight erupts. The Guardian sees something in Joel. Henry’s Guardian can recognize a survivor when he sees one.
Meeting (Current TimeLine)
Ellie is calling for Joel. Henry and his Guardian have them at gunpoint. Henry and his Guardian are nervous. They don’t want trouble with Joel, but it is hard when you have someone at gunpoint.
Then the bomb drops.
I thought Henry was the kid and older guy was the Guardian. The older guy is HENRY!!!! The younger kid is Sam, Henry’s little brother. I thought Henry was the Bosses kid, but I was totally wrong.
The foursome reaches a truce and shares a meal by lantern light. After they break bed Joel is Joel. He wants everyone to go their way but Henry has something Joel wants. He knows the city and a potential way out. They make a deal. Henry will show the way as long as Joel will clear the way.
We also find out who the Boss lady is. Her name is Kathleen.
Escape
The four move to the bank to get to the initial entrance into the tunnels. The tension rises as the four make it into the underground. Deep underground they come across what looks like a daycare. The walls acre covered in drawings. The room is full of small furniture and toys. After the infection spread people moved underground in an attempt to survive.
Ellie asked where the people went. Joel says maybe they weren’t careful and got infected. Joel prowls as Sam and Ellie share a moment before they decide to wait out the day. It is safer to move in the shadows.
As Ellie and Sam play soccer Henry tells Joel his story. He gave up the leader of resistance to get Sam cancer medication. The leader of the resistance was also Kathleen’s brother.
The Other Side
The band of four makes it out of the tunnels. They walk through a residential area in the dark, chatting as they walk. At least until someone takes a shot at them. Joel is going to circle around and take out the sniper. Whoever is shotting has bad aim. Joel can see the river and the bridge as he is about to attack the house. He finds an old man at the window and begs him to put is rifle down. The man tries to spin around to shoot Joel but he’s too slow.
As Joel is picking up the man’s rifle we here Kathleen on a radio. She is coming. Joel screams out the window, telling Ellie and the others to run.
Joel struggles with the rifle as the lead vehicle smashes through vehicles with its plow. Ellie desperately fires over her shoulder as the vehicle continues to barrel down on them.
Just as Ellie falls Joel makes the shot and the plow veers off. Ellie, Henry and Sam are stranded with Kathleen approaching as Joel is about to have his own position attacked. He is now in the old man’s position. Stuck with a rifle at the window as someone assaults his position.
Henry urges Ellie to take Sam and run. He is going to sacrifice himself so the kids can escape.
The Horde
Kathleen is about to put a bullet into Henry when the plow vehicle sinks into the ground. The sounds of infected drift upwards on the wind. The undead are about to swarm.
As the horde tears into Kathleen’s soldiers Ellie, Henry, and Sam run for it, covered by Joel in the window. Ellie just barely makes it into an old SUV as the horde overruns the other survivors. Then, out of the pit comes a massive beast. Bullets don’t hurt it.
Joel desperately fires at a child infected as it climbs into the SUV with Ellie but he can’t make the shot. Ellie sees Henry and Sam being attacked under a truck and attacks. They are almost back to Joel when Kathleen corners them. The child infected that followed Ellie into the SUV chirps before it dives onto Kathleen, giving the group a chance to escape.
Abandoned Hotel Motel
The band of four made it out. They found an abandoned hotel. Ellie and Sam are reading comic books as Joel tells Henry he can come with them to Wyoming if they want. Henry agrees and says he will tell Sam in the morning.
Ellie and Sam bond as Sam asks her if she is ever scared. They pass his Magic Slate back and forth as Ellie admits that she is scared too. At least of scorpions. She then gets serious, telling Sam she doesn’t want to end up alone. She asks Sam what he’s afraid of. He tells her he wants to know if its still you inside if you turn. Right before showing Ellie his bite wound. Sam is infected.
Ellie tells Sam her blood is medicine. She slices open her hand and presses it to Sam’s wound. Sam begs her to stay awake with him. She promises.
Morning Comes
Ellie wakes up to find Sam staring out the window. He is very still and doesn’t respond when she says hey. But he’s deaf right? Or did he turn.
He turned.
Henry panics as Sam attacks. He shoots at the ground to keep Joel from attacking before shooting his own son. Henry is in shock, staring at his son. His life’s purpose is over. Henry puts the revolver to his head and pulls the trigger.
Joel and Ellie bury their two friends. Ellie’s last act is to put the Magic Slate on top of Sam’s grave. Her last words for Sam are an apology. She feels like she let him down.
Endure and Survive Scoring
Endure and Survive was powerful and amazing. The story is touching, heartfelt, and just all around mind blowing. This is the first time the fifth episode of a series has ever scored a 100/100. The infected horde was just so well done. It’s what I want from every horde!
| Season | Episode | Episode Name | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | When You’re Lost in the Darkness | 100 |
| 1 | 2 | Infected | 100 |
| 1 | 3 | Long Long Time | 95 |
| 1 | 4 | Please Hold on to My Hand | 94 |
| 1 | 5 | Endure and Survive | 100 |
| 1 | 6 | Kin | 90 |
| 1 | 7 | Left Behind | 90 |
| 1 | 8 | When We Are In Need | 100 |
| 1 | 9 | Look for the Light | 100 |
