The Last of Us has been winning over the game’s fans with every single of its episode. Although some of these episodes have featured some deviances from the original game, it does not seem to affect the story in any way possible, and fans are grateful to the makers for being loyal to the source material. Last weekend HBO Max released the fifth episode of the show, Endure and Survive, following Joel and Ellie in Kansas City after they encounter Henry and Sam.
And a Reddit user has come up with a theory for the deviances made in episode 5. A theory that potentially makes the episode’s ending even more heart-wrenching.
New Theory Emerges About The Last of Us Episode 5
The Last of Us Episode 5 introduced Henry and Sam from the original game. Joel and Ellie meet the two brothers in Kansas City and decide to follow Henry’s plan to escape the city. However, things do not go as planned after they are spotted by one of Kathleen’s men, leading the infected to escape the underground.
Although they manage to escape the stampede, Sam gets infected and tells Ellie that he is afraid the fungus will take over him and turn him into one of the monsters. Episode 5 also features another deviance for the HBO Max series by portraying Sam as deaf.
A new theory regarding Sam’s deviance has led to a discussion among fans. A Reddit user, CrashRiot, has shared that Sam was facing away from Ellie to avoid attacking her after turning into a clicker. The Reddit user shared that Sam knew he would not attack her if he did not see her. The theory also suggests that he did so on purpose, knowing that being hearing-impaired, he would not hear Ellie throughout the night.
He only attacks Ellie after she approaches him, and the rest of the events follow as the game. Henry shoots his younger brother in order to save Ellie and then shoots himself. The new theory makes sense and could explain the reason why the makers decided to portray Sam as deaf in the series. However, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have not confirmed anything regarding CrashRiot’s theory yet.
Why Did Makers Make Changes to Sam’s Character in the TV Series?
On the official podcast for The Last of Us, Craig Mazin explained the reason he and Neil Druckmann decided to write Sam as a hearing-impaired character. The creator of the show said that he did not want Henry and Sam to have the same dynamic as Joel and Ellie.
Mazin explained that the game does not feature “Henry and Sam on their own,” and he wanted to change that. He shared that he did not want to follow the same pattern as the “exasperated father figure and curious, concerned, scared child figure” for Henry and Sam’s characters.
So, the makers decided to change the mode of communication between the brothers. So they started looking for a child actor fluent in Black American Sign Language. They shortlisted five actors for the role, and it finally went to Keivonn Woodard.
The Last of Us is Woodard’s first acting credit, and Craig Mazin has said that he was surprised by his performance despite it being his first acting job.
The Last of Us is available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: Reddit
