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That is the moment from the episode that gets me every time. Have watched a dozen or so reactions but each time I hear her make that noise it is amazing.
@@williamdavis8076 I honestly don't think she is. Ellie suppresses her emotions all the time. In the Bryan scene last episode she was very affected by it but trying to act like it was all fine (Immediately saying "I'm ok, let's go"), she refuses to talk about Riley or confront that pain, and even in this episode Sam tells her that he can't tell when she's scared, and the end of the episode she leaves the grave before Joel, again trying not to fully confront it for longer. I think Ellie very much tries to hold back her negative emotions, but she expresses her positive emotions outwardly as a mask which is why it might FEEL like she's an honest character emotionally.
The resolve in Henry's eyes when he looks at Joel after killing his brother is heartbreaking. With that one look you know he could never live without his brother and you know what he's going to do.
Kind of wild to think that if Ellie hadn't touched Sam's shoulder he would have sat there literally forever. Infected mostly hunt by sound, Sam is Deaf so as an infected he can't hunt unless someone's in his sightline. If she had left him alone he would just stare at that wall forever.
Oh god, that never even occurred to me. There is something so poetically tragic about that. I had originally thought he had turned in his sleep, and hadn't noticed Ellie, and than turned around, but this makes so much more sense that he simply turned away from her when he was turning, and than after it took hold it just remained frozen in place because of its deafness.
I never would have thought about that in a million years. I just took it at face value because that's pretty similar to how it plays out in the video game, but yeah, it actually makes a lot more sense here.
Which plays perfectly into this show and games’ story about revenge and how in the end, it really damages everyone. Kathleen foreshadows what’s to come later for Joel and Ellie.
@@kmjkmjkmj Another way is that if Henry didn't set it in motion, Kathleen wouldn't become the leader and Fedra would still be raping and killing the citizens, like y'all are saying the situation is fucked either way u slice it 😅😅 it's just dark no matter what you do in this scenario
4 moments of acting I just LOVED in this episode (chronologically) 1. The face Sam makes before reaching out for a hug after finding out that Dr. Edelstein is probably dead (and he is) 2. All of Joel's reactions as he covered Ellie, Sam, and Henry with the sniper. Particularly when his face and hand were trembling when Ellie was trapped inside the van with the clicker child 3. After shooting Sam, we cut to a shot or his blood pooling in the ground. There's this split second moment where Henry looks like he's about to throw up and he keeps that down. Just seeing all that blood (he's not a violent person, remember? He has never killed anyone), his brother's blood, made him physically ill 4. Ellie's whimper at Henry shooting himself. It just feels so goddamn real. And then that perfect, synced double tear drop.
@@MM-vs2et Unfortunately that's not the case. In the first two stages, the infected individual is still completely aware and trapped inside their mind. It's not until the Clicker stage does the brain just kinda give up. But even then they're still there, just in a coma basically. Sam was probably screaming inside his head, begging Ellie to just leave. Trying to stop his body from attacking her to no avail. "Puppets" is what the doctor in the beginning said. It's the scariest, most realistic infection I've seen.
And the fact that he has never shot or killed anyone and his first time doing so was his own brother that he loved and fought to protect. Seeing him processing that in his head was heartbreaking
The child clicker being acted by a 9 year old gymnast and contortionist just blew my mind. She accompanied the Bloater's awesomeness beautifully. Also, anyone who says they aren't sold by Bella Ramsey's performance as Ellie by now is lying. She was incredible in this episode.
the only thing that’s kinda missing is the awkward body language Ashley -Williams- Johnson gave to the character in the game, which is fine to leave as low priority when you’re on screen and filming live action; my favorites choices Bella makes are the look she gives Henry when they’re pinned and the whimper she lets out when Henry wakes up to find out about Sam
@@UrWrongKiddoLol wrong. A performance cannot be subjective, it is either good or bad. Objectively, Tommy Wiseau is a bad actor and has proven this over and over. Objectively, Bella Ramsey is a good actor and has proven this over and over. Another example would be Now what IS subjective, is whether you LIKE her or not in the role
Yayy time to cry all over again! Really hope the actors who play the two brothers, Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Woodard, get lots more work and maybe even some award noms out of their awesome performances. They were already clutching on to my heart right from the start, their interactions were soooo sweet, that by the end of the episode I was an absolute bawling mess. Damn this show for constantly making me cry!
Yes! Great writing and great acting cannot be beat!!! I have about 10 to 20 reactors that I enjoy and this episode affected me every single time!!! Still very heartbreaking!!!
As a big brother myself, and someone who is familiar with the game, that bear hug at the beginning between Sam and Henry already had the water works going. The second Henry took the shot and lost his purpose in life immediately broke me and I couldn't stop crying for 30 minutes. I had to go to a Super Bowl party after and driving over I started crying thinking about it. Always hug your family guys. I hugged my brother super tight after watching this episode.
I lost it watching this. After it was over, my fourteen year old was sobbing into the carpet. He's an older brother and all he could think about was his own little brother. :(
The story is obviously sad, but the actors for Sam and Henry made it hit even harder. Amazing performances, especially by the actor who played Henry, but the fear that Sam showed in his last scene was heartbreaking.
Henry who has managed to live for 20 years in a very violent world without killing someone having to shoot his own brother, his purpose, his one person worth saving... 😭😭😭
I am hearing and my grandparents are deaf. I grew up in a bilingual household with ASL and English. It always blew my mind when hearing people would realize they were talking with a D/HH person and would suddenly become awkward and quickly give up trying to communicate with them. I try to encourage those people, “Just try! You don’t have to know ASL! You can mime! You can write! Forget about embarrassing yourself! What matters is you treat them like a person!” So, I very much loved the inclusion of Ellie having this friendship with Sam as a Deaf person. Because Ellie truly loved learning to communicate with Sam and getting to know him. It showed their bond and understanding of each other. ❤
@@kicksmore All you do is spew hatred in ALL your comments. If Black people or LGBTQ people aren't for you go watch reruns of FRIENDS or something else.
I think it's a testament to this show's quality that 3 grown men who all played the game and knew this was coming are all still deeply emotionally moved by Henry and Sam.
The way I see it is when Kathleen's brother was killed and she took over. That just removed the compassion of the brother's leadership and allowed them to be as ruthless as they needed to be to take down Fedra.
Joel's face while he was shooting sold that action scene for me. It drives me nuts when people are shooting just squinting down the barrel with no expression. You could see how Joel was panicking while he was shooting
@@HeresAtta Not exactly. There's definitely some foreshadowing there, but the character in question is not fully like Kathleen as they choose not to go all the way twice. I'd say Kathleen shows us how far a person can go, while what is to come will show us how it's possible not to go THAT far. Sorry if I'm vague. :)
@@RestlessTome understandable. I think the confusion is rising from the vagueness of both of these comments (for spoilers sake). I now realize that the statements above could be made for both E and A. I was definitely talking about A. The original comment may have been talking about E. spoilers below... A - Abby E - Ellie
Bella Ramsay's portrayes Ellie's personality perfectly. During that last scene, her acting was shockingly good. That expression on her face after Harry dies too, tears, etc.... She is a truly talented little actress. By the way i was shocked and my jaw was on the floor when found out she is 19 (!). Nineteen!!!!!! Whaaaaaaat?!
Ellie trying to help Sam with her blood was a great addition to the story as it goes to show how determined she was to help Sam. They’re showing us how much a cure really means to her, which is a perfect lead up to her character arc in tlou 2
That's a great point. Reading between the lines i think Ellie knew just rubbing her blood over Sam's bite wouldn't save him. she did it to help her friend feel less scared. The look on her face at the end of the episode was probly in part meant to convey her renewed determination to find a cure not only for humanity in general but so Henry and Sam's deaths wouldn't be in vain
Sam being young hits harder, ellie's whimper when henry killed himself, joel being nervous, panicked and worried when he cant get a clear shot of the girl clicker inside the car... that bloater scene was well done... sam facing the window kind of showing since he is deaf, its better to not to face toward ellie... and when they released the behind the scenes of hbo's youtube channel of episode 5 and learned the kid actor who played sam is really deaf.
11:18 in the behind the scenes podcast, Druckmann and Mazin say that the old guy is tired. He’s ready for death but is unable to deliver it himself so he sees an out with Joel. That’s why Joel pleads with him.
That’s interesting… I really appreciated Pedro’s choices in his expression: “you know I have the drop, I know what you’re going to try, I’m still asking you not to”
Very interesting how a similar scenario that isn't seen but explained in Last of Us Part 2 by the character Owen who was forced to turn on a friend who threatened to kill him if he did not execute a member of another faction who had decided to retire to fate. The grim moral complexity and human experience of the second game can't be stated enough as it's overshadowed by a circumstance of unfortunate controversy.
In the game, there are lines from some of the newly infected where the person inside can be heard. Particularly in the beginning the first ones you meet eating that guy, the women can be heard saying "I don't wanna" and crying. Its probably the most terrifying thing I've heard in a video game period. They're fully aware at least up to a certain point. The Cordyceps as Eric said controls the muscles of the ant not the mind so they really are just a passenger.
I just want to say that Bella is amazing, her acting amazes me every week. Can't wait for the next episode but at the same time I don't want the show to end
Bella Ramsay's portrayes Ellie's personality perfectly. During that last scene, her acting was shockingly good. That expression on her face after Harry dies too, tears, etc.... She is a truly talented little actress. By the way i was shocked and my jaw was on the floor when found out she is 19 (!). Nineteen!!!!!! Whaaaaaaat?!
@@MolnarG007 she has an innocence that videogame Ellie doesn't have, and I love it. Also, I know! She was 17 when they filmed this season tho, she's amazing
@@CataRDJ Thanks for the info about the little actress age, that it was shot 2 years ago, didn't know. While badass personally for me there is some innocence in game Ellie too. Fantastic serie, quality is superb, heading to imdb and rotten tomato to show my appritiation for this quality work by rating it up. (some serie are super bad with same or even higher budget.... must take my hat off over work well done.)
Ellie's half cry out when Henry shot himself was so...genuine. It's a sudden cry without words, because you don't have the chance to process what's happening....and it fades because you know it's over. He can't hear you now. The sadness. The acceptance. Such an amazing reaction.
You guys are the first reactors I watched who aren't just like "Kathleen sucks, she's terrible!", but also considers Henry's and FEDRA's role in all of it. It's amazing how Kathleen and Henry actually got the same motivation, the love for their brothers and how they're ready to sacrifice everything and everyone to revenge/safe their brothers.
I played the game so even though I pretty much knew what would happen I was still saying like every 10 minutes “wow they’re really twisting that knife already”. Just giving us moments like Sam and Ellie talking about the Savage Starlight comics (which I hope to god Dark Horse comics comes out with a limited series of that comic) and then playing soccer was so beautifully heartwarming. And then we get to the scene I had been dreading throughout the episode which was the night Sam was infected. And they made it EVEN MORE heartbreaking by Ellie trying to heal Sam with his blood and failing. But what really broke me was that the very first time Henry ever kills someone, even if they’re infected, that it was his baby brother. Then ending it with Joel and Ellie burying them, and Ellie writing to Sam “I’m Sorry”.😭😭😭😭
Having Ellie try to heal Sam and failing to and her later resolve to get to the Fireflies so they can somehow make a cure just sets up perfectly Ellie’s conflict later on with Joel when he takes that choice of saving the world away from her.
Yeah, i watched the cutscene again after this, and it happend almost identically, except that Sam never told Ellie that he was infected. Just makes it so much more powerful when Ellie still kinda naively tries to fix it :/
@Captain Pike-a-chu although i hope the show explains why Joel did that. In the game you find notes from other doctors that said they already did the operation on numerous kids that were all immune to the infection and they all died with nothing to show for it. so it justifies what Joel did, and Part 2 never went into that and just made Joel seem like some monster.
Ellie's "I'm sorry." could mean soo many things. Her apologizing for not being able to stay awake with Sam throughout the night, Her not being able to save him with her blood after she tried to, and her apologizing for him getting bitten in the first place. This whole episode was soo well done man, top tier acting, especially at the end.
Unfortunately, the immediate result of Kathleen's revenge / hubris is that everyone in Kansas City will be overrun by infected. If she has simply let Henry and Sam go per the wishes of her brother, that scenario with the sinkhole where the infected pour out never happens. One could argue that, based on the scene in Ep 4, it was close to happening anyway.... but since they knew about the issue beforehand, they would have been better prepared to defend themselves or push back against the infected. What I'm trying to say is that Kathleen sucks and I blame her. lol
Tbh the final scene in this episode hit me harder than episode 3. That one was sad in a romantic kind of way, while this one was pure desperation. Sam having never had a chance, never had a life like Bill and Frank, and Henry having done everything he could to protect him but still it was not enough. Damn. Hits hard everytime I see it in a reaction. Brilliant acting too.
33:17-33:50 That is actually kind of the premise of the show Van Hellsing lol. The "zombies" are vampires and if they bite the main character OR if she bites them, they turn back into humans lol.
The way both Kathleen and Henry’s stories foreshadow Ellie and Joel’s journeys is just chefs kiss. Will they end up like these two or make different choices? It’s so interesting. Love the way this show is thematically tying everything together.
I worked on a show with the stunt coordinator for Barry and he lit up when I asked him about the Lily episode. He’s known the the girl and her family as stunt people for a long time. She did almost all of the stunts. Wade Allen is the stunt coordinator, absolutely amazing.
i feel like the person might be aware while the fungus is in control for a little while, but eventually it takes over/eats away at too much of the brain. with the clickers, for example, you can see the fungus has grown so much inside their head that it literally slits their skull and grows out, so at that point i don't think there'd be enough brain left for the person to still be in there. just my two cents!
Dude I live in Kanass and I saw all of the city in ruins. I even saw a place I went for my birthday. They remade it so well. They even went into the building my parents used to work at. They did great making this look so real.
@Albin I found it to look just like kansas, though, and not only me, but a lot of people have been talking about it. They made it very realistic. I litterly said, "They remade it so well." And I'm not totally sure about the office building I was talking about, but it had all the same features.
Also Sam being deaf made his facing the window mean his Infected self would not attack anyone until he actually saw/felt them. So if Ellie had told Joel and they all just walked away, he may have never known.
Bella Ramsay portrayed Ellie's personality perfectly. During that last scene, her acting was shockingly good. That expression on her face after Harry dies too, tears, etc.... She is a truly talented actress. By the way i was shocked and my jaw was on the floor when found out she is 19 (!). Nineteen!!!!!! Whaaaaaaat?! Loved this episode, it started slow, when they entered the sewers it went up to 10/10.... but that combat at the end? It was A+ S+ movie level perfection. And that emotional last scenes... Don't forget to leave your review/score at imdb, rotten tomato, support quality story telling.
This episode was filled with amazing acting. From the amazing comedic timing between the main 4 to Lamar's last scene and the pain in his eyes to Bella's reaction to Henry's death to the crazy fear in Pedro's face when he's up there with sniper rifle to Keivonn's every single scene. The acting is on a whole other level in this show. And honestly I don't see how they won't sweep everything come the tv awards season.
Even though I've watched the playthrough many times and knew it was coming, seeing Henry's death in a live action role just hit differently. I love how this live action adaption adds a lot more character as far as character development and emotions to the game.
That scream that bella made when they got first shot at by the sniper, sounded like ellie from the fucking game. She is absolutely killing it, not to mention all of her other fantastic scenes
I can understand Kathleen wanting vengeance, but not at the expense of losing her own people in the process. If she really cared about her group, she wouldn't have jeopardized their safety by not focusing on the infected underground.
35:02 also how long has it been since either have actually been around other kids? Especially someone young like Sam, he’s gonna get excited quickly, and Ellie was just so excited to make a connection.
Spoilers from the game (and sort of this episode): In the game you can sometimes see the infected sobbing when they are not aware of your presence. They also gag when there biting or feeding on a corpse. The fact that Sam is humming when Ellie approaches might also point to that.
Every single episode rips out my heart one way or another. I kind of knew what would happen since I saw a play thru of the game but still 😭 What fresh way will they find to rip my heart out next week? This show has been amazing and I feel they are doing an excellent job adapting the game.
Research on cordyceps infections in carpenter ants tissue shows that the fungus pretty much leaves their brain alone, and mostly infects muscle tissue. So it's less mind control and more body control. So it's fully possible all infected are still alive and aware but incapable of controlling their own bodies
I took the sorry as more of an apology for letting Sam turn alone. She promised she’d stay up with him in his final moments and she let him down and he turned alone. Exactly what she’s afraid of and she let it happen to another. Also love the detail of her being at the kids table in the bunker and moving west at the end, showing her grow up.
Yeah, monsters create monsters. Henry did what he did for his little brother, but Kahleen is right, 'what makes him more special than anyone else'. Family will almost always choose family over others. Her brother was important to her just like his is to him. Not all rebellions are good ones. Vengefulness is a hell of a thing.
An adult killing another adult for payment is always morally superior to killing an 8 year old out of vengeance on someone else. Especially when you ALREADY have the person who killed your brother. The child is blameless and the only excuse she could possibly have is she isnt actually going to kill the kid (and im pretty sure she was) but she just says she will to hurt Henry as much as possible before his death.
@@iamcool544You could say the child is physically blameless, but I’m sure in Kathleen’s mind, Sam is in some ways to blame, because if Sam didn’t exist or was sick, Henry wouldn’t have been driven to get her brother killed. So in many ways, Sam is the catalyst of this situation happening so she would have been like, he should die too. Not to mention, if she was thinking about it logically, she could likely imagine that if she let Sam live, he will grow up and come back and seek revenge. So she’s just ending everything right there. It’s ruthless, but there is logic behind it.
That sniping scene is a lot like the game, Joel going up top to cover them. I really like the subtle differences but also the little Easter eggs they add is amazing
Kathleen wasn't brilliant or smart, her brother created the resistance. But she was ruthless, she replaced him and people was ready to attack FEDRA after many years of brutality. You need to be ruthless to overthrow a ruthless enemy. She used that and was effective. But being ruthless and brutal is not enough to be a good leader if you need to rebuild a society. Sadly people in real life also very often follow bad leaders. We are like sheep, we need someone to lead and make decisions, even if they are bad we can sit back and say "hey, I was just following orders". Perry knew about the infected underground and yet he decided to obey Kathleen's orders and made killing colaborators and looking for Henry the priority number one.
INFECTED TYPES: Runners: 2 days to 2 weeks ( lesioned skin ) The grandmother chasing Ellie and the man chasing Joel & Sarah in episode one . Stalkers: 2 weeks to 1 year ( fungal growth on head / one eye remaining ) The one Ellie killed in the cellar. Clickers: 1 year or more ( no vision / fungal growth on body / use of echo-location ) The ones who attacked Joel, Tess, and Ellie in episode two. Bloaters: Many many years ( huge / thick growths as armor ) The big one in this episode.
haven't seen it discussed anywhere so far but back in episode three when ellie knifes the infected that was trapped in the cellar it looked a little like the infected mouthed "help me" which leads me to believe they are at least a little still "them" inside
Oh shit im sitting here teary eyed again... when he tells ellie "stay awake with me" is when i lost all of the water in my eyes. As a father to achild who isn't as verbal it really hit home for my wife and I. We were no good
I think one thing people don’t talk about is how when Sam turned, he couldn’t hear Ellie when she called to him in the morning. Whilst you can argue physiologically he probably couldn’t hear so when he turned he shouldn’t be able to, but it makes me think that maybe Sam is still in there, which really ties in to his question the night before, and he cant fight back against the fungus.
Kathleens brother was the one who brought everyone together and untied everyone under Fedra's control. But he was to kind and forgiving that the Resistance never moved forward. Kathleens only helped in one way, she was unhinged enough to "pull the trigger" which setoff the rest of the resistance to follow through. But after that moment Kathleen had no more positive use in the Resistance. What they needed immediately after taking down Fedra was the brother.
Big ups to Calvin for watching the episode and not looking down to take notes every minute. I doubt the notes even add much. Eric even looked away, took the cap off, and put it back on without writing anything.
The 2nd game got some pretty vocal hate from the minority who seem to think they're the majority from trying to show the flip side of the coin of certain decisions made in the first game so I'm glad they're trying their best to hammer it home early
The one thing that didn't sit right with me in this episode is that the Hunters only had control of the town for 10 days and they were ALREADY setting-up traps to kill and rob all random strangers who pass through town. That's too fast a transition from "we have the moral high ground, we're not Fedra!" to "You thought you were free? No, just under new management"
So many thematic connections to the second game in this episode. They are obviously setting up the table for season 2 and beyond! And I agree with Eric. That shot of the infected running toward the city was great.
The fact that Sam turned away from Ellie while she was asleep bc he can't hear so he wouldn't attack her if he didn't see her as he turned into a runner... that hurts
I like how aaron is emotional when Henry kills Sam but then once he’s pointing the gun at Joel, he stops and is like wtf and then once Henry kill’s himself he’s back at being emotional 😂
*THIS IS A SPOILER FOR ANYONE THAT HASN’T PLAYED THE GAME* I love how the music is the same when Henry is making Sam feel safe in their hideout is the same music as when Ellie kills Dave in the game.
Thank You for the reaction. ♥ Episode 5 was amazing. 👍 Probably my favourite episode so far. The story of Henry and Sam was so moving and the infected attack was very intense.
Henry was right, there were no infected in the maintenance tunnels. Those tunnels were a closed system for a limited number of buildings like the bank. That place where the bloater was putting pressure on the floor wasn't part of that system. The maintenance tunnel ended a block away from where the clickers finally emerged. When FEDRA drove them "underground" it was into the sewer system, the only place that would hold all of them. What they should have done was kill them and not contain them. It was over those 15 years that the bloater went from runner, to stalker, to clicker and then into that monster. What finally happened with the infected horde was a result of FEDRA's bad containment strategy. Anthony wasn't a shit shot like Joel thought. He hit exactly what he was aiming at, he just wasn't aiming at them. His orders were to call it in when he spotted them but to pin them down and keep them there until Kathleen could get there. She wanted to confront and kill Henry herself, she doesn't get the satisfaction of revenge if some sniper does it. Craig Mazin had a back story for Anthony that explains why he drew down on Joel when Joel had the drop on him. He said Anthony lived a good life for 60 years before outbreak day and then 20 more in a world gone to hell. He was done, he wanted to die but he couldn't do it himself. So he used Joel as a kind of suicide by cop, forcing Joel to shoot him. At the end of the show Joel also took Henry's backpack. Ellie has been told that she was the key to the cure so of course she thinks her blood is the cure. She's 14 and doesn't understand how any of this works. The funny thing is even if a vaccine could be made from her immunity, there's no realistic chance it ever becomes a practical reality. The thing about something like a vaccine is scalability. How will you produce it and scale up production to supply millions of people around the world, let alone the US population that are pockets of survivors scattered across the country. There is no infrastructure, no medical establishment, no central government to make this happen. It ain't gonna happen because Marlene and her merry band of Fireflies want it to. The existence of a cure would create even more chaos as different people and factions would fight over it. Whoever had control of it would have immense power and we've seen how even a limited amount of power leads to the worst in everyone. The clickers won't go away because people are immune. Ellie is immune and as Tess said it won't stop them from tearing her apart. Either humans learn to live in the new reality where they are the prey and not the apex predators or they learn to deny the infected new hosts. They work together to build communities that are more than just QZ's. That are self- contained and locked down, not by a fascist dictatorship but by accepting that what they are doing is the only solution. To deny them new hosts which ultimately results in the fungus dying out. Of course, it would take years, maybe generations to do this. And as Joel has said, somebody breaks a rule and the whole thing goes back to shit. Then the world is like KC, everyone is dead. First the humans and then when the last one dies the fungus dies without any more hosts which is their only means of reproduction. Everybody loses.
I strongly dislike the discourse around Kathleen. I get it on many levels, but as viewers we must understand the only reason we’re perceiving her as a “villain” is because we didn’t see these events unfold from her perspective. We’re more prone to empathize with Henry because they chose to tell this story prominently from his point of view. FEDRA was shit to their own people, a full-on dictatorship where people had to rat other people’s rebellion and disobedience if they wanted food, services, or even basic human rights like medicine. It’s a whole fucked up system where individuals felt they mattered more than other individuals. Henry DID make a choice that his brother was more important than Kathleen’s brother, but is he? Is someone more important than someone else? Some would argue that a child is more important than anything because it’s just a child, while others might try to make the argument in which Kathleen’s brother was more important to society since he was a good man, of good morals, who was just trying to end the tiranny. I don’t feel there’s a right or wrong answer, just a very bad and unfair question. Henry wasn’t supposed to be in the position to choose one life over another. Henry did choose though. He did play God with another human being’s life who got beaten to death. Understandably so, don’t get me wrong, everybody would choose someone we love over a stranger and we know it. What bugs me is thinking Kathleen was in any kind of a better position. Pointing the finger at her and saying “well, get over it” is such a hypocritical stance to take. Thinking that, if a loved one were to be killed by someone right now, you would just “get over it” and not want revenge is quite frankly some big bullshit we tell ourselves to feel better. I don’t think two weeks or six months would be enough for us to start rationalizing and deal with death. If you think you wouldn’t, it’s just because you’ve been thought it’s wrong (which, I don’t know, twenty years into an apocalypse living in a dictorship would not exactly teach you) but mostly because we, in our society, can’t just take matters into our own hands. Modern concept, by the way, and why did that change from times in history where we were all “an eye for an eye”? Yeah, because we’re not rational beings when we are wronged. What we’d do is drag that mfs’ ass to court and get him sentenced to life in prison. She doesn’t have that system and she does take matters in her own hands. Kathleen is someone who lost her brother to someone else, and she’s a woman in power with a bunch of people following her orders. It’s also nice to theorize here how Henry’s choice affected the resistance: maybe with her brother in charge, they would have successfully restored a democratic and peaceful settlement. But now she’s a grieving leader with a thirst for blood (ignoring infected underground because her revenge/individuality is more important that protecting her people/society), and I don’t think that’s any better than what FEDRA was before her. On top of that, Henry’s decision leads to Sam’s death. He kills him with his own hands, and he would have also killed him if he didn’t rat Kathleen’s brother out. Again, what kind of fucked up world is that? I also understand it’s hard and cruel to hear, but kids do die all the time. Why does it make her such a bad person to say that Sam isn’t more important than her brother, and that the world doesn’t revolve around him? I do think in her mind she knows she’s fucking things up, and no one here can say for certain that maybe this whole group wouldn’t have died killed by infected if her brother was in charge. That’s the beauty behind TLOU: there’s no black and white, right or wrong. We’re just deeply flawed as human beings.
