For the last two episodes of The Last of Us, fans have been hearing Kathleen ask around about Henry and his current location. And while this show still is all about Ellie and Joel’s big journey, the show took a step back to give us a little backstory to two brand new characters that might be familiar to fans of the game in its fifth episode. As we’ve already learned from Bill and Frank’s story, some things have changed in this new format, and Henry’s story is no question. So even if you have clocked several hundred hours in the game, you’re still going to need to take a second to know the new Henry and his brother, Sam.
Here’s everything you need to know about Henry from The Last of Us.
Why is Kathleen looking for Henry?
In episode 5’s big flashback scenes, we find out that Henry was involved with Kathleen’s brother’s death. Henry previously worked for FEDRA as an informer and turned Kathleen’s brother in, which got him killed.
Henry reveals to Joel that the reason why he did what he did was because Sam got sick with leukemia and FEDRA had the medicine that he needed to help cure him. Because of how rare the drug was, FEDRA asked him to help take down the leader of the resistance movement in Kansas City, AKA Kathleen’s brother. This also tells us how Kathleen ended up being the leader of the resistance when they took down FEDRA.
What happened to Henry and Sam?
In the game, Ellie and Joel actually meet Henry and Sam in Pittsburg, not Kansas City. There, Henry tries to work with Ellie and Joel to safely get out using the city’s sewer system so they don’t grab the attention of the hunters who are out to get everyone and anyone who crosses their path.
In the show, Henry is public enemy number one and suggests they use the tunnel system to try to get out and not be spotted by Kathleen and her army. They manage to do so until they head back outside and are seen by a sniper who tries to take them down. Kathleen tries to check in with him and realizes something is wrong when he doesn’t answer back after he was shot dead by Joel.
Kathleen and the rest of the resistance come over and try to take down Henry. She tells him that everyone, including Sam and Ellie, would be killed too and revealed, “I know why you did what you did. But did you ever stop to think that maybe he was supposed to die?”
Henry steps out to confront Kathleen and she almost shoots him, but not before a truck that accidentally crashed earlier burns a hole in the ground, revealing a giant group of infected that come out and attack them.
Joel, Ellie, Henry, and Sam use that as a distraction to try to escape and manage to make it out alive. However, Sam later reveals to Ellie that he was bitten by one of the infected on their way out. Ellie uses her blood to try to cure him, but Sam still wakes up the next day as a runner. Joel almost shoots Sam down, but Henry stops him and does it instead.
In a fit of grief, Henry turns the gun on himself and takes his own life. The two brothers are buried together outside of the motel they were staying at by Ellie and Joel before the pair continue on their adventure.
Is Henry and Sam’s fate the same in the video game?
While some changes were made to the setting and their character’s backstories, sadly, their stories end the same way.