‘The Last of Us’ Episode 4 Ending Explained: Who Is the Kid Pointing a Gun at Joel? Meet Sam

For three episodes straight, The Last of Us has ended with a devastating character death practically designed to make viewers cry. After all of that emotional energy, “Please Hold My Hand” is a breath of fresh air. No more heart-breaking love stories. It’s time to get back to Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) road trip — and meet a new character, Sam, who will be very familiar to fans of The Last of Us games. Spoilers ahead.

After visiting Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank’s (Murray Bartlett) town, Joel and Ellie finally have a car of their very own. And that means they have a shot of making it to Wyoming and Joel’s brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna). After what feels like a century, Joel starts to open up to Ellie. He tells her that he met Tess (Anna Torv) through a group that Tommy joined and rants about how flaky his idealistic brother is. In turn, Ellie reads him several terrible jokes from her prized possession, No Pun Intended: Volume Too.

It’s all very cute and wholesome until it’s not. After Joel says that the only reason to keep going is for family, Ellie points out that she’s not family. “No, you’re cargo,” Joel curtly replies. Oof.

But that emotional gut punch isn’t the worst thing Ellie has to endure in Episode 4. While driving near Kansas City, several barricades force Joel to go into the city’s center. That’s when he realizes that this is one big trap. Cue a car crash and several action scenes for Joel taken straight out of the original game. But during one encounter with a Kansas City grifter, Joel miscalculates. He’s on the verge of being strangled out when Ellie shoots his attacker. Joel’s actually the one who ends this thug’s life, but still. Fourteen is too young to be assisting in murder.

By the way, all of those murders? They draw the attention of Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) and her righthand man Perry (Jeffrey Pierce). A quick aside on these two: Kansas City used to be the center of a quarantine zone just like every other major city. That was until Kathleen got sick of the military’s corruption. Rallying the people around her, she managed to turn the tides and overpower FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency), and now she rules Kansas City with an iron fist. Long story short? Kathleen is someone you don’t want to cross, and that’s exactly what Joel and Ellie have done.

The rest of the episode is mostly world-building. As Joel and Ellie hide, Kathleen threatens a doctor to tell her the location of someone named Henry. When he insists he doesn’t know, it’s a bullet to the head. But that’s not the only nerve-wrecking choice Kathleen makes. Toward the end of the episode, Perry shows her an abandoned building that was previously thought to be Infected-free. Only now something strong and terrifying has been pushing up from its floors. Yep, Cordyceps are alive and well in the Heart of America.

“Please Hold My Hand” ends with Joel and Ellie setting up camp in an abandoned building. Joel scatters glass around to wake them up in case there are any intruders. It’s a good idea, but it doesn’t work, which brings us to…

Who Is the Kid Pointing a Gun at Joel in The Last of Us Episode 4? Meet Sam

In the final moments of Episode 4, Joel wakes up to a young kid with paint around his eyes pointing a gun at his face. The kid puts a finger to his mouth, telling Joel and Ellie to keep quiet.

That’s Sam (Keivonn Woodard). In the series, he’s a deaf, artistic child who’s trying to escape Kansas City’s revolutionaries along with his brother Henry (Lamar Johnson). That name sounds familiar because Kathleen spent most of Episode 4 very vocally looking for a Henry.

Are Sam and Henry in The Last of Us Game?

They certainly are. Just like in the show, Henry and Sam approach Joel and Ellie while they’re sleeping. Without giving away any spoilers, they help our duo escape Pittsburgh, which is where this chapter of The Last of Us game takes place.

But in the game, Sam isn’t deaf. That’s a major change the HBO show makes, and it’s one that underlines one of the most innovative components of the game. One of the core gameplay mechanics in The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II are their use of stealth. Players are encouraged to make Joel, and later Ellie and Abby, listen through walls. That dependence on silence heightens the horror of the game series, but it’s also an aspect that doesn’t easily translate to television. By making Sam deaf, that key component is reintroduced to this universe.

Is Kathleen in The Last of Us Game?

Nope. Melanie Lynskey’s character is a completely new addition. The game never gets into the politics of Pittsburgh (which is Kansas City in the show). It explains that Hunters — a catchall term for factions of cutthroat survivors not affiliated with Fireflies — overtook the city and the military. Also, like in the show, Sam and Henry team up with Joel and Ellie to help them escape. But the game doesn’t reveal who the leader of this group is. You’ll have to watch the series to learn the full story.