It's no secret that The Last of Us has been diverging from the source material, introducing significant changes that still enhance the storytelling. For instance, Episode 5 gave Henry a different line when he realizes he had shot his infected brother Sam. Interestingly, Lamar Johnson opened up about the new dialogue and explained how it gave him the chance to pay tribute to the Naughty Dog's version of his character.
In The Last of Us Episode 5, Joel and Ellie teamed up with Henry and Sam who are also trying to leave Kansas City. As they tried to escape, they are stopped by sniper who had been stalling them for Kathleen's arrival. When a truck crashes and explodes, a huge army of the Infected emerge from the ground and attack Kathleen's militia.
Although Joel, Ellie, Henry, and Sam manage to escape amidst the chaos, Sam reveals to Ellie that he had been injured by a Clicker and she tries to use her blood to cure him. The boy later attacks her, forcing Henry to shoot his own brother.
Realizing what had happened, the shocked Henry keeps repeating, "What did I do?" instead of "It's all your fault" like in the game. Lamar Johnson told Variety that the change was made to pay tribute to the game version of Henry.
“I really wanted to honor the performances from the game,” Johnson said. “That was important to me, but also, I didn’t want to create a carbon copy. I wanted to interpret it the way that I felt inclined to do, or felt pulled to do. It was just about trying to be as present as possible with my environment.”
It's awesome to know that Lamar Johnson wanted to honor Game Henry but still managed to make the character his own. Additionally, the new line actually hurt more, thanks to Johnson's heartbreaking performance.
The Last of Us Episode 5 is now streaming on HBO Max.
Related: The Last of Us Finally Debuts First Terrifying Giant Clicker
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