‘The Last of Us’ star opens up on preparing for this week’s heartbreaking tragedy

Warning: Major spoilers for episode five of The Last of Us to follow.

We were treated to an early release of “Endure and Survive,” the fifth episode of The Last of Us, as the show aimed to avoid competition with the Super Bowl this Sunday. Considering how the events unfolded in a way most merciless to one’s tear ducts, we’re left wondering if this advanced screening, as it were, was a blessing or a curse.

Indeed, while it’s no question that it left us just as hooked as every episode up to this point, “Endure and Survive” certainly isn’t one for the faint of heart. The episode formally introduced us to brothers Henry and Sam, and viewers who are already familiar with the game may have felt a sinking feeling in their stomach as soon as they were on-screen. It was as good a time as ever to cross one’s fingers for yet another creative liberty, but it wasn’t to be.

When the pair crosses paths with Joel and Ellie, they agree to help each other escape Kansas City, and barely escape with their lives after finding both the revolutionaries and some once-dormant Infected on their heels. Later that night, Sam secretly reveals his infection to Ellie, who tries to heal Sam by mixing some of her blood with the wound. It proved to be all for naught the next morning, however, when a newly infected Sam attacks Ellie, grabbing the attention of Henry, who’s forced to shoot his kid brother. Unable to bear the psychological damage of it all, Henry takes his own life shortly after.

It was no easy task to watch it all go down with a dry eye, to put it lightly, and according to Lamar Johnson, who portrayed Henry in the show and participated in a recent interview with Collider, it wasn’t much easier to seep himself in such a scene either, but that made the challenge all the more attractive to him.

“Being honest, it was really nerve-wracking, the first time I read it because, at that point, I had already gotten the job, and I knew, in my mind, what I was gonna have to step into. But again, I enjoy challenges. I enjoy things that make me nervous because, you know, that means that I care if I’m gonna approach that with nerves.”

If showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann can somehow manage to deliver another episode as emotionally brutal as “Endure and Survive,” they might have to prepare for a couple of lawsuits. The hearts of their audience can only take so much more, and we’re only halfway through the series.

The Last of Us is available to stream on HBO Max, with new episodes releasing every Sunday until the season’s conclusion on March 12. A second season has been announced.