The Last of Us Episode 5: What happens to Kathleen?

The Last of Us Episode 5 is climactic for Henry and Sam, but also for Kathleen, Melanie Lynskey’s fearsome leader in Kansas City – here’s what happens to her.

Lynskey’s character was the subject of major speculation prior to the show’s release. As one of the few characters created solely for the series, fans were understandably curious about how she’d fit into the story.

In Episode 4, we met her and learned a bit about how she came to lead her “revolutionaries” (for all intents and purposes, they’re Hunters). We know something happened to her brother, and we know she wants to find Henry and Sam.

In this week’s episode, her quest for vengeance reaches a monstrous end in the suburbs – so, let’s get into it.

Spoilers for The Last of Us to follow…

What happens to Kathleen in The Last of Us?

Kathleen is brutally killed by a Clicker in The Last of Us Episode 5. We see her being ripped apart as Joel, Ellie, Henry, and Sam make their escape from the suburbs.

Kathleen’s vendetta for Henry ties into the wider movement of the resistance but it’s also really simple: Henry gave up her brother Michael, who was the leader of the Hunters, to FEDRA to get medicine for Sam, who’s deaf and has leukemia.

Both are villains, in their own way. Henry was forced to do a “bad guy” thing to save his brother, and Kathleen’s grief transformed her into a war criminal.

HBO

Earlier in the episode, we see Kathleen reminiscing about how protected she felt by her brother when they were younger, and how he’d want her to forgive Henry – but she doesn’t care. “Where is the justice in that?” she asks.

She leads a convoy into the suburbs in pursuit of Henry, and just as he gives himself up, a truck falls into a sinkhole, causing hundreds of infected of all kinds and sizes to emerge – including a Bloater.

Kathleen manages to corner Henry, but before she can shoot him, a Clicker launches at her, clawing and biting her to death.

In an interview with Variety, Lynskey said: “If the world had remained as it was, she would probably be a high school teacher who’s complaining about the kids all the time … but she’s forced into this position that she’s quite good at, for the worst reasons.

“She discovers that she doesn’t have a ton of humanity. She’s able to do things that are quite brutal without really batting an eyelash. And I think that that’s quite a scary thing for her to understand about herself, but also kind of an exciting thing.”

The Last of Us Episode 6 will be available to stream on February 19 in the US and February 20 in the UK. You can check out the rest of our coverage here and check out the trailer for the weeks ahead here.