The Last of Us is set in a post-apocalyptic world where tragic stories such as Sam and Henry's are abundant, but that doesn't mean that these characters didn't deserve a better fate. Joel and Ellie meet various other survivors during their journey across the country to the Fireflies, and while some are enemies, others help the pair to the best of their abilities. Sam and Henry aren't enemies, but they aren't the most willing allies either, making them feel realistic in a world where one's own survival takes priority.
Although Ellie is the worst character in TLOU Part 2, in the first game she's still just a child and tired of the fact that everyone she meets dies or abandons her; so when she finds solace in Sam it makes his inevitable demise even more heartbreaking. Perhaps Sam and Henry were doomed from the moment they met Joel and Ellie and tried to help, but their fate can seem undeserved for tragic characters who tried to do the best they could in a world that was against them.
Sam And Henry's Good Deeds Didn't Go Unpunished In The Last Of Us
Although Henry attacked Joel when first encountering him, it wasn't due to any personal dislike towards him. After learning that Joel and Ellie weren't hunters, Sam and Henry worked with them since they were all headed toward the Fireflies. While it wasn't a perfect alliance, Sam and Henry's deaths might not have happened if they never grouped up with and helped Joel and Ellie.
Sam Was Infected Because Of Bad Luck In TLOU
They might not be among the most painful character deaths in TLOU Part 1, but Sam and Henry's lives ended in a quick and emotional manner. Joel shooting the driver of a car led to clickers breaking out of a house, and Sam was scratched before they were killed. Whether his infection was because of Joel's actions, or if it was the inevitable ending for the brothers is difficult to say, but since Joel didn't intentionally start a series of events that led to Sam being infected, it could at least be considered bad luck.
Sam made the decision to hide his infection, and that might make his death a little more heartbreaking. While he was able to live his final night normally, he ended up not having a chance to say goodbye to his brother, which could have resulted in a lot being left unsaid between them.
These emotional moments can make TLOU Part 1 better than TLOU 2 because it's sudden, unexpected, and hard-hitting. Players had just warmed up to Henry and Sam when the tragedy happens and instead of being comforted, Sam chose a choice beyond his years, suffering in silence knowing that he had limited time left to live as himself before becoming one of the infected.
TLOU Never Let Sam And Henry Experience A Good Life
Henry was a child when the Cordyceps brain infection started, and Sam was like Ellie in that he was born after the outbreak. While Henry had vague memories of life before the outbreak, Sam never knew what life was like outside a quarantine zone because he was born and raised within one. Neither of them had a chance to experience a regular life in The Last of Us like Joel whose age let him live before the outbreak, and remember those times. Then, they lost any feeling of safety they had when the quarantine zone in which they lived was abandoned by the military, which set them on a path that would intersect with Joel and Ellie.
It seems they were lucky to make it outside the former quarantine zone in the first place because none of the other survivors they planned to meet up with arrived at the designated location, however, Sam and Henry weren't able to be at ease during their journey toward the Fireflies' location. They had to be on the lookout for hunters and the infected, and then they met up with The Last of Us' protagonist characters to create a tentative alliance due to their matching destinations.
Henry's Hope Was Stolen In TLOU
Henry put Sam's safety and well-being above everything else, which made Sam's infection and death particularly devastating for Henry. However, Henry took the responsibility of being the one to shoot Sam after he succumbed to the infection, even though he blamed Joel for the situation. After living to raise and protect Sam for so long, it seemed that Henry found the future unbearable to face alone, even though he could have continued onward to find the Fireflies and possibly help build a better future for kids like Sam who only knew a world of quarantine zones and infections.
When Henry turned his gun on himself and fired, it might not have been the saddest moment of The Last of Us, but it can be seen as powerful in its own way. Hope is one theme that is present throughout the game - such as the hope that Ellie can be the source of a vaccine for the Cordyceps brain infection - but the source of hope for one character might not be a source for other characters. And after lives filled with hardships and a struggle to survive, Sam and Henry's hopes ended early because of a single scratch.
Henry Needed To Blame Joel In TLOU
Although Henry blamed Joel for Sam turning before he shot himself, Joel didn't intentionally get Sam infected, and he did try to kill the clickers before they hurt anybody. Joel isn't a perfect protagonist, and he even lies to Ellie about the Firefly lab in The Last of Us, but he also isn't somebody who would lead Sam to his death without reason. Henry probably realized this as well, but he likely needed to blame somebody else for Sam's death since protecting Sam was the priority of his life, and he was unable to stop him from being infected in the end.
The Last of Us is a game filled with emotional moments. It's also full of characters who meet fates that they don't deserve, and Sam and Henry are among that category. The game is filled with flawed characters, which adds a feeling of realism and complexity to the world, but being flawed doesn't mean that Sam and Henry deserved the untimely end they met in The Last of Us.
Source: IGN/YouTube