How Did Sam Get Infected in The Last of Us?

Episode 5 of The Last of Us was one of the most action-packed episodes we’ve seen in the series, but it also had its fair share of tragic moments on the part of the characters involved. Yes, we are talking about the fact that Henry and Sam, despite being good people, didn’t make it out of the episode alive because of the fact that Sam got infected by Cordyceps. So, how did Sam get infected in The Last of Us?

Sam got infected in The Last of Us when he and Henry were trying to find shelter under a car during the time that the infected overwhelmed the people of Kansas City. It is possible that Sam got bit or scratched while he and Henry were keeping the infected at bay. As such, he eventually turned into a runner.

The fact that the most innocent character in the series thus far turned into a runner was one of the most tragic moments of The Last of Us, as Sam getting infected was what forced Henry to end his life as well due to the fact that he was responsible for his own brother’s death. So, with that said, let’s look at how Sam got infected in The Last of Us and what happened to him in episode 5.

Did Sam Get Infected In The Last of Us?

While we first met the deaf-mute Sam and his older brother, Henry, during the end part of episode 4 of The Last of Us, we got to learn more about the brothers during the events of episode 5. That was when we saw the reason why Kathleen and the other citizens of Kansas City were hellbent on finding them. As such, Henry took the eight-year-old Sam and went into hiding throughout the entire city, and that was when they saw and met Joel and Ellie, who were also hiding from Kathleen and her people after killing one of their own.

In that regard, Joel and Ellie worked together with Henry and Sam to find a way out of Kansas City, as this alliance was born out of a mutual goal. But the thing about this initially uneasy partnership was the fact that Joel understood more about Henry when he learned that the older brother ratted out on one Michael, Kathleen’s older brother when FEDRA used Sam’s life as a bargaining chip. 

As such, Henry became public enemy no. 1 to the eyes of Kathleen and her people due to the fact that he chose to save Sam. And Joel understood him because he would have done the same if given a chance to save his daughter 20 years ago.

The group decided to work together to escape Kansas City while Joel and Ellie followed Henry’s lead. Meanwhile, Ellie and Sam became really good friends as it was difficult for kids to actually find people close to their age during the time of the outbreak. And Ellie seemed to have acted the role of a big sister really well to Sam throughout the entire episode.

But while they thought that they had escaped Kathleen, the group found themselves getting attacked by a sniper. Joel took the sniper out but learned that he had alerted Kathleen that Henry and the others were on their way to escape. Using the sniper rifle left behind, Joel took out one of the trucks that were after Henry and the others as the vehicle crashed into a nearby building that opened up a passage to the underground tunnel where FEDRA had chased the infected of Kansas City.

Just before Kathleen could execute Henry on the spot, the infected overwhelmed their group. Of course, Henry, Sam, and Ellie tried to use the chaos to escape but ended up getting into trouble as well. Sam hid under a car while a few infected were trying to get to them. Joel and Ellie rescued them from the predicament and ended up escaping the chaos.

However, while they were resting in a nearby hotel, Sam revealed to Ellie that he had been infected. This was something unknown to Joel and Henry as they were in the other room keeping watch. Ellie, thinking that her blood could be a cure for the Cordyceps, cut herself so that she could use her blood to treat Sam’s wound.

The next morning, Ellie was attacked by Sam, who had become a runner. While Henry prevented Joel from helping Ellie, he instinctively shot and killed his own younger brother. Out of disbelief at what he did to Sam, Henry killed himself as well before Joel could convince him otherwise. As such, the fact that Sam was infected was what led to the deaths of the two brothers that only wanted to survive the outbreak together.

How Did Sam Get Infected?

At this point, we all know that Sam got infected during the events of episode 5 of The Last of Us. It was his transformation into a runner that forced his older brother to kill him without hesitation. Of course, Henry killed himself out of remorse for what he did. But how did Sam get infected?

We didn’t see exactly when Sam got infected, but there is a good chance that he got infected during the time that he and Henry were under the car while there were infected that were trying to get to them. Due to the fact that Sam’s wound was on his leg, it is possible that he got scratched or bit during the time that he and his brother were fending the infected off while they were under the car in Kansas City.

Of course, we know for a fact that people get infected when they are bit, and it is possible that Sam was bit. But the video games also show us that people can get infected when they are scratched, as that was the case for Sam’s video game counterpart when he got scratched by one of the infected.

That means that Sam could have also been scratched while he was hiding under the car. Regardless of how he was infected, there is a good chance that he got wounded by one of the infected during the time that he and Henry were trying to stay away from the horde by hiding under a car. That means that Joel and Ellie were too late in saving them because Sam had already been infected.