Kathleen does die in the fifth episode of The Last of Us, ironically at the hands of a clicker child.
Kathleen is one of the few characters that was not part of the original game, but her quest for revenge has made her an important antagonist, nonetheless.
Kathleen does die during an attack in episode five, when a hoard of the Infected erupt from underground and one clicker runs her down to devour her.
Where does Kathleen come from?
It takes a particularly evil and vindictive character to stand out as one of the most villainous monsters on a show that is built around a fungus which infects people and turns them into violent zombie-like creatures.
But Kathleen Coghlan has managed to do this in just a few episodes. Kathleen was first introduced as the leader of a resistance group in the fourth episode of the show.
Furthermore, although her character was not part of the game that the show is based on, she certainly turned out to be one of the most impactful characters in the series.
Does Kathleen die in The Last of Us?
Kathleen’s character sparked interest because she is one of only two characters that have been created specifically for the HBO show, so far. his implies that she will have some important part to play in the first season.
At first, the only thing that audiences knew about Kathleen was that she was a ruthless leader, that something terrible had happened to her brother, Michael, and that she was looking for Henry and Sam.
However, as the narrative progressed, it quickly became evident that she was not only looking for Henry and Sam, but that she was looking for revenge.
In fact, Kathleen was so consumed with her mission to find Henry that she did not think twice about manipulating the people around her into believing that he was to blame for all the murders in their territory.
She even convinced Perry not to say anything about the hoards of the Infected that were living underground.
In the fifth episode, Kathleen took a brief trip down memory lane before gathering her troops to head into the suburbs to exact her revenge.
Once they were in the suburbs, Joel managed to shoot the driver of one of the trucks, which set off a chain reaction before Henry could reveal himself to Kathleen.
Unfortunately, the explosion had the inadvertent effect of causing hundreds of the Infected to emerge from their hiding place underground.
In an ironic twist, Kathleen and her troops were quickly overrun with Infected and Perry even sacrificed himself so that Kathleen could get away. Even so, in the end, she died when a child clicker ran her down and devoured her.
Why do people think Kathleen is evil?
The Last of Us fans are used to morally grey characters and at first glance, it can be difficult to determine why a character like Joel is a beloved fan-favourite, while one like Kathleen is almost universally disliked.
However, the difference between Joel and Kathleen is the fact that Joel would put his own convictions and plans aside in order to help and protect Ellie for the greater good.
On the other hand, Kathleen was only ever interested in completing her own vengeance mission, even though she knew that killing Henry or Sam was not what Michael wanted to happen.
Why was Kathleen’s death so ironic?
One of the scenes that depicted just how calloused and unfeeling Kathleen truly was was when she told Henry “children die all the time” and said that his young brother dying was not such a big deal.
Only a few scenes later, this remark came back to bite her – literally – when she was attacked and killed by a child that had advanced to the “clicker” stage of infection.
To add to this, Kathleen was also the one that convinced Perry to keep the secret that the Infected were hiding underground earlier in the episode.
Did any other characters die in this episode?
The fifth episode of The Last of Us has been considered one of the most emotionally devastating episodes of the series to date.
Not only did fans get an inside glimpse into Kathleen’s true motivations, and by extension, FEDRA’s cruelty, but they also witnessed mass casualties all throughout the episode.
Minor characters like Anthony the sniper and Perry, Kathleen’s right-hand man, all died in this episode.
However, even after the massive attack in the suburbs, Henry and Sam end up dying by the end of the episode. Fortunately, Ellie and Joel end the episode unscathed – physically, that is.