New Devon – Uncharted 4 A Thief's End (Part 19)

#uncharted4 #athiefsend #naughtydog
At its heart, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is a story about family and sacrifice. It’s appropriate, then, that it begins with Nathan Drake sacrificing his brother, Sam. Some 15 years back, prior to the events of the original Uncharted, Nathan and Sam are working with wealthy treasure hunter Rafe Adler to find the lost treasure of legendary pirate lord Henry Avery. While locked up in a Panama jail, Nathan finds a clue that will lead the trio to Scotland where Avery’s ship was last seen. Before they can escape, the jail’s corrupt warden, Vargas, rounds them up and demands to be cut in. Rafe murders Vargas and the three rogues attempt a breakout. As they flee, Sam is shot in the back and falls into the darkness where Nathan cannot see whether he lived or died. As Rafe urges him onward, Nathan begrudgingly abandons his brother to make his escape and seek the fortune on his own. As the opening credits roll, we’re left wondering what happened to Sam and reconciling this new information with the Nathan we’ve come to love and respect throughout the series. But that isn’t actually the opening of Uncharted 4. We instead start some 15 years before that with the Drake boys in their teenage years. Nathan is living in St. Francis orphanage, but Sam has been kicked out for misbehavior. One night after helping him sneak out, Sam tells Nathan that he’s leaving town for a job and will be gone for a few years. Nathan is devastated by the news and confused as to why Sam won’t bring him along. Before he goes, Sam tells Nathan he found out who bought their late mother’s belongings, and the two set off to steal them back. This sets up the beginning of Nathan’s life of crime, but in the context of the prison break that comes next, it acts as a thematic counterweight. Both Drake brothers have abandoned each other in times of great need in order to pursue their own desires. When Nathan leaves his brother behind and possibly dead in the Panama jail in the next chapter, we have an understanding of the complexities of their family dynamic. Two full chapters are a lot to pack into an opening sequence, but it’s clear how these events are connected, and easy to imagine where things might go from here.