The 5th Wave introduced Evan Walker, a Silencer (aka humanoid alien with nano enhancements), who becomes vital in humans' fight against invaders. Based on Rick Yancey's sci-fi book of the same name, The 5th Wave tells the story of a modern world that sustained five strange and unique waves of attacks from aliens in a mothership tasked with eliminating humans on Earth (an invasion unlike 2025's Prime Video movie, War of the Worlds). The sci-fi movie featured many important characters, such as Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz), Ben Thomas Parish (Nick Robinson), and Evan Walker (Alex Roe).
While the storyline primarily focused on Cassie's journey to find her missing brother, Sam, The 5th Wave also spent a good chunk of its screentime tackling the story and motivations of Evan, the person who saved Cassie, who later turned out to be a sleeper agent working for the invaders known as The Others.
Saving Cassie turned out to be a crucial point for Evan's "programming" because the act essentially reactivated his humanity, meaning that he was no longer willing to participate in The Others' invasion of Earth.
Directed by J Blakeson, The 5th Wave has a star-studded cast led by Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Alex Roe, Maria Bello, and Liev Schreiber. The film premiered in theaters on January 22, 2016, and it is now streaming on Netflix.
Does Evan Die In The 5th Wave?
Evan Walker's programming in The 5th Wave forced him to kill the remaining human survivors he encountered as part of the fourth wave of attack by The Others. He had enhanced abilities, such as strength, speed, and endurance, while having a neural link to the mothership hovering over Earth.
In The 5th Wave book and movie, Evan experienced a similar trajectory by helping Cassie instead of killing her, believing she was the key to reawakening his humanity. They end up working together to survive and hatch a plan to save Sam from the clutches of the military led by Lieutenant Vosch (who had been possessed by The Others).
The pair eventually fell in love, and Evan came clean to Cassie about his true origin as a Silencer (aka a sleeper agent) for The Others and the coordinated plan of attack known as the waves. While it may sound cheesy enough that love was the one that made him embrace his humanity rather than his alien side, it was still compelling given the circumstances of a bleak alien invasion.
Evan explained that the Others believed that love is a way for humans to protect their genetic future, but he dismissed that because he thought that his affection for Cassie "flipped the switch back" and made him want to be human again.
Evan and Cassie managed to infiltrate Camp Haven at the Wright-Patterson military base (the camp where Sammy was taken). Using his enhanced skills, Evan killed as many soldiers/invaders as he could while also hacking into the power grid to set off an explosion that would blow up the whole camp.
Evan's act of blowing up Camp Haven ultimately cemented his turn to humanity, with him choosing them over The Others as his side in the gruesome war for Earth. However, it came at a cost because his fate was unknown after the camp blew up.
While some have theorized that Evan died due to Camp Haven's destruction, the second book, The Infinite Sea, confirmed that he survived.
What Happened to Evan After the 5th Wave in 'The Infinite Sea'/ 'The Last Star'?
The Infinite Sea revealed that a badly injured Evan Walker survived the explosion from Camp Haven, and he was later found by a fellow Silencer named Grace. It was revealed that Evan and Grace knew each other before the waves, so it was easy for them to get reacquainted. They met at the Hamilton County Fair, where Grace admitted that meeting Evan was a sigh of relief because it "validated her existence."
Instead of Cassie's perspective, The Infinite Sea spent much time with Evan as the main narrator, providing readers insight into his thoughts about the whole invasion. Although Grace tried to seduce Evan during their time together, he was still attracted to Cassie so he dismissed her advances.
After escaping from Grace to find Cassie, Evan eventually reunited with Cassie and Squad 53 (the squad that betrayed the military led by Cassie's high school crush, Ben Parish) at a motel. While Cassie mistakenly shot him, he recovered, but it was clear that she had animosity toward him because she thought he had left her after Camp Haven's destruction.
Evan proved his loyalty to Squad 53 by helping them survive when another victim, Megan, was implanted with a bomb inside her. They worked together to remove the bomb, and he even helped them subdue his former ally, Grace, after she was able to track them down. Doing this allowed the team (and Cassie) to fully trust him, believing he is more human than alien.
After surviving yet another bomb explosion, Evan returned in the third and final book, The Last Star, as he helped Squad 53 in an all-out plan to defeat Lieutenant Vosch and the Others once and for all. However, things become complicated, after one of them (Ringer), is being manipulated by Vosch as a double agent.
Ringer had a choice: kill Evan Walker so that her Squad 53 would be spared or choose to tell the truth about Vosch's plans. Unfortunately, Ringer chooses to attack Evan instead and agrees to submit himself to Vosch (because he knows that Ringer is only being used by the Others).
Cassie, who was in love with Evan, devised a plan with the squad to save him and Ringer from Vosch's clutches, leading them to Camp Haven II (the enemy's main base). Cassie and Ringer eventually worked together to defeat a mind-controlled Evan - but he was still alive after being subdued by the pair.
In the end, Cassie sacrificed herself by killing Vosch and taking an explosive pill to blow up the mothership (a similar act Evan did in the first book, but the only difference is that Cassie ended up dying).
After Cassie's tragic end, Squad 53 honored her legacy by restoring Evan's memories and humanity. A heartbroken Evan realized what Cassie did, and the book ended with him forging a new path by eliminating the remaining Others on Earth to preserve humanity its peace.
