Clov's prospects are bleak: 'One day you'll be blind like me,' warns Hamm. 'You'll be sitting there, a speck in the void, in the dark, for ever, like me.' Clov declares his desire to leave so regularly throughout the entire drama that it sounds quite ritualistic:

Clov: So you all want me to leave you.
Hamm: Naturally.
Clov: Then I'll leave you.
Hamm: You can't leave us.
Clov: Then I shan't leave you.

The pair depend on each other both physically and emotionally. If Clov were to leave, it would be suicidal; where could he go and who would provide the shelter and food that Hamm has given him:

Hamm: Why do you stay with me?
Clov: Why do you keep me?
Hamm: There's no one else.
Clov: There's nowhere else.

He cannot leave. Indeed, 'outside of here it's death' and out there Clov has seen only 'zero, zero and zero'.

Clov is as reliant on Hamm (for food and shelter) as Hamm is dependent upon Clov (to feed him). The pair are complementary and in recognition of the fact, complimentary, at times:

Hamm: I'm obliged to you, Clov. For your services.
Clov: [Turning, sharply] Ah pardon, it's I am obliged to you.
Hamm: It's we are obliged to each other.

Clov's appearing dressed in a Panama hat and tweed coat, with a raincoat over his arm and carrying an umbrella and bag, can not be to make any impression on the blind Hamm. Clov may be 'dressed for the road' (what road?) but that is as far as he can go. He has already realised 'I feel too old, and too far, to form new habits. Good, it'll never end, I'll never go.'

So Hamm's reply to Clov's move is to declare 'Me to play'. All endgames are rituals and both Clov and Hamm know the only moves permitted by the dialogue. Clov hints, 'This is what we call making an exit'. The game continues.

Hamm concludes: 'Since that's the way we're playing it … [he unfolds handkerchief] … let's play it that way … [he unfolds] … and speak no more about it … [he finishes unfolding] … speak no more.' However, in speaking some more - 'Old stancher! [Pause.] You … remain.' - and in covering his face with the handkerchief, lowering his arms to the armrests and remaining motionless, the board is being reset for the players' next ritual endgame to begin.

Clov, too, finishes as he always begins. His final stage direction indicates: He halts by the door and stands there, impassive and motionless, his eyes fixed on Hamm, till the end. Next time the curtain rises, we discover: 'Motionless by the door, his eyes fixed on Hamm, Clov.'