Narrative sequence vs endpoint
后来 is the Chinese storyteller's favorite word. It links past events: 我先去了北京,后来又去了上海 (first I went to Beijing, then afterwards I went to Shanghai). 最后 is the climactic or final step: 我们讨论了很久,最后决定不去 (we discussed for a long time, and in the end decided not to go). Use 后来 when one event simply follows another; use 最后 when you want to mark the last or conclusive event.
我们先吃饭,后来看电影,最后回家了。
Wǒmen xiān chī fàn, hòulái kàn diànyǐng, zuìhòu huí jiā le.
We ate first, afterwards watched a movie, and finally went home.
后来 is always past
后来 only works for past narratives. You cannot say 我明天后来去 (tomorrow afterwards I will go); that is ungrammatical. For future sequences use 然后 (ránhòu, then) or 接着 (jiēzhe, next): 我明天先开会,然后吃午饭 (tomorrow I will first have a meeting, then lunch). 后来 locks you in the past; 然后 is tense-neutral.
最后 can mark future endings
Unlike 后来, 最后 works in past, present, and future contexts. 最后一个问题 (the last question) works in any tense. 我们最后会赢 (we will win in the end) is future. 这是最后一次 (this is the last time) is present. The constraint on 后来 (past only) does not apply to 最后.
下次开会,我想最后发言。
Xià cì kāihuì, wǒ xiǎng zuìhòu fāyán.
At the next meeting, I want to speak last.
最后 as "at the very end"
最后 carries a sense of finality or conclusion, not just sequence. 最后 can mean "the final one of a set" (最后一页, the last page) or "ultimately, after everything" (最后我还是没去, in the end I still did not go). The second usage often carries emotional weight: resignation, relief, or decisive outcome. 后来 is neutral narrative; 最后 often has resolution.
The third cousin: 终于
终于 (zhōngyú, finally) overlaps with 最后 but adds anticipation or struggle. 我们终于到了 (we finally arrived) implies the journey was long or difficult. 最后我们到了 (in the end we arrived) is more neutral. Use 终于 when the ending is a relief; use 最后 when it is simply the last step. Learners often confuse all three; locking in the narrative (后来) vs endpoint (最后) vs relief (终于) order clarifies the split.