England 291 (Henry 5-80) and 182 for 5 (Root 75*, Brook 54, Jamieson 3-37) need 281 more runs to beat New Zealand 391 (Phillips 101) and 362 (Nicholls 121)
It is Joe Root or bust for England at The Oval, as it was so often in the final days of his previous stint as captain. Root became the second man to reach 14,000 Test runs early in his unbeaten innings of 75 but, barring 54 from Harry Brook, found precious little support. He will return on Sunday knowing that he represents England's only hope of pulling off a world-record run-chase.
New Zealand will need only five more wickets to wrap up what would be only their eighth Test win in England and their first since the World Test Championship final five years ago. It would be a deserved win, after an even first day and three dominant ones since, and would set up the prospect of a series decider at Trent Bridge next week.
England's side could look very different for the third Test, with the prospect of Ben Stokes returning as captain increasingly likely. Stokes was nearly 300 miles away from The Oval, making 95 for Durham against Northamptonshire, as England slipped to 40 for 3 in pursuit of 463; he is not the player he once was, but his absence still weakens them.
New Zealand were not as ruthless as they might have been on the fourth day: they added only 110 runs to their overnight score for the loss of seven wickets, and their firm grasp on the match briefly loosened after tea when Brook raced to a characteristically adventurous 50 from just 33 balls.
But Matt Henry bowled an impeccable second spell of 1 for 10 in six overs to restore control. With Tom Blundell again up to the stumps, both Root and Brook successfully overturned lbw decisions on review thanks to inside-edges but were unable to score freely, and Henry roared in celebration when Brook edged to Daryl Mitchell at slip via the tip of Blundell's glove.
It was Kyle Jamieson who did the early damage with a double-wicket maiden leaving England reeling at 13 for 2. Emilio Gay was given a life when put down by Blundell in Henry's first over, but chipped tamely to forward square leg for 11, and Jacob Bethell was trapped on the front pad by a ball that seamed in sharply.
Root reached his latest landmark when he nudged Henry into the covers for a scampered single, and struck two crisp boundaries in Nathan Smith's first over to hint at a recovery. But Ben Duckett fell immediately after, flapping at a pull off Will O'Rourke which looped up to short midwicket off the toe, leaving England 40 for 3 and deep in the mire.
Brook led the charge after tea, sauntering down to launch Jamieson over mid-off in trademark style; Root ticked over at the far end, repeatedly gliding and steering boundaries away behind square. But Tom Latham's plan to dry Brook up worked to perfection, and Jamieson's late wicket of James Rew, trapped lbw on review, underlined New Zealand's position of dominance.
It capped a difficult debut for Rew, who managed 39 runs across his first two innings in Test cricket and missed three opportunities behind the stumps. Jamie Smith is expected to return from paternity leave in Nottingham next week to keep wicket and whenever Rew is next seen in Test cricket, it may well be as a top-order batter on this evidence.
Jofra Archer's two-wicket burst was the highlight of the second morning, and he would have had a wicket with his first ball of the day if Brook had held onto a diving catch at slip off Mitchell's outside edge. Instead, he struck an over later when Brook - who had moved to second slip moments earlier - held onto a far simpler chance off centurion Henry Nicholls.
Root nearly gave Blundell a reprieve when he juggled a chance at leg slip off Josh Tongue's bowling, only for Rew to react well to scoop up the rebound. Archer bowled eight of the first nine overs from the Pavilion End and repeatedly tested New Zealand's batters, earning further reward when first-innings centurion Glenn Phillips was well held by Bethell in the gully.
Smith joined Mitchell and tucked into Bethell's left-arm spin before lunch, hoisting consecutive balls over wide long-on and through deep midwicket for six then four. He tucked in again when England curiously declined to take the second new ball for the 81st over, hauling Matthew Fisher through long leg.
Mitchell had reached 50 with the first of three boundaries in a Root over before lunch, but fell soon after on the scoop. England then belatedly took the new ball and ran through the tail, with Fisher removing Jamieson (bowled) and Smith (caught slogging) before Sonny Baker had Henry slicing to extra cover.
It was the fourth consecutive bowling day for England's inexperienced attack, who were left in no doubt after 183.3 overs in the field about the step-up in intensity at Test level.
