Since he was first mentioned in episode 1 by his widow, Gail (Catherine O'Hara), The Last of Us fans have been asking: Who is Eugene?
In Joel's very unorthodox therapy session with Gail in the first episode of Season 2, we learned that 1) Eugene was her husband. 2) He's been dead for less than a year. And 3) He was shot to death by Joel — presumably because he'd been infected.
Episode 2 revealed Eugene was a former Firefly who did patrols in Jackson with Jesse and had a secret marijuana grow in an abandoned 7-Eleven outside of town. In that episode, when Jesse spoke of Eugene's death at Joel's hands, Ellie seemed dismayed, but it was unclear why. I mean, maybe it just sucked to lose a beloved member of the community. Maybe, as the proposed cure for the Cordyceps infection, Ellie felt somehow responsible for Eugene's death? Well, turns out it's more than that.
Eugene's death began the rift between Ellie and Joel.
Episode 6 takes audiences back across five years of birthdays (15 to 19) for Ellie in Jackson. Joel aimed to make each of them special. He bartered to get her a cake. He made her a guitar in his wood shop, the one she surveyed in episode 3 as she grieved for him. He took her on a day trip to a forgotten museum. And when she turned 19, he gave her what she wanted most: her first patrol.
Joel had been keeping Ellie off patrol to protect her. Sure, she can take a bite from the Infected and not be affected. But getting bit would risk her safety in Jackson, as no one but Joel and Tommy know her secret. She even burned her arm to cover the bite mark left by that ill-fated mall date with Riley ("I wanted to wear short sleeves again"). But part of growing up is taking risks. And risks like getting a tattoo, doing drugs, and hooking up with Kat have been causing friction between Joel and Ellie since she turned 17.
In a bid to reconnect on her 19th birthday, Joel agreed to allow her on patrol with him, but it was a fateful decision. While they were out, they came across Eugene, who'd been bitten by the Infected. How Joel handled this infuriated Ellie, who called him out in front of Gail when they gave her the bad news back in Jackson.
What did Joel do to Eugene?
Everyone in Jackson knew the protocol. Joel had to kill Eugene (Joe Pantoliano), because once the infection took over, the man would be a mindless, rampaging threat to the community. But — as Gail put it in episode 1 — "it's how [Joel] did it" that stings.
When Eugene came across Ellie and Joel in the woods, he admitted right away he'd been bitten. Joel kept him at a distance by aiming his gun at the old man. From this point, Eugene pled, "Please. I figure I've got about an hour. So this is what we do. We go back to the gate," referring to the large protective wall that surrounds Jackson. "We get Gail out, keeping her at a safe distance of course, and I say goodbye."
Joel immediately shot down the idea, pardon the pun. Eugene became increasingly desperate, declaring, "I need to see her. I've got things to tell her. You don't understand."
Joel replied, "I do. But we have rules, and it can't happen."
Ellie tried to reason with Joel, asking Eugene to do the counting test she had to do before Joel in Season 1 to prove she wasn't transforming. "He has time," she insisted. "We tie him up, and we bring him back. Joel, let him see his fucking wife. Please."
Joel reluctantly agreed and urged Ellie away to gather the horses. He looked her in the eyes, and he promised. But he was lying.
No amount of pleading or rationalizing would change Joel's mind. To bring Eugene back to Jackson would be a risk he couldn't take. He shot Eugene in the wilderness, as the man cried out to see his beloved wife one more time. "I need her last words," Eugene yelled, "For me!"
It was to no avail. Joel executed him where he stood, overlooking a picturesque view, but pining only for his last sight to be his wife's face.
Why did Eugene's death hit Ellie so hard?
On one level, Eugene's death was traumatizing to Ellie because it proved Jackson is not entirely safe from the plague raging outside its walls. On another, Joel lied right to her face.
Earlier in the episode, Ellie practiced asking the burning questions she had for Joel about their escape from the Fireflies. She suspected something was off. Joel making a promise to her face, then breaking it as soon as her back was turned, seemed proof.
As they rode back to Jackson following Eugene's execution, Joel told her, "When we get there, I'll tell Gail what she needs to know and nothing more. It's the right thing to do." Ellie didn't respond, even when Joel said, "I had no choice."
Ellie could see Joel applying the same logic to the Fireflies' slaughter. So when she called him out in front of Gail and Tommy as they brought Eugene's body back to camp, she was acting out in rage, because of what she suspected about Joel's lies to her.
Many in Jackson, including Tommy and Gail, see Ellie and Joel as the same. But she set herself apart by telling Gail the hard truth. "That's not what happened," she said, denying Joel's story of a fearless surrender to execution. "He begged to see you. He had time. Joel promised to take him to you. He promised us both. And then Joel shot him in the head."
It's little wonder that Gail hates Joel. And with this scene, as Ellie hissed, "You swore," we understand better than ever what drove these two apart. Not what Joel did, exactly, but that he lied about it.
For nine months, Ellie stewed on this. The night of the New Year's dance, she confronted him. And in a season full of heartbreaking moments, Joel finally confessed to all he'd done, saying, "And I'll pay the price because you're gonna turn away from me."
Little did either of them know the price would be so much higher for both of them.
The Last of Us Season 2 airs weekly, Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.
