The Last of Us Season 2 has a much different agenda than Season 1. While the first season had to tackle the entire first game, Season 2 can take a more leisurely pace, as it will only be adapting part of the game’s sprawling sequel, The Last of Us Part II.
This change of pace is already evident in Season 2’s first episode, which took a character previously only seen in a photograph and made him the center of a big conflict — and a major part of Joel’s life. Here’s everything you need to know about Eugene, from who he was in the game to what we can expect from him on television.
In the game, Eugene, much like the first game’s Frank, is an unseen character. Unlike the TV show, the game begins with Dina and Ellie the morning after their big kiss at the dance. The two go on patrol together, only to wind up in Eugene’s old hideout, complete with a long-dead cannabis crop and a stash of adult videotapes. We never see Eugene outside of an old photo of him with Joel’s younger brother Tommy, but the player instantly gets a sense of who he was.
“I think we should go out like Eugene,” Ellie says. “From a stroke?” Dina replies. “No. From old age... living a long life,” Ellie clarifies.
In Episode 1 of Season 2, Ellie and Dina don’t mention Eugene. Instead, we learn about him when Gail, the new therapist character played by Catherine O’Hara, has a session with Joel. He comes up when Gail receives payment in the form of cannabis from Joel and complains that it’s poor quality. When Joel points out that it’s winter, she says, “January, February, [Eugene] would grow buds the size of pinecones.”
Later, we learn that Gail’s connection to Eugene is more than just admiration of his botanical skills. They were married, at least until Joel shot him. “You shot my husband,” she says. “And I resent you for it. No. Maybe a little more than that. I hate you for it.”
Gail adds, “I know you had no choice,” implying that Eugene was infected or otherwise in trouble, and that Joel’s act was more mercy than murder. Still, it’s clear this choice weighs heavily on both Gail and Joel, and it’s something we’ll see explored further.
“These two characters are tied to Joel,” co-showrunner Neil Druckmann told IGN of Gail and Eugene. “If you've watched the first episode, they talk about Eugene and why that's important. And you’ll see even more of why that’s important as the season goes on.”
That includes seeing Eugene in the flesh, as a casting announcement from last month revealed that Eugene will be played by Joey Pantoliano, best known as Cypher from The Matrix. So it’s only a matter of time before we see him in person, presumably in another flashback like Bill and Frank’s standout episode.
