The premiere of The Last of Us season two welcomed fans back to the end of the world, where the infected run wild and Joel and Ellie deal with the consequences of season one. It also introduced plenty of new faces, including Catherine O'Hera's Gail, a therapist living in the Jackson community, who reveals early on that Joel, her client, killed her husband Eugene. But who is Eugene on The Last of Us and why is he important?
Gail is actually a brand new character to The Last of Us, meaning she wasn't featured in the original games. Her as-of-yet unseen husband Eugene, however, is a character first introduced in The Last of Us Part II, though he was similarly off-screen.
Who was Eugene in The Last of Us Part II game?
In the game, Eugene was somewhat of a legendary figure, a Firefly who ended up leaving his wife and child to take part in the resistance movement. He lived alone at an abandoned library, which gamers can explore.
The original Eugene also had a close relationship with Dina, who tells players that Eugene and Tommy worked together to go after FEDRA. He died from a stroke at 73, but it looks like the Eugene in the show won't be so lucky.
When recounting the story of her husband's death in the season 2 premiere, Gail suggests that Joel “had no choice” when he killed her husband. “I know I should forgive you. But I tried, and I can't. Because of how you did it,” she says ominously.
Will Eugene appear in The Last of Us season 2?
Yes! He's even already been spotted in a season 2 trailer. In the clip, Joel can be seen pointing a gun at a man in the woods, taking aim, and seemingly preparing to shoot this unarmed man in the back of the head.
Speaking with Variety before the premiere, showrunners Neil Druckmann (who wrote the original game) and Craig Mazen confirmed to Variety that the man in question was, indeed, Eugene. The two didn't reveal much about the character, but hinted that they were inspired by season 1's Bill and Frank stand-alone episode, meaning we could be getting a whole episode to flesh out Eugene's story. “The story we told [in the game] was somewhat superficial,” Neil said, teasing Eugene's upcoming arc. “The way this character comes in really gets to the heart of Joel and Ellie and their relationship.”
As for what we can expect from a Eugene-specific episode, the only thing we know is that it will involve tears, so keep some tissues nearby. “I've never had to cry so much for so many takes,” Catherine teased in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It was killer.”
Who plays Eugene on The Last of Us?
Eugene will be played by Joe Pantoliano, who you might recognise from The Sopranos, The Matrix, or The Goonies.
The Last of Us is available to watch on NOW and Sky Atlantic
