«Eugene's Death: New Problems for Joel and Ellie in Season 2 of The Last of Us»
20 april 2025 в 18:37
In the second season of The Last of Us, fans were presented with completely new challenges for Joel and Ellie. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey play them respectively, the duo faces new threats five years after Joel saved Ellie’s life from the Fireflies. In the first episode, a bombshell was dropped about Joel — his role in the death of a character named Eugene. So how did Eugene die in the series?
Below, Hollywood Life breaks down everything we know about the character Eugene, his death, and his connection to Joel.
Joe Pantoliano, who has not yet appeared in the second season of the HBO series, plays Eugene. The actor has appeared in various TV shows and movies, one of his most famous roles being Ralph «Ralphie» Cifaretto in «The Sopranos». He has also played supporting characters in series such as «Streets of New York», «The Goonies», «La Bamba», «Empire of the Sun», «Midnight Run», «NYPD Blue», «Memento», and «Bad Boys».
Eugene is Gale’s husband. Gale is Joel’s therapist, played by Catherine O’Hara. Eugene and Gale were married until his death at some point before the second season.
In the first episode of the second season, Gale clearly explains how her husband, Eugene, died: Joel killed him.
«You shot and killed my husband», - Gale tells Joel during their first therapy session, which viewers see between them. «You killed Eugene. And I blame you for it. No, maybe a little more. I hate you for it».
Although Gale acknowledges, «I know you didn’t have a choice. I know I should forgive you», - she still can’t «because of how [Joel] did it».
Since Gale acknowledges that Joel «didn't have a choice» but to shoot Eugene, it is possible that Eugene was infected with the Cordyceps, Eugene threatened Joel’s life, or both. Perhaps Eugene also threatened Ellie’s life. After all, in the video game The Last of Us Part II, Eugene never appears on screen. He can only be seen in photographs, and he is a member of the Fireflies — a group that wanted to use Ellie to create a vaccine for Cordyceps brain infection.
The showrunner of the series, Neil Druckmann, told Variety in March 2025 about the character Eugene and the possibility of giving him more screen time compared to the video game.
«I'm excited when I see those opportunities», - Neil said. «I'm like, 'Oh, I don’t really know Eugene that well!' The story we told [in the video game] was somewhat surface-level. How this character fits into the narrative really hits Joel and Ellie’s hearts and their relationship»
Below, Hollywood Life breaks down everything we know about the character Eugene, his death, and his connection to Joel.
Joe Pantoliano, who has not yet appeared in the second season of the HBO series, plays Eugene. The actor has appeared in various TV shows and movies, one of his most famous roles being Ralph «Ralphie» Cifaretto in «The Sopranos». He has also played supporting characters in series such as «Streets of New York», «The Goonies», «La Bamba», «Empire of the Sun», «Midnight Run», «NYPD Blue», «Memento», and «Bad Boys».
Eugene is Gale’s husband. Gale is Joel’s therapist, played by Catherine O’Hara. Eugene and Gale were married until his death at some point before the second season.
In the first episode of the second season, Gale clearly explains how her husband, Eugene, died: Joel killed him.
«You shot and killed my husband», - Gale tells Joel during their first therapy session, which viewers see between them. «You killed Eugene. And I blame you for it. No, maybe a little more. I hate you for it».
Although Gale acknowledges, «I know you didn’t have a choice. I know I should forgive you», - she still can’t «because of how [Joel] did it».
Since Gale acknowledges that Joel «didn't have a choice» but to shoot Eugene, it is possible that Eugene was infected with the Cordyceps, Eugene threatened Joel’s life, or both. Perhaps Eugene also threatened Ellie’s life. After all, in the video game The Last of Us Part II, Eugene never appears on screen. He can only be seen in photographs, and he is a member of the Fireflies — a group that wanted to use Ellie to create a vaccine for Cordyceps brain infection.
The showrunner of the series, Neil Druckmann, told Variety in March 2025 about the character Eugene and the possibility of giving him more screen time compared to the video game.
«I'm excited when I see those opportunities», - Neil said. «I'm like, 'Oh, I don’t really know Eugene that well!' The story we told [in the video game] was somewhat surface-level. How this character fits into the narrative really hits Joel and Ellie’s hearts and their relationship»
© Zhinobaeva Margarita
