We need to have some fun in the apocalypse, don’t we? Eugene certainly thought so. He was secretly harboring a huge weed farm in an abandoned 7/11 just outside of Jackson. This piece of information instantly makes us love Eugene. Is there a better place for a weed farm than a 7/11? We think not. Join us as we break down this oft-mentioned figure from the games who was married to a therapist, growing weed on the side, and seemingly left an impression on many people in town. (Also, he was killed by Joel in The Last of Us series, so there’s that.)
Who Is The Last of Us‘ Eugene?
We first hear about Eugene in The Last of Us season two, episode one. Joel’s therapist Gail, played by Catharine O’HaraOpens in a new tab, lets us know that Eugene was her late husband. Sometime in the last year, Joel shot and killed Eugene. But it’s not that he did it, according to Gail, it’s how he did it. We know Joel can be ruthless, so we’re not surprised there’s a lot to the story of what happened between him and Eugene when he killed him. But we’ll get to that in a little bit.
Gail also mentions that Eugene could always procure the best weed. And thanks to The Last of Us season two, episode two, we know how. Eugene was keeping a huge weed farm secret from Jackson, he didn’t think Maria would approve. But Jesse knows about the 7/11 emporium because Eugene was his first patrol partner. Jesse appears to harbor a great affection for Eugene and speaks of him with considerable respect. He also shares that The Last of Us‘ Eugene was a Vietnam veteran and ex-Firefly, but he didn’t want to kill people anymore. The mention of Fireflies has Ellie tense, and after The Last of Us season two, episode six, we know why.
In The Last of Us season two, episode three, we got just a touch more information about Eugene. It seems Dina was close to him in The Last of Us TV series as well as in the games. She shares that Eugene had told her a story once about his past as a Firefly. Eugene revealed that he had seen small or heard of small regional groups across the country all trying to fight FEDRA, and that included the Washington Liberation Front out of Seattle, which Dina and Ellie are after. Dina also mentioned on The Last of Us that Eugene thought it was very stupid that these regional groups didn’t just join together, shedding a little color on his character.
Eugene came up in the first three episodes of The Last of Us season two, and that gave us an impression that he’d be important to the story of the season. And in The Last of Us season six, we finally got to see why. Eugene became an impetus for Ellie confronting Joel about the dark secrets between them.
How Did Eugene Die in The Last of Us Series?
In The Last of Us season two, episode six, we finally received a flashback that revealed to us how exactly Eugene met his death on The Last of Us series. In The Last of Us games, Eugene is one of the few characters to die of natural causes… but he’s not nearly so lucky on the HBO show. While on their first patrol together, Joel and Ellie come across Eugene in the woods outside Jackson. They see signs of a struggle, and when they find Eugene, he openly confesses to have been bitten by an Infected.
But Eugene claims he still has time and begs to be able to see his wife Gail one more time before he’s killed. Ellie gives him the standard Infected test (hold out your hand and count slowly) and agrees with Eugene that he has enough time to get back to Jackson, say his last words to Gail, and importantly hear her last words for him. Joel pretends to agree and tells Ellie to get the horses, promising her he won’t hurt Eugene. But, as we already know, he’s lying. He leads Eugene to a beautiful view and then shoots him in the back, ignoring his pleas to see Gail one more time. And then, Joel shoots Eugene in the back, killing him in The Last of Us series.
Ellie is horrified when she returns and ultimately refuses to go along with Joel’s desire to tell Gail a white lie. When they get back to Jackson, Joel tries to tell Gail that Eugene killed himself, knowing it was his responsibility as an Infected. And adds that he wanted to tell Gail he loved her, but didn’t want to put her in danger. But Ellie yells that he’s lying and reveals that Eugene begged to say goodbye to Gail and that he had time. She tells Gail that Joel promised to take Eugene to her and promised both Ellie and Eugene he would, but then he shot him in the back. “You swore,” Ellie tells him with furious eyes.
And so, we learn exactly why Gail was so mad at Joel on The Last of Us season two, episode one.
Joel Killing Eugene Leads Ellie to Force Joel to Tell the Truth About the Fireflies
Seeing Joel tell a lie about Eugene so easily helps push Ellie to insist she learn the truth about what happened with the Fireflies in Salt Lake City the night before Joel ultimately dies on The Last of Us season two. She comes to Joel after their blow-up at the New Year’s Eve dance and tells him, “You lied to me. You looked me in the eyes and you lied. And it was the same face, same fucking look. I think I knew already.” And then the truth pours out. But it’s clear that seeing Joel lie about Eugene reminded Ellie of the look they shared when he told her the lies about Salt Lake City.
Eugene in The Last of Us Games
Eugene is a character from The Last of Us—Part II game. However, he doesn’t have nearly as much story as he does in the series so far. Eugene’s wife, for example, is a purely series creation, and Gail doesn’t appear in the games. Additionally, as mentioned, Joel does not kill Eugene in the game, so that important connection is created solely for The Last of Us series. In fact, in the games, Eugene is known to have died from a stroke at 73. And that makes Eugene one of the few characters in The Last of Us—Part II to have died from natural causes. But this rare distinction won’t be given to Eugene of the series.
In The Last of Us—Part II, it’s Dina who is closer to Eugene and not Jesse. It’s clear from episode three of The Last of Us that some version of this relationship exists in the series as well between Eugene and Dina, but maybe not to the same degree as in the games. Dina shares that Eugene taught her about electronics, which we actually see Joel do on The Last of Us show.
Like on the show, Ellie finds Eugene’s dog tags and learns that he was a Firefly who served with Tommy. The HBO series has not mentioned Tommy’s relationship with Eugene so far. The Last of Us—Part II game also goes deeper into Eugene and Tommy’s time as Fireflies than the series does. It describes how they killed and even slow-tortured people. Ellie meditates more about the brutality of Tommy and Joel in the context of Eugene in the game than she does in the series.
Additionally, in the game, Eugene left his family to join the Fireflies, whereas in The Last of Us series, it seems like he found Gail after he left the Fireflies. Additionally, it doesn’t seem like Gail and Eugene have any children in the show, unlike in the game.
Eugene still has a huge weed farm in the game, but it’s in his basement, not a 7/11. And we like the 7/11 much better. In all, it feels like The Last of Us series’ Eugene will become a much more fleshed-out and lovable character than he was in the games.
Eugene’s Future on The Last of Us TV Series
Joe Pantoliano played Eugene on The Last of Us season two. This was no small casting, so we were glad to see Eugene in more than just a photograph on the series. Given we saw Joel kill Joe Pantoliano’s Eugene on The Last of Us season two, episode six, we assume we probably won’t see him in more than just this one episode. But given that Gail remains a living character on the show for now, we can’t fully count it out either. Gail and Eugene bottle episode on The Last of Us season three? Hey, anything is possible!
The Last of UsOpens in a new tab season two continues to air on HBO and Max, Sundays at 9 p.m.
Originally published on April 20, 2025.
