'The Last of Us' Season 2: Who is Eugene, the man Joel killed?

UPDATE: Apr. 20, 2025, 10:35 a.m. EDT This post has been updated with new details from Season 2, episode 2 of "The Last of Us." The update can be found below the heading, "What was revealed about Eugene in Season 2, episode 2 of 'The Last of Us'?"

The Last of Us Season 2 introduces us to a few new faces, from surviving Firefly Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) to Joel's (Pedro Pascal) new therapist, Gail (Catherine O'Hara).

But Gail also has a husband, Eugene, who's fairly recently died — and although we never got to meet him, it seems as though he'll still play a role in Season 2.

So, what do we know about him so far?

What does Gail say about Eugene in Season 2, episode 1?

When Joel arrives for his therapy session with Gail, he pays her with a bag of marijuana that she complains is "shake and stems." When he tells her it's winter, she replies, "That never stopped Eugene. January, February. That man would grow buds the size of pine cones."

A few moments later, when Joel asks her about her choice of whiskey, she says she woke up feeling sad. "It's my first birthday without my husband in 41 years."

Joel doesn't say anything, but he looks uncomfortable. When Gail unburdens herself partway through their therapy session, we find out why.

"You shot and killed my husband," she says. "You killed Eugene. And I resent you for it. No. Maybe a little more than that. I hate you for it. I hate you for it. And yes, I know you had no choice. I know that. I know I should forgive you. Well I've tried, and I can't. Because of how you did it. And looking at your face, sitting in our home, makes me so fucking angry."

Credit: Liane Hentscher / HBO

Why did Joel kill Eugene?

We don't have much information to go on yet, but there are a few clues. First, we know roughly when Eugene died. Gail says it's her first birthday without him, which means Joel killed him at some point in the past year. We don't for sure why it happened, but it seems like a safe guess to say that Eugene was probably infected. This is implied by Gail saying, "I know you had no choice," plus the fact that Joel hasn't been ousted from the community for murder.

The larger mystery, however, is what Gail means when she says she hates Joel for how he did it. That scenario is trickier to guess at. Did Joel kill Eugene before Gail was certain he was beyond saving? Did he do it with the same surly detachment he does everything else? We don't know for sure, but we doubt we've heard the last of this mystery.

What was revealed about Eugene in Season 2, episode 2 of The Last of Us?

Young Mazino plays Jesse in "The Last of Us." Credit: Liane Hentscher / HBO

More details about Eugene were uncovered in episode 2, when Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Jesse (Young Mazino) take shelter from an incoming snowstorm while out on patrol. An abandoned 7-Eleven convenience store is the "spot" that Eugene had showed Jesse when they used to go out on patrol together. And it's "full of weed" because — as Gail suggested in episode 1 — Eugene was a grower.

Jesse tells Ellie that Eugene was his first patrol partner and trusted him with this secret stash, which he did not dare to grow in Jackson because Maria (Rutina Wesley) wouldn't like it. While looking around the place, Ellie finds dog tags marked with the Firefly logo, and Jesse confirms that Eugene was a Firefly until 2010. According to Jesse, he quit because "he was tired of killing people." Jesse further speculates that Eugene was a military veteran, saying, "I think he was in Vietnam."

Then the conversation turns to Joel "having to put him down," which Jesse describes as a "raw deal." Ellie is uncharacteristically quiet as Jesse continues, "Fucking shame. Guy makes it through a war to go out like that. What are you going to do? He couldn't be saved." The scene ends with Ellie softly saying, "Yeah."

What else can be gleaned about Eugene?

Bella Ramsey plays Ellie in "The Last of Us." Credit: Liane Hentscher / HBO

Though the character is dead at start of Season 2, Variety announced in March of 2025 that Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix, The Sopranos) would be joining the cast as Eugene — a part Variety reported as being based on a character from the game, but one that would be expanded upon for the show, much as Bill and Frank were in the Season 1 standout, "Long Long Time."

Episodes 1 and 2 of Season 2 have already presented details that align with the game's Eugene, who was a former Firefly turned Jackson patrolman. However, one major difference between Eugene and the show's version is how he died.

Episode 1 of Season 2 revealed that Eugene was fatally shot by Joel, presumably because the patrolman had been bitten by an Infected. Episode 2 seems to confirm this with Jesse's comments. In the game, Eugene died of natural causes.

So what does all this mean about the mystery of Eugene? And when will Pantoliano come on the scene?

We'll have to stay tuned to find out.

The Last of Us Season 2 airs weekly, Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.

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