Who is Eugene? The Last of Us season 2 premiere's off-screen casualty is actually a character you may have missed in the games

Amid the time skips, fresh feuds, and new characters, you may have been blindsided by one name in particular during The Last of Us season 2 premiere: Eugene.

Eugene may not get any screentime, but the deceased husband of Catherine O'Hara's psychotherapist Gail still deserves exploring. Not only does his fate pick away at an emotional wound that is festering between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), but he's also the latest example of The Last of Us pulling a Bill and Frank-style switcheroo and giving a minor games character some serious narrative weight.

So, who is Eugene, where does he come from, and why does he matter for The Last of Us moving forward? Let's get into it.

Who is Eugene in The Last of Us season 2?

Eugene was a survivor in Jackson who was killed off-screen by Joel prior to the events of The Last of Us season 2.

Other than being married to Gail, little is currently known about the character, but we do know he will feature in a later episode and will be played by Joey Pantoliano. Presumably, the mystery of what happened to Eugene and why he died will be answered later on in the season.

Is Eugene in The Last of Us games?

Eugene is mentioned briefly in The Last of Us Part 2, but there's every chance you may have missed the reference.

Players can discover a photograph of Eugene during a patrol section early on in the game with Ellie and Dina. He's also mentioned in several log books outside of Jackson.

It remains to be seen whether his game history lines up with the HBO version of the character, but Eugene was a member of the Fireflies in Naughty Dog's sequel and served alongside Tommy in their crusade.

In the games, it is revealed he often went on patrols with Dina and, much like Joel's role in the TV series, offered to teach her various skills. But it's here where the similarities end: he dies of natural causes in the games; in the show, Joel is the one who kills him.

Why did Joel kill Eugene?

For now, that remains a mystery. We can certainly speculate, however: reading between the lines of Gail's conversation, it appears that Joel sees it as a necessary evil in much the same way he chose Ellie over the possibility of a cure against the infection in the first season finale. Even Gail says he has "no choice." That would indicate that Eugene was in the process of turning into one of the infected or had already done so. So, his killing may have been justified – but it still left a mark on Gail.

The Last of Us season 2 is currently airing weekly on HBO. For more, check out The Last of Us season 2 release schedule and all the new TV shows headed your way very soon.