This post contains spoilers for “The Last of Us” game series and its HBO adaptation.
It’s time to go back to the world of the infected, as “The Last of Us” has returned with a second season that might prove more intense and traumatic than its predecessor. The latest season is adapting “The Last of Us Part II,” which can only be described as a brutal, uncompromising, and divisive video game experience where the evolving story puts violent rage at the forefront. This isn’t to say that “Part II” isn’t compelling or effective: it is an unforgettable tale about cause and effect, where every action — even the ones committed in self-defense or justified fury — finds a way to haunt the characters inhabiting this world. Episode 1 of HBO’s “The Last of Us” sets the foundation for a bigger, bloodier chapter, making it clear that a lot of things have changed to the point of being unrecognizable.
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Five years is a long, long time, meaning both Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) have fundamentally changed as people or are at least not the version of the characters they started as. While Ellie is as foul-mouthed and obstinate as ever, her relationship with Joel has taken a turn for the worse, with the two barely on speaking terms. Joel also seems more mired in complex emotions than usual, as the relative normalcy of the Jackson community seems to have dulled his instinctive edge to an extent. This doesn’t mean that Joel won’t spring into action when necessary, but time has a way of making us doubt our choices or reinforce them to help us sleep better at night.
A conversation with Dina (Isabela Merced) reveals that Joel is seeing the local therapist, Gail (Catherine O’Hara), and he repeats what he has taken away from these sessions. Later on, when Joel visits Gail, we learn that he killed her husband Eugene a while back, although we are not provided with details about the incident. “Part II” players will recognize Eugene as a character referenced in the game, so let’s explore this connection in greater depth.
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Season 2 of The Last of Us will expand Eugene’s in-game character to an extent
“The Last of Us Part II” often urges players to piece together its lore via exploration and paying attention to detail, but its Eugene Linden reference is pretty hard to miss. Ellie and Dina directly mention him during one of their patrols, noting that he died from natural causes (a stroke) at the age of 73. Eugene’s resilience as a former Jackson patrolman and survivor feels aspirational for Dina and Ellie, as they wish to remain as virile and sharp as Eugene in his old age. Moreover, it is a privilege to even remain alive until 73 in the game’s hostile and unpredictable world, making Eugene somewhat of an offscreen heroic figure who left behind a lot of nostalgic tech and equipment for folks to find. We see an aspect of this when Dina and Ellie take shelter in an abandoned library during a blizzard, where they also find Eugene’s Firefly pendant.
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Now, we do know that Eugene will appear in the show to some capacity, as Joe Pantoliano has been confirmed to play the role in Season 2. By drawing a direct connection between Joel and Eugene, “The Last of Us” introduces another tragic layer to the story, as Gail is understandably resentful of Joel because he killed her husband for some yet-to-be-revealed reason. We will likely get a flashback revealing that Joel might’ve been forced to kill Eugene after the latter got infected, but the details and nuances significantly matter in this case. Moreover, this isn’t the first time showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have changed things up from the games for greater impact, as they’ve already done so with the characters of Bill and Frank in season 1 (to moving, astounding effect).
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While Eugene’s story in the game is simply meant to add to its intricate world-building, the series has taken the opportunity to flesh out the character in distinct ways. Druckmann spoke to Variety about altering Eugene’s backstory to up the stakes and reveal new facets about primary characters:
“I get excited when I see these opportunities. I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t know Eugene that well!’ The story we told [in the game] was somewhat superficial. The way this character comes in really gets to the heart of Joel and Ellie and their relationship.”
The revamped Eugene connection in The Last of Us serves a tragic purpose
Although the Eugene flashbacks have yet to occur in the series, the implications of his connection to Joel are already dire. Gail’s resentment towards Joel isn’t established outright, as the scene begins with him visiting her for yet another therapy session. It is Gail’s first birthday without her husband in 41 years, and she mourns by drinking to his memory while doing her best to navigate such a difficult day. Joel goes on to talk about Ellie: how they’re practically strangers now, as Ellie goes out of her way to avoid him and simply nods at him in passing. Gail, who is already on edge, immediately shuts Joel down. She states that she has done this long enough to know when someone is leaving something out and urges Joel to come clean about the Ellie situation.
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When he doesn’t, Gail states outright that she hates and resents Joel for shooting and killing her husband Eugene. “I knew you had no choice, and I should forgive you, but I can’t,” Gail laments, opting to be upfront about her feelings instead of stewing in her resentment. Joel doesn’t respond, as he truly has no words that can make Gail feel better. While it is clear that Eugene’s death might have been unavoidable, it still doesn’t change the fact that he’s gone and that Gail has to live with that every day. Gail goes on to acknowledge that whatever she has said cannot be taken back but pushes Joel to follow her example and say the thing he’s most afraid to utter out loud.
When Gail prods Joel further and asks whether he hurt Ellie, he snaps, saying that he saved her. While this is technically true, it isn’t the whole truth, as Joel’s paternal instinct to save Ellie came with a string of moral choices that cannot be unmade. The fact that Joel killed indiscriminately in that hospital will come back to haunt him in the present, taking him by surprise even before he has a chance to process it.
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As with Eugene and the humans Joel has killed over the years (for whatever reason), these murders complicate Joel’s morality as a person, painting him as a tragic figure who has brought about a lot of pain to those around him. Whether Joel carries the guilt associated with Eugene — and others — will become clearer as this season of “The Last of Us” hurtles towards its violent end.
New episodes of “The Last of Us” season 2 are released weekly on HBO.
