The Last of Us season 2 began with quite a few bombshells, among them being a character named Eugene and his death. As fans follow the five-year time jump that Joel and Ellie — played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, respectively — are in, viewers want to learn about Joel’s connection to Eugene and what happened to the latter.
Below, News47.us is breaking down what we know so far about Eugene and his death.
Eugene was the husband of Gail, Joel’s therapist. In the Last of Us Part II video game, Eugene only appears in photographs or logbooks. So, the HBO series crew wanted to delve deeper into his storyline.
Series showrunner Neil Druckmann told Variety in March 2025 that he wanted to unpack Eugene’s character in season 2.
“I get excited when I see these opportunities,” Neil pointed out. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t know Eugene that well!’ The story we told [in the video game] was somewhat superficial. The way this character comes in really gets to the heart of Joel and Ellie and their relationship.”
Joe Pantoliano plays Eugene in The Last of Us. The actor is best known for his performance as Ralph “Ralphie” Cifaretto in The Sopranos. He also played supporting characters in various TV shows, including Hill Street Blues, The Goonies, La Bamba, Empire of the Sun, Midnight Run, NYPD Blue, Memento and Bad Boys.
Eugene was fatally shot By Joel at some point before season 2. In episode 1, Gail reminds Joel about the shooting during their therapy session. Though she initially hesitates to say it aloud, Gail acknowledges, “You can’t heal something unless you’re brave enough to say it out loud.”
