While The Last of Us fans are mostly all still reeling from that shocking death in episode 2 (you know what I’m talking about), some of us can’t stop fixating on another season 2 death. I’m talking about Eugene, a character we still haven’t met yet, but who’s already made a big impression early in this season.

So far there have only been two episodes of The Last of Us season 2, but Eugene — and his death — have been mentioned multiple times. In the first episode, Gail (Catherine O’Hara) told Joel (Pedro Pascal) she had trouble forgiving him for killing her husband Eugene and it was making it difficult for her to be Joel’s therapist. Then in episode 2, Jesse (Young Mazino) told Ellie (Bella Ramsey) that it’s a shame Joel had to kill Eugene, but he “couldn’t be saved.”

With all these mentions of Eugene, it seems pretty clear that he was important to the Jackson community when he was alive. And I’d also guess that he’s going to be important to the story moving forward into the rest of season 2. Here’s what we know about Eugene from The Last Of Us  and his role in the series.

Eugene From The Last Of Us Character Breakdown

Who Was Eugene In The Last Of Us Season 2?

In season 2, episode 1, Gail talked about how it was her first birthday without her husband Eugene, so we know that Joel killed him sometime in the year before the start of season 2.

Episode 2 gives us another clue about the character. Ellie and Jesse hid out from a horde of the Infected, in an old 7-Eleven where Eugene grew weed. That’s where Ellie found Eugene’s old Firefly tag, and we learned that he was once part of the rebel group. Jesse explained that Eugene was a Vietnam War vet who quit the Fireflies after he got sick of killing people. But it is interesting to note that Eugene was a member of the Fireflies, the same group Joel attacked at the end of season 1. Could be a coincidence, or it could mean more about Eugene’s death.

Was Eugene In The Last Of Us Video Game?

Even though we don’t have the full story about Eugene yet, it’s already clear his character on the show is different from the version of him in the game. Gail (his widowed wife) isn’t even a character at all in the game. Instead, Eugene had a family that he abandoned to join the Fireflies, and then he lived on his own in Jackson.

Another big difference is that in the game, Eugene died of a stroke rather than getting killed. It seems like his death is gonna be way more dramatic and hold a lot more meaning on the show.

Who Plays Eugene In The Last Of Us?

We haven’t seen him in the flesh in the show yet, but we know Eugene will be played by Joe Pantoliano. You probably recognize him from The Matrix movies, but I have a feeling The Last of Us will be another standout on his resume.