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The Last of Us has officially returned on HBO, and the premiere episode has already teased an interesting new storyline.
Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann’s adaptation isn’t afraid to diverge from the source material; they’re just careful to ensure that those diversions expand upon and serve the wider story.
The Bill and Frank episode of season one, ‘Long Long Time’, did exactly that.
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That episode offered another perspective of the apocalypse whilst still tying into Joel’s history as a smuggler.
Well, it also looks as if season two is set to have a major flashback, and it’s one that’ll centre around the character of Eugene (played by Joe Pantoliano).
Eugene is only ever mentioned in The Last of Us Part II and that’s by Dina and Ellie who unearth his old cannabis farm.
The duo reveal that Eugene was a patrolman in Jackson who previously served as a Firefly with Tommy; in the game though, Eugene succumbed to a stroke at the age of 73.
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You can view The Last of Us’ season two trailer below.
That’s not the case in the TV series, and I will be addressing episode one, ‘Future Days’, spoilers from here on in.
In this version of the story, and I’m somewhat thrilled that I previously predicted this, Joel had to kill Eugene.
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This is revealed in the episode when Pedro Pascal’s Joel is in therapy with Gail (played by Catherine O’Hara), another resident of Jackson who also happens to be Eugene’s widowed wife.
We know that the death was somewhat recently as Gail explains that it’s her first birthday without Eugene.
Gail goes on to say that she hates Joel for what he did, even if it was unavoidable.
Clearly, we’re going to learn what happened to Eugene in a later episode but he certainly doesn’t succumb to natural causes like he does in the game.
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The most obvious answer is perhaps that Eugene got infected but I sense that Mazin and Druckmann will have something a little more heart wrenching up their sleeves.
Bring on next week. I’m already counting down.
Topics: The Last Of Us, The Last Of Us Part 2, Naughty Dog, TV And Film, PlayStation, Sony