Joe Pantoliano stuns in The Last of Us Season 2 with one-Episode masterclass

The Last Of Us season one gave us a beautiful episode in season one titled "Long, Long Time" featuring Bill and Frank's story. It was a short detour from the show's main storyline, but a much-appreciated one.

We get a similar kind of episode in The Last of Us season two called "The Price". While the show currently follows Ellie and Dina hunting Abby following Joel's death, so that Ellie can take her revenge, "The Price "takes a detour and shows us an event from the past. It features the story of how Eugene, played by Joe Pantoliano, died. While what happens in The Last of Us show is quite different from what happened in the game, Joe Pantoliano's performance makes the character shine.

Joe Pantoliano's portrayal of Eugene in The Last of Us

In The Last of Us season 2's pilot episode, we learn that Joel had killed Eugene. Gail, Eugene's wife, tells Joel that she hates him, not for killing her husband, but for how he killed him. In the game, however, Eugene died of a stroke. Thus, the showrunners have tweaked the character's end a little for the show.

In the The Last of Us game, Eugene had a wife called Claire and a young daughter. When the world got infected by the Cordyceps, he left his family. Following that, Eugene joined the Fireflies, where he committed some violent crimes. That is also where he met Tommy and then finally arrived at Jackson, where he rescued the survivors.

In The Last of Us show, Eugene was married to Gail, lived in Jackson, and Joel killed him because he got infected. "The Price" follows Eugene, who, like the events of the game, is responsible for patrolling. On one such day, while on patrol, Eugene gets bitten and is infected. Joel and Ellie find him.

Eugene asks Joel and Ellie to take him back to Jackson so that he can see Gail one more time. Technically, he has one hour before he starts showing symptoms and needs to be killed. Ellie wants to respect Eugene's wish, and Joel initially agrees to do the same. However, later, in Ellie's absence, Joel kills him.

When Eugene realizes his fate, it is clear from Pantoliano's brilliant portrayal of the character. We can see it in his face and eyes that he knows he won't get to see Gail one last time.

He still tries his best to convince Joel to let him see Gail. Joe Pantoliano makes us sympathize with Eugene even more when he says that he needs Gail's words to be the last thing he hears and her face the last thing he sees.

Eugene knows he will most likely die there, without ever seeing his wife, and still in those last moments, he begs. He begs desperately, showing us how much the outbreak has taken away from people, so that they might not even be able to see their loved ones in their last hour.

Joe Pantoliano brings light to a character who has never been explored before. We don't see Eugene in the game that much. Whatever we know about him, is through the notes and things he left behind in his greenhouse. Joe Pantoliano portrays the helplessness, desperation and pain of the character all in one episode.

We meet Pantoliano's Eugene for just one episode in The Last of Us season two. But Joe Pantoliano makes sure it's enough for us to understand the character and also understand Joel better.

There is no right or wrong way to kill a person, especially in a post-apocalyptic world of Cordyceps. But maybe Eugene could've been given a better ending if he could have seen Gail one last time. Perhaps then, Gail and Eugene wouldn't be robbed of one last exchange of words and Gail wouldn't hate Joel.

The last episode of The Last of Us season two premieres on HBO on 25th May 2025. All released episodes of The Last of Us can be streamed on Max.

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