‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7 Spoilers: Why Didn’t Eugene Escape In Episode 14?
Episode 14 of AMC’s The Walking Dead saw a perfect way in which Eugene could escape from Negan’s group. However, when offered, Eugene refused to leave. So, why did Eugene stay with the Saviors?
SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Season 7 of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.
Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt) was taken captive by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in Episode 8 of The Walking Dead Season 7. Since then, he has done what he does best: lie his way into a safe place. Falling back into his old story about being a scientist, Eugene, very quickly, becomes an asset to Negan.
For viewers, it was hoped Eugene had changed from earlier episodes where he used other people with his false stories in order to protect himself. Fans of The Walking Dead hoped Eugene was befriending Negan in a much smarter way than Spencer (Austin Nichols) did in the mid-season finale of Season 7. The expectation was that Eugene would help take out the Saviors from the inside.
However, Episode 14 of The Walking Dead saw Eugene refuse Rosita (Christian Serratos) and Sasha’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) help as they attempted to infiltrate Negan’s Sanctuary.
However, could Eugene still a good guy?
According to an interview with Comicbook, Josh McDermitt thinks Eugene is just scared.
“He’s scared all the time and a big source of that fear is coming from Negan so if he were to leave he would be just as scared because Negan’s gonna come after him. I don’t think he wants to leave. I don’t think he wants Negan to hurt anyone. I don’t think he wants his friends to get hurt but if he can live in the Sanctuary and just live in peace, he’s gonna take that over anything.”
After all, Eugene was in that line up in the Season 6 finale of The Walking Dead. He saw his friend, Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), get killed by Negan and then saw Glenn (Steven Yeun) die as a direct result of Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) acting out of line. So, for Eugene, he is likely terrified his actions will get someone killed.
When questioned by Variety, The Walking Dead‘s showrunner, Scott Gimple, expanded on why Eugene behaved the way he did in Episode 14. Gimple explained that it is certainly within Eugene’s character to do what he did.
“He might just be pragmatic. It’s pretty consistent for the guy who lied to people to get him across the country to get him to safety. He had changed, and now he’s changed back. The most important thing for Eugene, and it’s difficult to argue this point, is being alive — is safety. And he’s found safety in the Sanctuary.”
Regardless of whether Eugene stayed with Negan’s group because he was scared he would get someone killed or was just trying to save himself, images from Episode 15 of The Walking Dead appear to show Sasha inside the Sanctuary. The image above, released by AMC, shows Sasha in what appears to be a cell similar to the one Daryl stayed in when he was Negan’s prisoner. So, could Sasha, being in close proximity to Eugene, help him understand that in order to save his friends, lives will invariably be lost, but, in the long run, more lives will be saved? Only by tuning into future episodes of The Walking Dead will reveal the answer.
Do you think Eugene is still on Rick’s team, or has he crossed over to become a member of Negan’s group? Let us know your thoughts and theories by commenting below. Or, alternatively, vote in our poll below.
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Episode 15, (entitled “Something They Need”) of Season 7 of AMC’s The Walking Dead returns on Sunday, March 26 at 9 p.m. ET. The official synopsis for Episode 15 is below.
“Alexandrians visit a distant community.”
[Featured Image via Gene Page/AMC]
