‘Walking Dead’: Eugene Cowers Before Negan at The Sanctuary

Mullet-sporting character must adapt to survive among the Saviors

the walking dead negan eugene saviors
Gene Page/AMC

(Spoiler alert: Do not keep reading if you have not seen this week’s episode of “The Walking Dead”)

In this week’s episode of “The Walking Dead,” we finally learn what happened to Eugene (Josh McDermitt) after he was kidnapped by The Saviors in the mid-season finale.

Eugene arrives at The Sanctuary and is clearly terrified at what is going to happen to him. He is led to a private room with a bed, refrigerator and even a TV complete with an old video game set.

His arrival also coincides with the discovery that Daryl (Norman Reedus) has escaped. Given that Daryl was his responsibility, Dwight (Austin Amelio) is beaten and thrown in the same bare room used to house Daryl.

Dwight has already figured out that Sherry (Christine Evangelista) let Daryl go and fled The Sanctuary, with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) demanding that he go out and find her.

Dr. Carson (Tim Parati) patches up Dwight before he leaves, telling him that Sherry was too soft to live among The Saviors and that he and Dwight “get it” when it comes to survival.

Eugene is then taken before Negan, who confronts him about the bullet that he made for Rosita (Christian Serratos). He demands to know just how smart Eugene is, forcing Eugene to repeat his previous lies about being a doctor and a member of the Human Genome Project.

Eugene manages to impress Negan with an idea for keeping the walkers around the perimeter fence from falling apart, leading Negan to offer Eugene a night with three of his wives as a thank you.

Tanya (Chloe Aktas), Amber (Autumn Dial) and Frankie (Elyse Nicole DuFour) head to Eugene’s room that night, where they watch him play video games. When he continues to lie about his scientific prowess, they ask for a demonstration.

He takes them outside and shows them some simple science experiments, much to Tanya and Frankie’s delight. But Amber drinks heavily and complains they are all “just slaves.”

Out on the road, Dwight returns to a house he and Sherry used to share. He finds a note she left him, as they had always said they would rendezvous at the house should they get separated.

She tells him she is sorry for what has happened to him, and that she only became Negan’s wife to save his life, a decision she regrets as he has turned into a killer. She has left her wedding ring behind, with Dwight revealing that he has kept his wedding ring hidden all this time.

The next day, Tanya and Frankie approach Eugene about Amber. They ask him to help make some poison pills so she can kill herself. Eugene agrees and even manages to intimidate a Savior worker into giving him the materials he needs.

After he has made the pills, Eugene is taken to watch a gathering of The Saviors. Negan is furious that Sherry has left, and he accuses Dr. Carson of letting Daryl go and helping them both escape.

Carson denies this, but Negan says Dwight told him the whole story, that Sherry confessed everything to him before he saw her get torn apart by walkers out on the road. Negan then takes a hot iron from an industrial furnace and holds it up to Carson’s face, telling him to confess.

Carson, in tears, confesses despite being innocent. Negan seems placated for a moment, only to suddenly grab Carson and throw him head first into the furnace. Negan then says they will be fine without Carson since Eugene is also a doctor.

Later, Frankie and Tanya go to Eugene to get the pills. He refuses to give them up, as he knows they want to use them to kill Negan. When they remind him that Negan killed several of Eugene’s friends, Eugene says that Rick and the others killed upwards of 30 of Negan’s men. They curse him as a coward, and he says they are right.

Negan shows up to talk to Eugene the next morning. Before Negan can even get the question “Who are you?” out of his mouth, Eugene responds, “I am Negan.” The episode ends with Dwight and Eugene watching the walkers on the fence, with Eugene saying, “We are Negan.”

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