The Walking Dead Theory: Will Eugene Sabotage The Saviors?
By Liam O'Leary
Everyone seems pretty down on Eugene these days, but, is he REALLY betraying his friends? Or being a Savior saboteur? Let’s explore this in the latest The Walking Dead Theory!
It seems like every season of The Walking Dead, people have a new reason to hate Eugene. It can get quite frustrating.
I suppose I can’t really blame people. I mean, Eugene is the reason The Saviors got loose after the attack on The Sanctuary. And, yes, Eugene is making bullets for Negan’s final strike against Rick.
But…is Eugene really as bad as people think he is? I don’t think so…
Theory: Eugene will SABOTAGE The Saviors’ bullets.
As I watched The Walking Dead last night, I was struck by Eugene’s last scene, where, after learning Rick was walking into a trap, he told his crew of workers: “Time to do something useful with our pathetic lives!”
The fact that he turned around the very words Rosita had said to him after calling him “selfish” and “a traitor” earlier in the episode, seemed significant. Like this was him working to prove that, while he might not be able to fight the same way Rosita or Daryl can, he can do something to help his friends, even if they can’t see it.
“But, he’s making bullets for The Saviors!” You might say.
Yes. He is. But, man, it sure took him a long time to get around to finishing that order, didn’t it? Hell, he missed the original deadline of the attack on Hilltop, almost…like he was stalling.
I mean, let’s think about how disastrous the battle at Hilltop would have been had Simon had a full complement of ammo for it. Sure, The Alliance lost people anyways, but, with The Saviors’ numerical advantage and bullets? It would have been a slaughter. Eugene being unable to make that order was something of a Godsend. Hmm.
“But, now he’s promised to make the bullets for Negan’s ambush!” You might say.
True. And, at this point, I might have agreed, that after being threatened with incarceration by Rosita and Daryl, this might have galvanized Eugene to Negan’s cause, except for one thing: Father Gabriel.
At the beginning of the episode, we see that Father Gabriel had discovered (While trying to render the bullets useless) a way to make them more dangerous to the shooter than to the target!
Eugene stopped him, because he could tell that they were defective. While I don’t know very much about guns, I’m willing to bet, if Eugene could see they were defective, some of The Saviors who are more acquainted with guns would have been able to see it, too.
“See!! He stopped Father Gabriel from tampering with the bullets!! THAT PROVES HE’S WITH THE SAVIORS!!”
Not necessarily. If you recall, Eugene ordered Father Gabriel back to the assembly line, to sort bullets.
What were Eugene’s instructions, exactly? Oh, yeah: “Follow my lead on the lead.”
Hmm…
You see, I think Eugene stopped Father Gabriel’s sabotage because it was too easy to notice. But, between Gabriel’s method of sabotage, and Eugene’s knowledge of how to spot it, I think Eugene has now devised a way of carrying out Gabriel’s sabotage in a way that won’t be noticed.
And, with his instructions to Father Gabriel, that he “Follow his lead”, Eugene knows that he has someone who won’t question when given a defective bullet. Boy, wouldn’t it be handy for Rick if he had people inside Negan’s bullet factory, ensuring the bullets were defective on both ends of the assembly line? Hmm…
Before The Saviors know it, all of their bullets for the ambush will be as useful as spitballs.
I think Eugene sees the present state of the war and realizes that The Alliance doesn’t need to surrender to The Saviors, and, with Simon gone, if Negan is taken out, there won’t be anyone left to carry out their brutal regimes. Eugene sees that this is the time to finally put his knowledge to use, to help his people and, as Rosita put it, do something useful with his pathetic life.
Mark my words: I think Negan’s grand ambush is not going to work out the way he thinks it will.
Next: The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: Everyone has worth
But, what do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Do you think Eugene has a plan up his sleeves? Or, do you think he’s truly betraying The Alliance? Let me know in the comments!
If you like this and want to find out more rules to survive the zombie apocalypse, why not pick up a copy of my book, The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can get it on Kindle here and on iTunes here!