Should Eugene be welcome in Alexandria in The Walking Dead season 9?

Eugene turned the tide of All-Out War during the season 8 finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead with his bullet-making. leaving his status for season 9 up in the air.

Eugene was probably hardest character to figure out and often times, understand during season 8 of The Walking Dead. He wasn’t a fighter and he used his brains got him both in and out of trouble. Over time he took small steps out of his shell and even saved a few of his friends.

His first big downfall, however, was when he confessed to lying about a cure to the walker virus everyone carries. He admitted he lied because he knew he wouldn’t have survived on his own. He needed allies to protect him. The group, over time, forgave him.

His second downfall came when he pledged himself to Negan, refusing to be rescued several times. When Alexandria became Negan’s property everyone followed Rick’s orders to obey him.

That is except Rosita. After pressuring Eugene to make her one bullet for her failed assassination attempt, Eugene revealed he was the bullet maker to spare the lives of his friends.

Fans…did not take this well nor did they expect Eugene’s character development to jump from ‘weak geek’ to ‘not die and do anything to get by’. But as Eugene had told Abraham, “I’ve changed, adapted…I’m a survivor.”

For better or worse, viwers were stuck with Eugene residing at The Sanctuary becoming Negan’s personal bullet maker. Until now…

Quick Recap

Eugene’s task (after playing doctor until Dr. Carson was replaced with his brother) was to make Negan bullets. Yes, The Walking Dead has addressed that there is no such thing as infinite ammunition.

Eugene gathers members of The Sanctuary to help him refusing the aid of Frankie (one of Negan’s wives). His attempts at keeping a poker face were at times futile.

This was the case especially in front of Negan when (depending on his tone) made Eugene sound less than convincing, spewing half-baked excuses. However, all of that didn’t seem to ring any alarm bells in Negan’s brain and Eugene continued to work unsuspected.

On the season 8 finale, Eugene handed Negan a loaded gun with actual working bullets to test before joining the remnants of The Saviors on the battlefield. Negan’s trust in Eugene wound up being his undoing as it was revealed Eugene was making faulty bullets all along!

Disarming The Saviors (killing some in the process) Rick got the upper hand and ended Negan’s reign. Finally!

The war is over, now what?

Will Eugene be welcomed back home in Alexandria? He absolutely should be.

Let’s be honest, Eugene probably was on the fence while at The Sanctuary about whether he be Negan or remain loyal to Rick? In the beginning, he liked the privileges Negan bestowed upon him (like the jar of pickles and taking what he wanted like Gremblygunk…speaking of where is he?) and felt appreciated for his intelligence.

But once Negan’s wives started sharing their dislike for the leader and witnessing a few of Negan’s popular fits of rage he was beginning to realize the truth of his situation. He began to drink excessively and worry about his friends back home to the point he tried to help Sasha without telling anyone.

Add to the fact that he never ratted out Dwight when he discovered he was Rick’s spy on the inside and knowing what Negan do to him still continued with his plan of making dud bullets.

Fans already saw that Rosita was the first to offer the olive branch in the form of a punch to the arm. While that was for his unattractive means of escape you could tell her gratitude was genuine.

Tara will likely follow suit but some members of the group might be resistant to welcome him back with open arms. Gratitude will be coming Eugene’s way and he’ll hopefully adjust to living back in Alexandria. That is, if he is not needed at The Hilltop, The Kingdom or The Sanctuary (under new management).

What awaits Eugene in Season 9?

It would be great to see him making bullets (that actually work) time to time. Rick would be foolish to not collect and store weapons in an armory again since The Walking Dead is never scarce when it comes to villains.

Eugene can provide new ideas for fortifications but whether or not he can be the new leader of The Sanctuary. Inserting Eugene back into the main cast puzzle would be the ideal situation for the “smartypants”.

Sadly, there won’t likely be a lot of focus on anyone truly thanking him for what he did during All-Out War. Season 8 gave him a lot of attention, so season 9 should see him living his day-to-day routine avoiding the not so friendly gazes from some at Alexandria while probably getting a pat on the back from Frankie and Negan’s ex-wives.

There were fans who didn’t lose hope for Eugene throughout his entire run with The Saviors. However, many viewers did and unfortunately attacked the actor Josh McDermitt personally. Following his actions in the season 8 finale, it was great to see the joyous responses from those who still believed in him.

For some, the damage is done and there is no way of truly taking Eugene back but fans should value Eugene’s efforts and thank him for truly being a savior for Rick.

He valued his friendship with Abraham and Rosita and grew to love Rick and the others as the family they had become. Abraham is probably smiling down at Eugene with a cigar in his mouth, a reassuring nod saying some profanity-fueled response of gratitude.

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Now that you know my opinion I want to hear yours. What do you think Eugene will be doing in season 9? Would you forgive Eugene and welcome him back? Leave your comments below, I’d love to read them!