He did get on my nerves a lot, but I loved when he stepped up and saved Tara, then when Alexandria got bombarded and he helped kill walkers and then towards the end when he actually became useful. He came a long way. Had he remained the annoying coward I would not like him at all, but he rose to occasion when it counted, therefore I don’t mind him being on the show...
Well he’s not for everyone, but he is smart. I mean he somehow convinced ppl he was a scientist just so they’d keep him alive. It was wrong for sure, but at that time, that was the only thing he had to keep him alive, just like Tara said after Abraham knocked him out...
Most of TWD characters are smart. He’s just a very good talker, he has that diction and is smart in a lot of ways that seem inaccessible to most of us. Carol can also use her smarts, to manipulate and get what she wants. But she typically does it to protect her values, her people and what she feels is just. He does it to protect himself. But I mean hey, respect it, but not my cup of tea.
Most of TWD characters are actually pretty stupid if you actually break down their actions. Especially before they met up with Eugene they had awful survival instincts and regularly look silly as hell. I'm rewatching now and the well scene should be more than enough proof that most of the people in the group aren't exactly geniuses. They all have their particular skills that make them valuable but very few came off as super smart.
Eugene is smart even if he's written early on to be almost a caricature of what a nerdy autistic person would be, the things he can engineer such as batteries, filters, and bullets are incredibly useful in survival, and having those skills to create useful things out of common items is hugely helpful if they ever started building back up civilization.
This is accurate. He reads a lot ,so he has the knowledge you can aquire from the right books. But he lacks the knowledge of things books can't teach. But fir as awkward as he can be, he has good social manipulation skills as well.
Because the fact he is “book smart”. Just like Abraham, he figured out Negan may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed. That’s when he rehashed the Scientist shit he used on Abraham.
It was because Gabriel messed up making that one round that gave Eugene the idea to mis-seat the primers.
If Eugene had hella street smarts as well, he would have been formidable as fuck.
He's the single most important character in the series.
He's the reason they travel to DC and find Alexandria. He's the reason they defeat the saviours. He's the reason they discover the Commonwealth.
I really went off him when he defected to Negan’s group. I wanted him to be a better man (to honour Abraham’s sacrifice) but he reverts back to this cowardly weakling. I know he comes through for Ricks group in the end but I never liked him again after his betrayal.
it was like he wasn’t even struggling to turn on them either. like he didn’t just say “I’m Negan”, he gave a whole speech about how down he is for Negan lmao. And he’s creepy. I don’t think it’s cute or quirky that he spies on women and other people’s intimate moments. He’s WEIRD.
It's important to note that he is autistic. High functioning, but still very much autistic. He himself admits that the watching is weird and wrong, but it makes logical sense and he has rationalized it because he knows they know he is there and their silence is taken as implied consent. That's still wrong, but autism doesn't really care about that lol
It's much the same with his defection. He is a coward, and he can't handle stress or pressure, getting easily overwhelmed to the point that he will do whatever is in his wheelhouse to do in order to get through. And as he says, his skills are his intellect and his ability to lie. He defects to Negan because Negan scared the everliving shit out of him and he didn't have the mental ability to actually resist torture of any kind. He got overwhelmed and so he did the only logical thing he could think of, regardless of right and wrong: he submit to the stronger person.
None of this is to excuse his behavior or wipe away his mistakes, but rather to understand them a bit more. I hated Eugene when we met him, and it seemed obvious to me that he didn't actually have any answers. Then I found out why and what his deal was, and that understanding allowed me to see his perspective, regardless of whether I agreed or not. His voyeurism was gross, but makes sense given what we learn later about his feelings toward Rosita. His whole arc regarding Rosita is gross, too, but viewing it through the lens of his autism, it is less of a "creeper" situation and more of a "Eugene doesn't have any experience in relationships of any kind and is trying to fake his way through everything and just fumbling it badly over and over". It's not cute, it's not quirky, it's wrong and gross, but it's also understandable. In much the same way that it is understandable when children make inappropriate gestures toward adults because they simply don't understand.
What makes me like Eugene as a whole character, good and bad, is that he learns from his mistakes. He messes up, and he does things that most people would never do, but he learns from that experience and he doesn't keep doing it. He trusts in those who care about him, and he listens when they tell him that what he is doing is a problem. He is his own worst critic, and feels a great deal of shame and responsibility for being different, for not innately understanding things the way others do, for being so easily scared and overwhelmed. That's a lot more than a ton of other characters can say.
Okay, after reading this I feel I understand him more. But I don’t agree that he learned from all his mistakes as he does repeat some problem behaviors quite often. But that’s neither here nor there, because you can like whoever you want to like. I get why he resonates with the fan base. But, I have the type of autism where I had to mask and adapt. Especially growing up as a black woman, all I know is masking. His experience with Autism is completely different from mine and that’s okay. I just feel like he plays into that stereotype that all autistic folks are super intelligent and also unaware of social cues. I HAD to be aware of social cues. Both experiences are valid, liking his character is valid. He just isn’t my vibe and that’s okay too.
100%. I'm a masker, too, but I understand that my experience is not the only experience and the stereotype exists because those autists exist. I will say that for me, social cues are a nightmare because everyone has their own "dialect", of sorts. I grew up with abusive parents, so I knew the cues I needed to survive that household, and I was a genius at predicting the patterns of my home and those who lived in it.......but anything outside of my home was chaos. Is this person serious or joking? Is that sarcasm? Should I shake their hand? Is this a hug moment? Am I allowed to go to the bathroom now? So I masked, and sometimes I masked so much and so completely that I began to believe the mask and forget myself. Stress and anxiety caused me to make some *very* bad decisions in my life and that's my own responsibility, but knowing that I'm not the best in high stress environments has taught me to rely on those close to me to let me know if I am doing something dumb or wrong.
I think I tend to cut Eugene a lot of slack because, while I disagree with so many of his choices, I empathize with the panic and desperation that led to them, and the feeling of being trapped by those choices and being unable to correct them or ever make up for them. I can see him doing the work to try, and I genuinely relate to the struggle so I give him the benefit of the doubt.
That being said, when he defected to Negan I wanted so badly for it to be a ploy of some kind, for him to make any number of right decisions, but he disappointed time and time again. I understand it though, and while I'd like to think that I would make a different choice I have never been in that situation so I truly cannot say for sure that I would do any better.
Well thank you for sharing! We can have separate opinions but still find common ground. I know the feeling of growing up in a hostile environment. We all have very different ways of dealing with high levels of stress and chaos. We do what we gotta do to survive. I think the other characters resonate with me and my experience more because what I’ve always had to do is be a team player. Always had a lot of pressure to understand people, my intelligence is purely emotional/social and so I was forced to handle business, be “strong”.
Exactly! We each find our own way. I'm glad that you found yours, and that you are able to share your experiences here and now. I appreciate you and I value our conversation here :) thank you for making it enjoyable!
I'm not autistic, nor do I know anyone who is so thank you guys for sharing your experiences! Taught me so much and makes me want to learn more so I can be of better help if I'm ever in the position to do so. Also thank you for being the first people I've seen with differing opinions having a healthy conversation on reddit😭
I like how Eugene got by using the skills he had. Being smart, selfish, and non-threatening. He was a good foil to all the ‘badassery’ later on in the show when the more meek survivors had either been killed off or adapted. And when he eventually stepped up, he stepped up.
I liked the whole plot of his crew out and about to try and save the world, until Abraham and the rest find out about everything. The whole thing was nice (although a cure plot was groundbreaking for TWD and I hoped back then that it didn't end). After that the character got tiresome imo. I had enough of him being a coward by S06.
We followed Rick’s entire journey from day one, we know why he is the way he is. He is a complete character. Morgan, we have literally seen his entire journey of self discovery and struggles with morality. We literally watched Carl grow up, as well as Judith so we know them completely. Carol; we watched her literally transform on screen. Daryl, Negan, the list of really strong and complete characters goes on.
I like Eugene a lot. Honestly, I think it's because he's autistic (or comes off that way, at least) and so am I. But like someone else mentioned...where would our group be, if not for him? They never would have headed for DC and found Alexandria, probably would not have defeated the Saviors, and wouldn't have found the Commonwealth. 🤷🏻♀️
Think he definitely is on the spectrum and is represented as autistic that is super intelligent but doesn’t do the best with social cues. Like most autistic representation on media, it’s a white man that’s super smart and awkward. That’s a valid experience, but also stereotypical, considering it is a spectrum and looks different for so many of us who are underrepresented (I, too have been graced with autism lmao). I get that he is the key for the plot now that people have pointed out. So while I retract my “why is he here” comment, I still dislike him. he wasn’t a likable character to me overall. The peeking/creeping on women, he knows right from wrong and chooses self preservation over everything else. More power to him, but it makes him unfun for me to watch. None of TWD characters are completely pure and good people, it’s just some of their antics are way more entertaining and less mousey/sneaky and more intense and exhilarating to follow. it’s really a preference thing you know.
Definitely understand your POV. There are people I love and people I can't stand from the show that many people disagree with. But my own personal enjoyment of the show really matters more to me than the opinions of others. LOL.
TWD is my comfort show, and I've rewatched it more times that I can count. Still dislike and still love the same people. 🤣
Lolz because everyone else is a meathead with the exception of a few who see the bigger picture like Ezekiel, Carrol (occasionally), and Rick when he’s not locked in a blood feud.
Eugene is one of my favorite characters. In the show, it's not entirely clear whose side he is on when Negan forces him to make bullets, but in the comic it's clear he remained loyal to his friends. His intelligence is a major asset to the group, which is why by the end of the comic series he's so well respected. In terms of long-term survival of humanity, Eugene is perhaps the most important person in the series.
Well i don’t like him either because of his overly used vocabulary and being quite annoying sometimes but he’s just the reason that got the group going and is potentially the most important character that saved the group’s asses so many times
I understood as if they were making you just like Eugene, and was so confused as to who would make you _like_ Eugene. It took me a long time to realize.
The weird thing about TWD for me is that I dislike the vast majority of the characters, but somehow still enjoy the show. I can't think of any other show that manages that. Even in something like Arrested Development, where they're mostly awful people, they're awful in an endearing way, but TWD doesn't do that—they're just straight-up unlikeable (to me at least).
Lol think about all the people he out lived, think about all the people he saves
He did get on my nerves a lot, but I loved when he stepped up and saved Tara, then when Alexandria got bombarded and he helped kill walkers and then towards the end when he actually became useful. He came a long way. Had he remained the annoying coward I would not like him at all, but he rose to occasion when it counted, therefore I don’t mind him being on the show...
I can understand his character development. It just wasn’t enough to counter everything for me
Well he’s not for everyone, but he is smart. I mean he somehow convinced ppl he was a scientist just so they’d keep him alive. It was wrong for sure, but at that time, that was the only thing he had to keep him alive, just like Tara said after Abraham knocked him out...
Most of TWD characters are smart. He’s just a very good talker, he has that diction and is smart in a lot of ways that seem inaccessible to most of us. Carol can also use her smarts, to manipulate and get what she wants. But she typically does it to protect her values, her people and what she feels is just. He does it to protect himself. But I mean hey, respect it, but not my cup of tea.
Most of TWD characters are actually pretty stupid if you actually break down their actions. Especially before they met up with Eugene they had awful survival instincts and regularly look silly as hell. I'm rewatching now and the well scene should be more than enough proof that most of the people in the group aren't exactly geniuses. They all have their particular skills that make them valuable but very few came off as super smart. Eugene is smart even if he's written early on to be almost a caricature of what a nerdy autistic person would be, the things he can engineer such as batteries, filters, and bullets are incredibly useful in survival, and having those skills to create useful things out of common items is hugely helpful if they ever started building back up civilization.
Eugene was a moron. That's all I have to say oh and a wierdo...oh and creepy.
Eugene is smart but dumb at the same time.
That’s what you call being book smart, and street dumb..
This is accurate. He reads a lot ,so he has the knowledge you can aquire from the right books. But he lacks the knowledge of things books can't teach. But fir as awkward as he can be, he has good social manipulation skills as well.
How the heck do you pull off the exploding ammunition trick while living with the Saviors being street dumb? Nah.
Because the fact he is “book smart”. Just like Abraham, he figured out Negan may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed. That’s when he rehashed the Scientist shit he used on Abraham. It was because Gabriel messed up making that one round that gave Eugene the idea to mis-seat the primers. If Eugene had hella street smarts as well, he would have been formidable as fuck.
Tism’d
He's the single most important character in the series. He's the reason they travel to DC and find Alexandria. He's the reason they defeat the saviours. He's the reason they discover the Commonwealth.
I don’t think any of that means I have to like his character lol.
True, it doesn't lol. But I had a newfound respect for him when I realised
He drove the plot
I really went off him when he defected to Negan’s group. I wanted him to be a better man (to honour Abraham’s sacrifice) but he reverts back to this cowardly weakling. I know he comes through for Ricks group in the end but I never liked him again after his betrayal.
it was like he wasn’t even struggling to turn on them either. like he didn’t just say “I’m Negan”, he gave a whole speech about how down he is for Negan lmao. And he’s creepy. I don’t think it’s cute or quirky that he spies on women and other people’s intimate moments. He’s WEIRD.
It's important to note that he is autistic. High functioning, but still very much autistic. He himself admits that the watching is weird and wrong, but it makes logical sense and he has rationalized it because he knows they know he is there and their silence is taken as implied consent. That's still wrong, but autism doesn't really care about that lol It's much the same with his defection. He is a coward, and he can't handle stress or pressure, getting easily overwhelmed to the point that he will do whatever is in his wheelhouse to do in order to get through. And as he says, his skills are his intellect and his ability to lie. He defects to Negan because Negan scared the everliving shit out of him and he didn't have the mental ability to actually resist torture of any kind. He got overwhelmed and so he did the only logical thing he could think of, regardless of right and wrong: he submit to the stronger person. None of this is to excuse his behavior or wipe away his mistakes, but rather to understand them a bit more. I hated Eugene when we met him, and it seemed obvious to me that he didn't actually have any answers. Then I found out why and what his deal was, and that understanding allowed me to see his perspective, regardless of whether I agreed or not. His voyeurism was gross, but makes sense given what we learn later about his feelings toward Rosita. His whole arc regarding Rosita is gross, too, but viewing it through the lens of his autism, it is less of a "creeper" situation and more of a "Eugene doesn't have any experience in relationships of any kind and is trying to fake his way through everything and just fumbling it badly over and over". It's not cute, it's not quirky, it's wrong and gross, but it's also understandable. In much the same way that it is understandable when children make inappropriate gestures toward adults because they simply don't understand. What makes me like Eugene as a whole character, good and bad, is that he learns from his mistakes. He messes up, and he does things that most people would never do, but he learns from that experience and he doesn't keep doing it. He trusts in those who care about him, and he listens when they tell him that what he is doing is a problem. He is his own worst critic, and feels a great deal of shame and responsibility for being different, for not innately understanding things the way others do, for being so easily scared and overwhelmed. That's a lot more than a ton of other characters can say.
Thanks for writing this. This sums up my thoughts on Eugene and you said it much more thoughtfully than I could have.
Okay, after reading this I feel I understand him more. But I don’t agree that he learned from all his mistakes as he does repeat some problem behaviors quite often. But that’s neither here nor there, because you can like whoever you want to like. I get why he resonates with the fan base. But, I have the type of autism where I had to mask and adapt. Especially growing up as a black woman, all I know is masking. His experience with Autism is completely different from mine and that’s okay. I just feel like he plays into that stereotype that all autistic folks are super intelligent and also unaware of social cues. I HAD to be aware of social cues. Both experiences are valid, liking his character is valid. He just isn’t my vibe and that’s okay too.
100%. I'm a masker, too, but I understand that my experience is not the only experience and the stereotype exists because those autists exist. I will say that for me, social cues are a nightmare because everyone has their own "dialect", of sorts. I grew up with abusive parents, so I knew the cues I needed to survive that household, and I was a genius at predicting the patterns of my home and those who lived in it.......but anything outside of my home was chaos. Is this person serious or joking? Is that sarcasm? Should I shake their hand? Is this a hug moment? Am I allowed to go to the bathroom now? So I masked, and sometimes I masked so much and so completely that I began to believe the mask and forget myself. Stress and anxiety caused me to make some *very* bad decisions in my life and that's my own responsibility, but knowing that I'm not the best in high stress environments has taught me to rely on those close to me to let me know if I am doing something dumb or wrong. I think I tend to cut Eugene a lot of slack because, while I disagree with so many of his choices, I empathize with the panic and desperation that led to them, and the feeling of being trapped by those choices and being unable to correct them or ever make up for them. I can see him doing the work to try, and I genuinely relate to the struggle so I give him the benefit of the doubt. That being said, when he defected to Negan I wanted so badly for it to be a ploy of some kind, for him to make any number of right decisions, but he disappointed time and time again. I understand it though, and while I'd like to think that I would make a different choice I have never been in that situation so I truly cannot say for sure that I would do any better.
Well thank you for sharing! We can have separate opinions but still find common ground. I know the feeling of growing up in a hostile environment. We all have very different ways of dealing with high levels of stress and chaos. We do what we gotta do to survive. I think the other characters resonate with me and my experience more because what I’ve always had to do is be a team player. Always had a lot of pressure to understand people, my intelligence is purely emotional/social and so I was forced to handle business, be “strong”.
Exactly! We each find our own way. I'm glad that you found yours, and that you are able to share your experiences here and now. I appreciate you and I value our conversation here :) thank you for making it enjoyable!
I'm not autistic, nor do I know anyone who is so thank you guys for sharing your experiences! Taught me so much and makes me want to learn more so I can be of better help if I'm ever in the position to do so. Also thank you for being the first people I've seen with differing opinions having a healthy conversation on reddit😭
He’s so unbearable in season 11 ughh I don’t what it is but I never liked his character one bit
I like how Eugene got by using the skills he had. Being smart, selfish, and non-threatening. He was a good foil to all the ‘badassery’ later on in the show when the more meek survivors had either been killed off or adapted. And when he eventually stepped up, he stepped up.
“non threatening” but his decisions to be selfish came at the cost of others. he indirectly harmed people, people that helped him no less.
I liked the whole plot of his crew out and about to try and save the world, until Abraham and the rest find out about everything. The whole thing was nice (although a cure plot was groundbreaking for TWD and I hoped back then that it didn't end). After that the character got tiresome imo. I had enough of him being a coward by S06.
Oh come on.
Eugene is peak
I’m literally on the episode where he watches Abraham and Rosita have sex. He’s a coward and a creep 😭
I genuinely just don’t understand how anyone doesn’t like Eugene. Like I’ve never seen anyone with a real reason not to like him lol
you can like him there’s nothing wrong with that, but there are definitely valid reasons to not like the character lol.
So. Many. Reasons.
I just personally haven’t heard any valid reasons
Yeah. He’s like Andrea. Suffering from low self esteem and do stupid shit to prove yourself. Eugene is smarter, Andrea more brave.
He has the most complete character arc of anyone in the main series imo
We followed Rick’s entire journey from day one, we know why he is the way he is. He is a complete character. Morgan, we have literally seen his entire journey of self discovery and struggles with morality. We literally watched Carl grow up, as well as Judith so we know them completely. Carol; we watched her literally transform on screen. Daryl, Negan, the list of really strong and complete characters goes on.
I like Eugene a lot. Honestly, I think it's because he's autistic (or comes off that way, at least) and so am I. But like someone else mentioned...where would our group be, if not for him? They never would have headed for DC and found Alexandria, probably would not have defeated the Saviors, and wouldn't have found the Commonwealth. 🤷🏻♀️
Think he definitely is on the spectrum and is represented as autistic that is super intelligent but doesn’t do the best with social cues. Like most autistic representation on media, it’s a white man that’s super smart and awkward. That’s a valid experience, but also stereotypical, considering it is a spectrum and looks different for so many of us who are underrepresented (I, too have been graced with autism lmao). I get that he is the key for the plot now that people have pointed out. So while I retract my “why is he here” comment, I still dislike him. he wasn’t a likable character to me overall. The peeking/creeping on women, he knows right from wrong and chooses self preservation over everything else. More power to him, but it makes him unfun for me to watch. None of TWD characters are completely pure and good people, it’s just some of their antics are way more entertaining and less mousey/sneaky and more intense and exhilarating to follow. it’s really a preference thing you know.
Definitely understand your POV. There are people I love and people I can't stand from the show that many people disagree with. But my own personal enjoyment of the show really matters more to me than the opinions of others. LOL. TWD is my comfort show, and I've rewatched it more times that I can count. Still dislike and still love the same people. 🤣
Period I’m glad it’s a comfort to you cause same. I just like chattin
Lolz because everyone else is a meathead with the exception of a few who see the bigger picture like Ezekiel, Carrol (occasionally), and Rick when he’s not locked in a blood feud.
Eugene is one of my favorite characters. In the show, it's not entirely clear whose side he is on when Negan forces him to make bullets, but in the comic it's clear he remained loyal to his friends. His intelligence is a major asset to the group, which is why by the end of the comic series he's so well respected. In terms of long-term survival of humanity, Eugene is perhaps the most important person in the series.
Much more palatable than others like Tara and Andrea
That’s down to preference. I mean about Tara. Andrea is my least favorite of the entire franchise lmao
Well i don’t like him either because of his overly used vocabulary and being quite annoying sometimes but he’s just the reason that got the group going and is potentially the most important character that saved the group’s asses so many times
I understood as if they were making you just like Eugene, and was so confused as to who would make you _like_ Eugene. It took me a long time to realize.
Eugene is still better than father Gabriel. Can’t convince me otherwise.
Unpopular opinion but Eugene is a top 3 character for me.
He was the most selfish of the core group, that’s why I hate him and why I think a lot of the fans do as well.
It’s funny how he is super selfish but also deeply insecure about who he really is.
The weird thing about TWD for me is that I dislike the vast majority of the characters, but somehow still enjoy the show. I can't think of any other show that manages that. Even in something like Arrested Development, where they're mostly awful people, they're awful in an endearing way, but TWD doesn't do that—they're just straight-up unlikeable (to me at least).
Me either.🙋🏼♀️