Eugene Porter (TV Series)

"Good afternoon... she saved my life. She also cracked open my gourd to considering implications I hadn't. I will remark about those at this time. (...) All I did was craft a top-shelf lie to which a person with strength and heroism could apply their talents. My bet was you needed that. I am sorry. And I mean that both emphatically and in equal measure."

- Eugene to Abraham Ford

Eugene Porter is a main character and survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He and his traveling companions Abraham Ford and Rosita Espinosa are en route to Washington, D.C..

Personality
Eugene is aloof, eccentric, and highly intelligent. While a detriment to the group while on the road due to his cowardice and clumsiness, being neither "combat ready or for that matter combat inclined," Eugene's value is evident in his ability to build helpful devices such as water filters and batteries out of common items.

Eugene prioritizes his survival over anything else, even allowing multiple people to sacrifice themselves to protect him under the false belief that he was an important scientist. Despite his manipulative abilities, he does possess a will to do good when he can, and as he continues to survive, he begins to put into perspective on the importance of his conscience, going so far as to expose his lie for the well-being of his new friends.

Houston, Texas
Very little is known about Eugene's life before or as the outbreak began. Eugene lied about who he was, stating that he worked on a Human Genome Project with nine other scientists, dealing with research on how to combat diseases with other diseases.

He is seen to be an avid fan of video games. He is also seen to have knowledge of dinosaurs, as he mentions that no one can know for sure if the zombie disease didn't cause the extinction of the dinosaurs; though it was most likely a joke in attempts to impress Tara. While his occupation prior to the outbreak is unknown, he appears to possess a vast amount of knowledge of many different areas, and is well read.

Post-Apocalypse
Eugene somehow survived the onset of the outbreak, and eventually came across Abraham Ford, who saved him from walkers. Seeing the opportunity of being protected, he lied to Abraham, pretending he was a scientist who knows what caused the epidemic, and that he was on a mission to go to the capital, where supposedly he could reverse the effects of the plague and restore order to the world. Eventually, they were joined by Rosita Espinosa and several other survivors, who traveled from Houston to Northern Georgia, losing several members on the way.

"Inmates"
After Glenn Rhee collapses from fighting off walkers, Tara Chambler uses the end of the latter's gun to kill the remaining walker. While she does so, they pull their truck up to her. After Tara sarcastically thanks them for their help, the trio exit their truck, to which Abraham tells her that she has "quite a mouth," then asks about what else she has.

"Claimed"
Attempting to stop Glenn from leaving the convoy, Abraham reveals that Eugene knows what caused the outbreak and is escorting him to Washington D.C., but does not give any additional information about the mission. A fight between Glenn and Abraham alerts walkers in a nearby cornfield, Eugene attempts to alert them about the danger, but is unsuccessful. Eugene gets an automatic firearm from the truck, and due to him being inexperienced with using firearms, he shoots a hole in the truck's gas tank. The rest of the group finish off the walkers, and due to the truck now being useless, Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene leave with Glenn and Tara to look for another vehicle to complete their mission.

"Alone"
Eugene does not appear in this episode. However, it can be inferred that he (along with Abraham, Rosita, and Tara) was behind Glenn off-screen when he found Maggie's message instructing him to go to Terminus.

"Us"
Eugene is seen with Rosita, Abraham, Glenn and Tara as he talks to Tara about video games as they walk down the railroad, and she hands him a metal object that he remarks can be used for a homemade battery. The group comes across a building where a walker is just about to fall on top of Eugene until Abraham shoves him out of the way, knocking Tara down in the process. Eugene is given Glenn's riot gear for protection as part of a deal to Abraham so that they can keep going forward towards Terminus in search of Maggie. As the group parts ways with Tara and Glenn at the train tunnel, Eugene tells Tara that he found her hot, even though he was aware of the fact she was a lesbian. Eugene, Abraham and Rosita find an abandoned van on the street, with Abraham killing the walker inside. Eugene expresses concern for Glenn and Tara, although both Abraham and Rosita press on that Glenn and Tara are not their priority. As Abraham sleeps in the back, Eugene gives Rosita directions which ends up bringing them on top of the train tracks to the area where Glenn and Tara would exit according to his calculations. He reveals that the trio's origin point was Houston, Texas and that they spent a long time making their way across the country, eventually ending up in Northern Georgia. Their convoy was also bigger, and they had lost 8 people along the way. Eugene spots Bob Stookey, Maggie Greene, and Sasha while Rosita and Abraham argue over her stopping the van for Eugene. Together, the 6 of them are able to rescue Glenn and Tara from a herd of walkers. Eugene, Rosita, Abraham, Glenn, Tara, Bob, Sasha and Maggie find Terminus and are greeted by Mary, who offers them something to eat and welcomes them to Terminus.

"A"
Eugene appears in the train car at Terminus when Rick Grimes, his son Carl, Michonne, and Daryl Dixon enter.

"No Sanctuary"
Eugene is seen to be trapped in the train car with the rest of the group, who are all making makeshift weapons. The group is then ordered by the Terminus residents to go to either side of the car. Expecting the residents to come through the side door, the group readies themselves to fight their way out, however, the Terminus residents open a top door and drop an incendiary grenade into the car, disorienting the group and taking Rick, Bob, Daryl, and Glenn to be butchered.

Later, the group left in the car hears the explosion set off by Carol, Eugene sets up a charge by the train car door in case no one is there to let them out.

Sasha then demands to know what the cure to the outbreak is. After continued attempts by Abraham and Rosita to deter her questions, Eugene admits that he was part of the Human Genome Project, and that he may know a way to reverse the outbreak in Washington DC.

Rick and the other three, having escaped the butchers, free the rest of the group and fight their way out of Terminus, jumping the fence. Eugene is not a good fighter so tries to stay away from conflict. When a walker tries to grab him he swerves and lets Sasha deal with it. Eugene, Abraham, and Rosita are seen leaving Terminus with Rick's group, after meeting up with Carol, Tyreese, and Judith.

"Strangers"
Eugene is seen to be traveling with Rick's group, when they happen upon a man in distress in the woods, who reveals himself to be Father Gabriel Stokes. He and the group are lead to Gabriel's church, in which Abraham coaxes Rick and his group to travel to Washington DC with them during dinner. Rick agrees.

"Four Walls and a Roof"
When Abraham and Rosita hear that they're being watched, they wanted to leave the Church, and continue their journey to Washington. Abraham tells Eugene to get up, however he refuses. Being told once more, Eugene finally gets up before walking towards the church doors, before Rick says they can't take the bus, in which Abraham and Rick begins an argument over. Abraham gets aggressive, and Rosita tries to stop him. When Tara, Maggie and Glenn tells them that they're going with them if they just wait 12 hours. Abraham agrees with the plan, and they stay. When Rick and the others are on their way to slaughter the Hunters, Eugene stays at the church where he sits behind a desk. When Gareth and the Hunters get in the church, he mentions Eugene's name knowing he is there. Right before the Hunters break into the room they're staying in, Rick comes back and saves them. The next day, Rosita, Abraham, Eugene, Maggie, Tara, and Glenn head to Washington, D.C.

"Self Help"
Eugene is first seen in the bus thinking about what Gabriel had been saying at the church. Maggie then asks him how long it'll take to stop the walkers, where he explains a number of factors contribute. He tells Glenn he likes his own hair and his old boss T. Brooks Ellis loved his hair. The bus then breaks down and flips over a car. Eugene is okay but walkers arrive at the bus. Everyone except Tara and Eugene jump out to kill walkers. Eugene is trapped inside by a walker but Tara kills it, tells him to 'get brave' and hands him a knife. They leave the bus and Eugene is petrified and doesn't help. But when he sees a walker about to kill Tara he stabs it and saves her. After the fight, Abraham is concerned about Eugene but he tells him hess fine. Eugene suggests heading back to the church but Abraham insists on continuing. Before leaving, he spits on the walker that was going to kill Tara. Eugene is next seen watching Abraham and Rosita have sex, where it is suggested he does it a lot. Tara comes and tells him she's grateful to him for saving her life. He confesses he sabotaged the bus and no one would keep him around if he couldn't save the world. Tara says they would because he's her friend.

The next day when the group are attacked, Eugene uses a fire hose on top of a fire truck to save everyone. The group continue down the road and Eugene is seen reading 'The Shape of Things To Come'. Maggie comes over and tells him she thinks he has the mullet so its not like he is like everyone else. When Abraham insists they go through a herd of walkers, Eugene is dragged by him. The others try to stop Abraham until Eugene screams that he's not a scientist. Everyone is shocked. Eugene tells them he just knows things and is a good liar. Rosita guilts him by telling him people died trying to get him here, including Bob. Abraham begins to beat up Eugene, eventually knocking him out and causing him to crack his head on the concrete.

"Crossed"
Eugene is unconscious throughout the episode as a result of Abraham's beating. At one point, Maggie uses a ladder and a blanket to shield Eugene from the sun. He regains consciousness at the end of the episode, as he is heard making moaning noises.

"Coda"
Eugene is seen unconscious in the back of the fire truck when Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, Tara, Glenn and Maggie return back to Father Gabriel's church.

"What Happened and What's Going On"
Eugene appears when he listens to Rick explains the camp Noah was talking about, then in the end he watches the group burying Tyreese and Gabriel speaking.

"Them"
Eugene is with the group on their long trek. When 'a friend' leaves them water and the others don't want to risk it being poison, Eugene tries to drink some but Abraham swats it away. He helps keep the barn doors closed when walkers attack.

"The Distance"
Eugene watches as the group deal with Aaron, then goes out to guard the perimeter. He rides the RV on both legs of the journey to Alexandria, playing cards on the table.

"Remember"
Eugene enters Alexandria with the rest of his group and is interviewed by Deanna Monroe, where she assigns him to work on the solar arrays that help power the town. He can be seen residing in the house with everyone during the first few nights of their stay in Alexandria. When Glenn and Aiden get into a brawl at the town gate, Eugene can be seen watching among the townspeople.

"Spend"
Eugene is tasked with helping Glenn, Tara, Noah, Nicholas, and Deanna's son Aiden find components of a power grid in a nearby warehouse. Due to his acknowledged cowardly nature, Eugene becomes reluctant to take part in the assignment and even more reluctant to carry a gun, but he is forced to join them because he is the only person who can identify what the group is looking for.

While at the warehouse, Eugene finds the parts of the power generator with Tara, but the supply run goes awry when Aiden accidentally shoots a grenade on a walker, causing an explosion that frees all of the other walkers in the building. Although Eugene is unharmed, Tara is knocked unconscious and suffers massive head trauma. When a walker approaches them, Eugene tries to kill it, only to be attacked by another from behind, and saved by Noah. After the group brings Tara into an office to check her wounds, they discover Aiden, whom they presumed dead, is still alive. When Glenn states they will need at least three people to save him, Eugene offers to stay behind and look after Tara.

With the others gone, Eugene uses this opportunity to escape, although he manages to carry Tara out of the building and take down two walkers in the process. He ultimately winds up helping the group by using noise from the van to draw walkers away from them. Afterwards, Eugene waits in the vehicle for rest of the group, when he is confronted by Nicholas, who orders him to drive off now or he will be left behind. Eugene refuses to leave without the others, but is unable to stop Nicholas from commandeering the van. Nevertheless, Nicholas is stopped by Glenn, who savagely beats him. On the drive back to Alexandria, Eugene is seen staring at the still-unconscious Tara.

"Conquer"
Eugene appears sleeping by Tara as Abraham comes by to check on her. Abraham then notices Eugene sleeping and says that he'll be back to check on her later after he left, but before he can leave Rosita knocks over a nearby pan sleet on purpose to wake Eugene. After giving her a shocked and disapproving stare, Abraham turns back towards the now awake Eugene. The two begin a slow conversation, with Eugene mentioning that Tara saved his life multiple times before he did the same. He then goes on to apologize to Abraham for lying to him about Washington. After a brief moment Abraham does the same, mentioning that he almost killed Eugene. After the two make amends they continue to watch over Tara with Rosita.

Eugene is later present at Deanna's community meeting, regarding Rick, and witnesses everything that takes place.

Season 6
Eugene will appear in this season

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Eugene has killed:
 * Numerous counts of zombies

Abraham Ford
"I am sorry."

- Eugene to Abraham

Abraham is seen to be Eugene's escort to Washington, DC. It is seen that Eugene feels a superiority complex over Abraham, because he considers himself to be smarter than Abraham. However, Abraham does not appear to be that angry over the disabling of their vehicle, despite it being caused by Eugene's poor riflemanship from his failed attempt to kill some walkers. Abraham was willing to do anything to protect Eugene, up until the latter finally revealed that he is not a scientist and doesn't know how to stop the plague, completely severing their friendship and partnership, as Abraham beats Eugene almost to death. Despite this however Abraham still preserves Eugene's life when knocks a bottle of water he found on the road from his hand, fearing it could be poisened. Their friendship is repaired when visiting an unconcious Tara and Eugene aplogises for his lie as Abraham aplogises for almost killing him, and they both seem to return to being friends.

Rosita Espinosa
As traveling companions, it can be assumed that they have a stable friendship. However in "Us", Rosita is annoyed at Eugene's lack of navigational skills. Eugene is also mentioned by Abraham to be attracted to Rosita, as he watches her and Abraham together quite often. After finding out Eugene is a liar, Rosita stood up for him, protecting him from Abraham's wrath, proving that she does see him as a friend. She also works to reconcile Abraham and Eugene's relationship, showing a level of compassion.

Tara Chambler
"You gotta start pulling your weight, y'know? I did.''"

- Tara to Eugene

Eugene currently has a close relationship with Tara. Upon meeting and traveling with Tara, Eugene is shown to take an interest in Tara in "Us" where he talks to her about video games. Later when Abraham decides to let Tara and Glenn go through the tunnels alone, Eugene confesses to Tara he finds her "seriously hot", she tells him that she's a lesbian and he claims he already knew, although it is unclear if he was being truthful. Later, Eugene decides he has to know if Glenn and Tara made it out of the tunnels alive and he tricks Rosita into going to the tunnel exit to find out. Eugene and Tara interact several times throughout the journey to Terminus, Gabriel's Church and the road to Washington. Eugene confides in Tara that he was the one to disable the bus carrying them to Washington, and despite her best judgement, Tara keeps his secret. Tara does appear stunned to learn Eugene lied but is actually more sympathetic towards him than the others, as he had little survival skills and lying was the best he could do.

During their time at Alexandria, Eugene goes on a run with Glenn, Tara, Noah, with two Alexandria residents to find a device that would restore power to Alexandria. Tara is severely injured in an explosion, and due to his new found friendship with Tara, Eugene has a change of demeanor. He vowed to Glenn that he'd keep Tara safe, and surrounded by walkers, Eugene picks Tara up and exits the warehouse in which they'd entered to find the device; killing walkers as he brings her to the van outside. He has also been shown to visit Tara several times while under medical care.

Glenn Rhee
Eugene seems to appreciate and has a neutral relationship with Glenn. Eugene decides he has to know if Glenn and Tara made it out of the tunnels alive and he tricks Rosita into going to the tunnel exit to find out. Glenn even gave him his own riot gear to increase Eugene's odds of surviving the journey to the capital. Even after learning about Eugene's lie, he still tries to protect him from Abraham. Eugene later accompanies Glenn on a supply run after arriving at Alexandria and they appear to be on good terms now.

Sasha
When they first met Sasha appeared stunned to hear that Eugene knew what caused the outbreak and agreed to accompany him and Abraham to Washington. However Sasha still appeared skeptical as she demanded he tell her what the cure is and how it worked which he did, but nonetheless Sasha still protected Eugene from the walkers in their escape from Terminus. Its unknown how Sasha reacted to Eugene's secret, that he lied about the cure, but she seems to be on standard terms with him regardless.

Rick Grimes
Though they haven't interacted much Eugene seems to respect Rick's abilities as a leader as he went along with his plan to kill Gareth and the Hunters, despite it involving using himself as bait. He was also present when Rick announced his desire to find Noah's home community in Richmond, Virginia, and when they arrived in Alexandria followed through with his plan to stay in one house rather than be divided among themselves in case Alexandria was more than it appeared.

Maggie Greene
In "Self Help", Maggie, along with Tara, is supportive of Eugene and his abilities and a friendship appears to be developing between them. Despite having lied Maggie still tried her best to revive him after getting knocked out by Abraham, despite clearly being mad at him. However Maggie and Eugene seem to be on better terms now as they have been seen together without any resentment present towards him.

Aiden Monroe
When Glenn, Tara, Noah, Nicholas and Aiden returned from their first supply run together Eugene saw Glenn and Aiden coming to blows and appeared concerned for Glenn and witnessed them fight. Eugene later, reluctantly, accompanied them on a supply run to find more parts for Alexandria's generator. Though Eugene tried to plead his case not to go Aiden still insisted he needed to as he didn't want to "come back with the wrong shit". When Aiden accidentally causes and explosion that gets impaled through metal bars but still alive, Eugene insisted Glenn, Noah and Nicholas rescue him. How Eugene reacts to Aiden's death is unknown but he was presumably saddened.

Nicholas
Eugene and Nicholas didn't interact much but they didn't get along well due to Nicholas' cowardly nature. Later when Eugene rescues Tara but Nicholas arrives without Glenn or Noah Eugene immediately stopped him from taking off in the truck, demanding to know where his friends are. When Nicholas threatened to leave him if he didn't get back in the truck, Eugene immediately pulled out his gun to shoot him though Nicholas overpowered him but Glenn arrived in time to stop him. Eugene may have lost any respect for Nicholas after this as he was seen holding him at gunpoint while unconscious on the trip back.

Noah
Though they didn't interact much Eugene appeared to care for Noah's well being. Eugene accompanied Noah on a supply run and was greatly saddened to learn of his demise.

Appearances
{{scroll
 * content =

Season 4

 * "Inmates" (No Lines)
 * "Claimed"
 * "Us"
 * "A" (No Lines)

Season 5

 * "No Sanctuary"
 * "Strangers"
 * "Four Walls and a Roof"
 * "Self Help"
 * "Crossed"
 * "Coda" (No Lines)
 * "What Happened and What's Going On" (No Lines)
 * "Them"
 * "The Distance"
 * "Remember" (No Lines)
 * "Spend"
 * "Conquer"
 * }}

Trivia

 * The name used for Eugene's casting call was "Wayne Kesey", until the casting was revealed at NYCC on October 12th, 2013.
 * In an interview with Access Hollywood, Josh McDermitt described Eugene as someone who lived "in a dark apartment, by himself, maybe with his mom, and not so much a hoarder of everything, but just a hoarder of just like weird items that mean something to him that would mean absolutely nothing to someone else."