Warning: spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead season 11, episode 19.Eugene Porter’s choice of hiding place creates a weird contrivance in The Walking Dead season 11, episode 19. After inadvertently killing Sebastian Milton while defending Max during the Founders’ Day chaos, Eugene is a wanted man when “Variant” begins. All Commonwealth soldiers are searching for the rambling romantic, even dragging Eugene’s friends from their apartments, with Rosita and Princess both forced to undergo hours of questioning as the search continues without success. Fortunately, Daryl Dixon had the good sense to spirit Eugene away in the immediate aftermath of Sebastian’s death, holing up inside the Commonwealth’s church.
Eugene, Daryl and Rosita use the church as their hideout throughout The Walking Dead season 11, episode 19 – which is weird, because it’s where Gabriel works. If the Commonwealth soldiers are so hellbent on finding Eugene they’re targeting his friends (Mercer even says “the targets are new immigrants from the Virginia communities“), surely Gabriel’s church would be on their list of places to check. We know Commonwealth soldiers are right outside because Eugene watches them from the church window before being reprimanded by Daryl, but the hiding place goes completely undisturbed for the entire episode. In a manhunt where no stone is left unturned searching for Eugene, it’s certainly odd that Gabriel’s church isn’t investigated.
Explaining The Walking Dead’s Church Plot Hole
While The Walking Dead‘s “Variant” doesn’t openly explain why the church provides Eugene’s only safe haven in the Commonwealth, some tentative guesses can at least be made. One possibility is that Mercer’s troops avoid disturbing the religious building out of respect, since bursting into a place of worship might fan the flames of unrest further. Considering the Commonwealth quite literally sends citizens to their deaths, however, refusing to raid an empty church is an unusual place to draw a moral line. Even Mercer had his girlfriend interrogated for 3 hours just to avoid being accused of favoritism…
Another possible explanation is that Daryl and Eugene waited until Gabriel’s church had already been searched before sneaking inside. That’d explain why Eugene sees Commonwealth soldiers nearby, but the building had already been declared clear, so no trooper thought to check inside again. It’s also possible, of course, that the Commonwealth troopers are simply a bit slow, and didn’t make the short cognitive leap from church to Gabriel to Eugene. The Walking Dead has repeatedly proved how Commonwealth soldiers aren’t the brightest bulbs in the zombie apocalypse – especially after their abject failure to deal with an oncoming horde several episodes back. Even their armor seems to offer all the protection of a paper plate.
What Next For Eugene In The Walking Dead?
As good as Eugene’s holy hiding place may be in The Walking Dead season 11’s “Variant,” it doesn’t matter. Josh McDermitt’s character hands himself over to the Commonwealth authorities, unable to leave Max behind and let her face Pamela’s wrath alone. What becomes of Eugene now?
Given the very public nature of his alleged crime, Pamela Milton can’t simply execute Eugene, as much as she’d probably like to. That means he’ll be put on trial, but the Commonwealth’s inherent corruption means it’ll be a court so biased even a kangaroo would blush. Once found guilty, Pamela could easily find a way to make Eugene “disappear” in his cell, or figure out some inventively gory punishment as she did with Lance Hornsby. Pamela certainly won’t be letting Eugene live happily ever after with Max, nor will she let him ride back to Alexandria unharmed with his friends. Eugene’s only hope of survival in The Walking Dead season 11 would appear to be a wholesale Commonwealth regime change…
The Walking Dead continues Sunday on AMC.
