See Eugene's hilarious Rosita and Gabriel Walking Dead charts
On Sunday’s “Guardians” episode of The Walking Dead, Eugene did the most Eugene thing imaginable. Knowing that his buddy Gabriel was struggling with the decision on whether to stay with Rosita (who is pregnant with Siddiq’s baby and is also the object of Eugene’s own affection), Eugene came up with two different charts to… well, let him explain it.
“In this first chart, the left column enumerates the positive and negative aspects of staying with Rosita while she raises her progeny with another man,” Eugene (played by Josh McDermitt) told Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) in the episode. “In the right column, I have assigned each of these aspects with a corresponding positive or negative numeric value. Then on chart number two, I’ve taken the numeric values from chart 1 and estimated their impact over time. While there is some instability in their first few years, happiness shows a definitive growth pattern when projected over the long term.”
So imagine our surprise when showrunner Angela Kang informed EW that “there’s is an actual chart that was worked on by the art department in conjunction with writers from the show.” Kang says the show’s writers had a blast putting together something that would not even really be seen on camera. “They just thought that that was such a funny idea. It’s like the line items that people added to this chart, it’s so funny. And he assigns points to things that are pluses or minuses. It’s like, diapers gets negative points, but getting to spend time with Rosita gets plus points!”
And the details were key, including Eugene overthinking each entry. “And then we have ridiculous details like ‘Sports,’” explains Kang, “which, at first, he assigns a negative value because he’s Eugene, and then he crosses it out and he changed it to a positive value on the chart because he was like, ‘Well, to most people the ability to do sports with your kid is a good thing.’ So it’s all these silly details that I think are really fun. Josh McDermitt always does a great job with all the Eugene stuff. And I think he went at so very seriously in the scene, which was really fun.”
Not only did Kang share the details of these absurd charts, but she also shared the charts themselves with EW! How many plus points for “Propinquity?” How many negative points for “Hoopla and Commotion?” The one thing we can tell you is that the chart is deadly accurate, as “Feces” and “Teenage Years” both clock in with the same score of negative 30.
Scroll down to see both charts in all their glory. Unfortunately, no sign yet of the “scoring rubric and evaluative criteria.”
Also make sure to read our full episode interviews with showrunner Kang and the man behind the Beta mask, Ryan Hurst. And for more Walking Dead intel, follow on Twitter @DaltonRoss.
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