I Think It's Really Interesting To Think About How Eugene Wasn't Raised As A Soldier. He Wasn't Built

i think it's really interesting to think about how eugene wasn't raised as a soldier. he wasn't built for war. he has many ancestors who were soldiers, his family's legacy is war – and he was always supposed to be the odd man out. diseased as a child and seen as fragile by his parents. in this response to an ask about eugene wearing a lot more white during his scenes before the war i talked about how it's supposed to represent his innocence. you can attribute a lot of “dove” imagery to eugene's character and whatnot. i think it's crucial the way eugene is presented in the scene where he's telling his father he's gonna go to war whether he likes it or not. this id argue is his most important look in the entirety of the show.

so eugene does end up joining his ancestors. another sledge man marching towards war. he's eager, naive about it. he's barely 21.

i (and many others) have talked at length about what it means to eugene's innocence & "essence" of childhood the impromptu reunion with sid so i won't go into much detail with it except to highlight this scene:

eugene's father has given him a pistol to use during the war. it's symbolic, in a way – sledge sr having been so adamant in keeping eugene from conflict before and all that – and it also marks an interesting point for his character. eugene despite everything i said at the beginning has a history with guns that came from hunting with his father. so it's not like he's a stranger to this or a pacifist by any means. but i think eugene's character development is tied very closely to how he feels about guns, specifically. both rifles and sidearms.

fast forward a bit and by okinawa you have plenty of scenes representing eugene's losing grip on his humanity and the incipient growth of his rage. but it all comes to a head in this particular scene, i think. they drop the shell on the hut and open fire and then it ends – except eugene doesn’t stop. he purposefully foregoes his rifle (less personal, made for longer distances) and takes out his pistol to shoot the last japanese soldier standing. the use of that particular gun is a conscious choice because he doesn't need it. he isn't even supposed to be firing anymore. but his anger towards everything has reached a boiling point and he's deliberately making this personal (as evidenced by the dialogue – “i'd use my goddamn hands if i had to”).

then after a while eugene comes home a changed man, and while edward is boisterous about his time in europe and the army eugene can't stomach it and he says as much – he won't put on a uniform ever again, he doesn't enjoy the fanfare and celebration. there's a real dissonance between how eugene and edward (and sid for that matter) are choosing to deal with the memories of war in episode 10 but that's a thought for another post. anyway, i bring back this particular bit from the original scripts about eugene's feelings regarding his ancestors: i wish they had included this bc i think it's very necessary for his character arc. the military men in his family stare back at him. he understands now. and the fact that he reaches this revelation in the same study where he was told time and time again that he couldn't enlist and where he then made the decision by himself is so very important.

and finally you have the conclusion to all this that comes in the scene where eugene goes hunting with his father one last time – except in this occasion he can't do it. and i think it all comes back to his innocence and the pistol, his own rifle in the marines vs his shotgun at home. it's the act of holding a gun to take life again that breaks eugene down completely. and the fact that they're supposed to be hunting for doves! it's just a perfect way to end his character arc because he's not that person anymore.

(anyway, i hope this made sense to someone. if you read all of it i love u and thank u 🙏🏻)