The Walking Dead season 11 has proven that Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt) has finally become someone Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) could be proud of. As he navigates the Walking Dead's merciless world of the Commonwealth, Eugene has shown that he has made significant character development since his arrival on the show. If Abraham could see him now, he may not recognize his once cowardly best friend — but the way Eugene handled Sebastian Milton would have finally won Abraham's seal of approval.
Eugene and Abraham were close friends when they first entered the series in season 4 — but that all crumbled when Abraham and the group learned of Eugene's deception. Eugene had gained protection from Abraham and Rosita by conning them into believing that he had a cure for the walker violence. His web of lies is eventually revealed, and while Abraham feels deeply betrayed, the pair quickly patched their friendship. Eugene was deeply affected by Abraham's death after he was brutally killed by Negan in front of Eugene's eyes. Since then, Eugene has been working to become someone his old friend could have been proud of.
Abraham was a fiercely protective man with a bit of a violent streak, so seeing Eugene punch Sebastian Milton would have filled him with absolute pride. It has taken Eugene a long time to learn to stand up for himself. In the early days, Abraham and Rosita served as Eugene's personal bodyguards, as he shied away from any kind of altercation and took the path of least resistance whenever possible. However, Eugene doesn't have Abraham to serve as his protector anymore, and, in his absence, has learned how to do it for himself. Seeing Eugene take the lead in clearing out walkers and rushing to Sebastian's aid without hesitating — and punching him in the face when he started being a brat — would have made Abraham incredibly proud. There was a day when Eugene would have been in Stephanie's shoes, being too afraid to take action, but those days are no more.
On top of pulling a move from Abraham's playbook, Eugene has been learning how to survive with one of his strongest assets: his intellect. When Eugene was taken to the Sanctuary to make bullets for the Saviors, he almost gave in to his old way of letting someone stronger take care of him to ensure his survival. Instead, Eugene's analytical thinking and proclivity for deception allowed him to save the Survivors from a massacre, as he sabotaged every bullet he'd made for the Saviors, causing them to backfire and giving the Survivors a fighting chance. Even in The Walking Dead's Commonwealth, Eugene has used his natural ability to lie in order to throw the community off of Alexandria's scent. While these methods wouldn't be Abraham's first choice, he would still be proud to see Eugene flourishing.
Eugene and Abraham had a complicated friendship. Their personalities heavily clashed at times, and neither of them was adept at sharing their feelings. Abraham showed he cared for Eugene in the way he continued to protect him, even when he'd felt betrayed by his best friend. Eugene shows how he admired Abraham by doing his best to emulate him. The lessons he learned from Abraham may serve Eugene well in the near future of The Walking Dead. Either way, no matter what happens next, Abraham would be fiercely proud of Eugene's sweet sucker punch.