Fallout: Season 1 Episode 8 – Review/ Recap (with Spoilers)
In the season finale, you get a lot of answers to things you’ve been wondering about since the beginning, but the show sidesteps answering questions about certain characters.
Plot Recap
You Know Enough To Morph The World Now –Norman, Barb, Cooper, Bud
To much surprise, Cooper and Norman are connected. How? Bud. The annoying, forgettable person part of Barb’s team is not only the Overseer of Vault 31, or rather his brain is, but also is part of the team who planned the drop of the first nuclear weapon that caused the Great War.
You read that right; Vault-Tec may have started the war and benefited from it. But, to make matters worse, Cooper overheard his wife pitch this to many other companies, West-Tek, Big MT, RepConn, and Rob-Co. All of them reveal all the experiments they would set up in the vaults they would be responsible for to figure out who should repopulate the Wasteland.
But, in the past Cooper didn’t try to stop them, and in the present, Norman finds himself unable to stop Bud. He may learn that the reason all the Overseers come from Vault 31 is that they were Vault-Tec employees from Bud’s management training program, but once he learns that secret, he becomes trapped, and his only option is to go into stasis and hope Bud doesn’t decide to kill him while he is under.
The Battle At The Observatory – Maximus, Hank, Maldover, Lucy, Rose, Elder Cleric Quintus, Dane
Thanks to Dane, Maximus’ life is spared as he is tasked with guiding the Brotherhood to Dr. Wilzig’s head, and, in return, Elder Cleric Quintus promises him a prominent role in the new world they will form. Quintus will be the head, Maximus the sword, and with knowing Maximus’ story, it seems he believes he has him. However, Maximus still dreams of a life with Lucy in the vault, even with Dane poking holes in that bubble and the idea the Brotherhood would ever let him go.
Which leads us to Lucy – The truth is revealed regarding why Hank was taken; the answer is that he is a Vault-Tec employee with the code Maldover needs. As she mentioned to Cooper, her work was bought by Vault-Tec long ago, and somehow, Dr. Wilzig was able to replicate it. Now, there is no explanation for how Vault-Tec technology got to the Enclave and is now somehow stored in Dr. Wilzig’s blood, but a lot about Maldover isn’t explained.
However, the same can’t be said about Hank. From revealing he is a Vault-Tec employee to he is the reason Shady Sands is gone and is part of the reason Rose, Lucy’s mom, is now a ghoul, we learn Maldover isn’t a villain; Hank is!
To make a long story short, Rose discovered life on the surface, and so she wanted to leave, taking Norman and Lucy with her. Hank hunted her down, and after seeing Shady Sands, he had a bomb dropped on them. This led to him trying to force Rose back, but with Rose falling in love with Maldover, yes, she is queer, there was no getting her back, so she was eliminated and the children taken to Vault 33.
And as all this is revealed, the Brotherhood gets to the observatory and wages an immense battle against Maldover and what remains of the New California Republic.
Follow Me To The City – Maximus, Dane, Hank, Cooper, Lucy, Maldover
The battle is fierce and violent and leaves Maldover mortally wounded before she can reveal anything about herself. Maximus luckily gets to Lucy fast enough to potentially prevent anything from happening there, but with him releasing Hank, he sets up what could have been his death.
How? Hank gets a hold of a T60 and tries to coerce Lucy to come with him, he deals with Maximus to get rid of the sole obstacle, and it looked like he killed him. Luckily, with a vengeance, Cooper makes his way upstairs, taking advantage of the T60, which still has a vulnerable spot beneath its chest plate. This helps clear up some of the Brotherhood that acted as the first wave and gives Cooper time to see Hank face to face.
Now, for a long time Cooper has been looking for someone like Hank because, in 200 years, Cooper hasn’t found out where his family is. From what we saw, she isn’t in Vault 31, Vault 33, or Vault 4 – so where is Barb and Janey? Hank refuses to tell and runs off to New Vegas. Cooper gives Lucy the ultimatum of staying with Maximus, who is likely to die or come with him before the main battalion arrives. She goes with Cooper, despite their history, and as they leave, a wounded, about-to-die Maldover turns on the cold fusion reactor she has worked centuries to provide the world, and with her doing that, what remains of Los Angeles lights up like the old days.
And as she exhales her last breath, Maximus arises, and Dane sees him near Maldover and either assumes he killed her or pushes that narrative, setting him up to be the Elder Cleric’s right hand not just because of his sway but a notable victory.
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Everything about how Maldover survived the wars and still looks as she did centuries ago, without being a ghoul or seemingly synthetic.
- Did Vault-Tec move to New Vegas?
- Considering Maldover went into Vault 33 with raiders, why did no one look or act like them in the observatory? Were they all paid to help her make a move?
- What would the Brotherhood of Steel do with cold fusion?
- Why didn’t we see anyone from the Enclave seek the cold fusion item?
- Why did Bud choose specific people to wake up earlier than others?
- Where is Cooper’s wife, and is his kid alive? They’re not going to make Maximus related to Cooper through them, would they?
Cast Guide
| Character’s Name | Actor’s Name |
| Noman | Moises Arias |
| Barb | Frances Turner |
| Cooper | Walton Goggins |
| Bud | Michael Esper |
| Maximus | Aaron Moten |
| Hank | Kyle MacLachlan |
| Maldover | Sarita Choudhury |
| Lucy | Ella Purnell |
| Rose | Elle Vertes, Chelsea Reuter |
| Dane | Xelia Mendes-Jones |
| Elder Cleric Quintus | Michael Cristofer |
New Character Description(s)
Bud
Bud was an executive at Vault-Tec who worked with Cooper’s wife, Barb, on convincing other corporations to not only buy into the idea of owning vaults but causing the end of the world. In modern times, his brain is the overseer of Vault 31, and he chooses when to release people from his former management training program to be overseer of Vault 33.
Dane
Dane is one of Maximus’ only friends in the Brotherhood of Steel. Who, in episode 1, we were pushed to think he screwed over so he could become a squire, but they actually sabotaged their own chances to become a squire.
Elder Cleric Quintus
Despite being the head of the Brotherhood of Steel, not much is known about Elder Cleric Quintus. We know he believes his ranks are weakening due to cowardice, but how did he become and stay Elder? That is unknown.
- The actor is also known for their role in “The Night Clerk.”
Review
Notable Performances or Moments
New Vegas
“Fallout: New Vegas,” many would say, is one of the top games of the “Fallout” universe, and while season 1 acted as a perfect introduction to the world of “Fallout,” taking the audience to what was, arguably, one of the last peaks of the franchise is perfect.
Consider this: Amazon is about to release a bundle featuring all the released “Fallout” games (which will be out by the time this is posted), so by the time season 2 comes around, more people will be familiar with “Fallout” and a lot more fans can be familiar with what goes on.
Now, as for what the show may carry over? That is much harder to say. However, even though in the recap it is just a small tid bit, it is a HUGE deal. Especially since this season was in the universe of the games, but unlike “The Last of Us,” it wasn’t focused on creating a live-action version of what has already been produced.
So, with that in mind, and “Fallout: New Vegas” having multiple endings, groups, and notable characters, how things will move forward is of great interest.
Highlights
Learning Who Caused The War
Being that I came into “Fallout” with “Fallout 3,” I was aware of the war, but I was missing a huge number of details. Thankfully, according to Deadline, this show is canon, so what it says happened is the true history of the world of “Fallout.” So, with that in mind, on top of being a treat for new viewers, it is also a treat for those who came into the games later on.
For while I still want to check out the originals, especially since the term “Super Mutants” were dropped, and I’d love to play out their origin story, it’s nice to know this isn’t just a separate entity that is just exploiting the name and has nothing to do with future releases. Mind you, based on an IGN article from 2022, “Fallout 5” will eventually exist, but like how GTA 6 took nearly 12 years, it seems we may have to wait a while before we learn whether the writing of the show can be brought to the game series.
On The Fence
Wishing We Got More of Maldover’s Backstory Before She Died Or Rose’s Story
With Maldover built up to be seen damn near as the leader of the New California Republic, only getting third-party whispers about who she is, and that’s it, felt like a disservice. Never mind, her not getting to die in a blaze of glory was frustrating, considering her cold fusion technology will immensely change the world!
Yet, with maybe only Rose knowing her story, maybe Cooper, her life may be lost in the sands of the Wasteland. At least the real story and not what the members of Vault 4 cook up to make her seem larger than life.
But, alongside her story being lost, so is Rose’s story. Which makes this really unfortunate since imagine a lesbian power couple running one of the biggest countries, post-nuclear apocalypse. Yes, Maldover is much more than her sexuality, but at the same time, the visual is awesome, and we can only hope that, as season 1 dove into Cooper’s past, season 2 dives into Maldover’s.
The Truth About Vault-Tec and Vault 31
The plus and minus of answering the questions regarding Vault 31 and what Vault-Tec did, is now we have to wait who knows how long for season 2. Norman is seemingly trapped in Vault 31, so is he going to go into a stasis pod or find a way out? Never mind, what will the assumption be in Vault 33 when it is realized he is missing? Oh, and all things considered, would Norman even trust Bud not to kill him? Heck, would Norman kill or even trap Bud?
Then, in terms of the Vault-Tec reveal, considering all the players who were part of that meeting, not knowing what happened with their vaults and whether they emerged early and their influence on the world has me questioning so much about where season 2 could go. One of them mentioned creating Super Mutants, one of the notable abominations of the Wasteland that we do not see at all in season 1.
But perhaps what is the most frustrating, beyond the wait for season 2, is also having no idea what happened to Cooper’s wife. How big of a villain should we see her as? Was she just doing and saying what it took to survive, or was she truly the woman who nearly destroyed the world?
Again, much of this could be answered in a second season, but I’d be perfectly fine with a spin-off to hold us over. For example, it would be cool to have a side-quest type of season covering the creation of the Super Mutants.
Background Information
| Episode Title | The Beginning |
| Release Date | April 10, 2024 |
| Network | Prime Video |
| Director(s) | Wayne Yip |
| Writer(s) | Gursimran Sandhu |
| Previous Episode | Season 1/ Episode 7 |
| Series Page | Fallout |
| Character Guide | Fallout (TV Series): Character Guide and Noteworthy Information |
