Spoilers for this week’s episode of Fallout.
Ding Ding! Another week, another episode of Fallout. Last week’s episode was notable because it saw our heroes Lucy (Ella Purnell) and Cooper (Walton Goggins) finally make it to the famous strip from Fallout: New Vegas. Although the pair had hoped to find Lucy’s father, Hank (Kyle McLachlan), they are instead greeted by a terrifying sight: a Deathclaw, one of Fallout’s most famous enemies. Elsewhere, Norm (Moise Arias) and Vault Tech junior executives from Vault 31 explore the Los Angeles Wasteland in hopes of finding Vault Tech’s headquarters. With plenty of tense situations and big set-ups in the air, let’s dive into this week’s adventure in the Wasteland of Mojave.
The episode opens with Lucy and Cooper confronting Deathclaw on the strip. Alarmed by the sight of the creature, they quickly realize that there are not one, but three Death Claws, leaving them completely surrounded. Knowing the danger they are in, Cooper suggests running and staying out of sight. While incognito, Lucy asks Cooper what weapon he suggests they use to take them out. Knowing that none of these will work, he takes a sack of grenades and shoots them and throws them away as a distraction. After capturing the Death Claws, Cooper and Lucy escape to the back of the strip in the Freeside neighborhood.
While in Freeside, one of the most thriving communities in the Mojave Wasteland, Cooper finally reveals to Lucy why he wants to hunt down Hank. Cooper’s wife Barbara (Frances Turner) and daughter Jenny are put into crevasse gold by a vault tech in a vault reserved for upper management. He tells her that he found two of these vaults in Oregon and California, but they were empty inside. If he finds Hanks, he can find a vault in Mojave that hopefully houses his family inside. With Lucy still addicted to buff-outs, he suggests she go to the general store for an edict while he retires to a bar where he reflects on how long he’s been seeing his family.
Jumping before the bomb drops, we see a flashback with Cooper, Barbara and Hank at the airport. Hank plans to take them to Vegas but is also tasked by Vault Tech to deliver an important briefcase that handcuffs his wrists. Pulling away from them for a moment, Cooper calls Muldor (Sarita Chowdhury) on the pay phone. Muldor supplies Cooper with the poison to kill Robert House (Rafi Silver), though Cooper swears he’ll get the cold fusion without killing a man.
The trio arrive in Vegas during their prime and arrive at the Lucky 38 Hotel, where a mob is protesting Robco Industries and hotel owner Robert House. Tensions come to a head when security throws a woman down the hotel’s front steps and Cooper runs to her aid. She is a local congresswoman and she recognizes Cooper and thanks him for his kindness.
The three are separated inside a bustling casino. Trying to keep track of where Hank is headed, where his wife went, and where to find Mr. House, Cooper gets lost in the confusion. His task seems impossible until he runs into Mr. House who tells him “Mr. House would like to see you” and leads him to his private quarters. Inside, Cooper is greeted by Tex the Securitron and a mysterious stranger (Justin Theroux), whom Cooper recognizes from the VFW bathroom. The mysterious stranger reveals himself to be the real Robert House, and he admits that the one the public knows has been the same for over a decade. After revealing this, he informs Cooper that he knows of an assassination plot against him.
Flashing forward to the present, we see a snake oil salesman (Jon Daly) from season one on the road to New Vegas. After a brief but violent encounter with a redroach he arrives in town only to be quickly ambushed by Hank and taken back to the vault. It’s here inside the vault that we actually get confirmation that Barbara and Jenny’s cryotubes are in Mojave. Hank hooks up a mind control device to the snake oil salesman and offers him a fresh start, which he accepts. Hank turns on the device and is happy when the salesman’s head doesn’t explode.
Back in Los Angeles, Norm and Vault 31 executives find Vault Tech headquarters. When they go in, they encounter Ma Joon (Dale Dickey) from Flay, who has apparently been using the former headquarters as a redroach farm. When Norm questions who she is, she reveals to him that she encounters Lucy and tells her about the events that took place at Fleury. She tells him that he better take her stuff and go home because Lucy probably is. is dead
Back in Freeside, Lucy heads to the local general store to buy some Edetolol but is horrified to find that it is out of her budget. Seeing the open backdoor, Lucy decides to sneak inside and steal the edict with an electric fist at the same time. Participating in her stealth check, she spots a mutilated body in a nearby trash can and is confronted by the “store owner” in ill-fitting clothes. Lucy then realizes that the person in front of her killed the real owner. Before he has time to fire his gun, Lucy shoots the man in self-defense, ultimately killing him. Lucy is saddened by the murder she just stumbled upon as a Freeside resident on a blood raid.
In pre-war Vegas, Mr. House reveals that he has been following Cooper for some time. He tells her that he has access to West Tech technologies, giving him the ability to see through the visor of the T-45 power armor Cooper was wearing in Alaska. He tells Cooper that Deathclaw is the key to the future control of the country. House then tells Cooper that he plans to use the Cold Fusion Relic to survive after death—to run Vegas and protect it from the bombs that Vault Tech plans to drop. Despite the odds being in his favor, House isn’t sure how Cooper fits into all of his plans to end the world. During the manic ramblings of the house, Cooper rushes out without Cold Fusion.
At Vault Tech headquarters, Vault 31 executives scramble to get it back into working order. Norm learns from an executive that Barbara Howard was their director of operations and goes to her office to find out what the plan was for 32 and 33. Out of ideas, he decides to search for “FEV” and is greeted with a screen that says: “There is a forced evolution virus.” Bud Dakin’s assistant has been spying on Normal the whole time and attacks him when he uncovers the true meaning of “FEV”. In their fight, Norm is knocked unconscious.
After Lucy walks the streets of Freeside—with supporters like her from Editcool—she returns to a hotel room with Cooper where they are greeted by an uninvited guest: a snake oil salesman. Delivering a message to Hank, he tells them that he has Barbara and Jenny in his vault and will kill them if they don’t try to find out. He then makes a deal with Cooper: he will save his family if he hands Lucy over to him. Cooper then reveals his real motivation for taking Lucy on this trip: to use her as a bargaining chip to get information about his family. He accepts the deal and shoots Lucy with a tranquilizer. Before he can fully pass out, she surrenders herself to an electric fist and launches Cooper into the window on the pole below.
After a while, Hank arrives to pick her up.
This week’s fallout created a complex web. What once felt like parallel stories are instead tied together. The revelations this week were also bombshells, whether it was the identity of the real Mr. House or the true meaning of “FEV.” Maximus (Aaron Moton) and Steele’s brotherhood weren’t even in the episode so it will be interesting to see how they tie into the main narrative as we move closer to the end of this season in the Mojave Wasteland.
