Introductions
Only 8 episodes per season. Once, I wrote, American TV finally caught up to British television and realized that less is more. I read an article a couple of weeks ago that explained the reason for that is that streaming services follow a different economic model than broadcast television. They require more shows to sell more subscriptions rather than more episodes to sell more ads. Even when it feels like someone is doing something right, it ends up just being a byproduct of late stage capitalism. Welcome to Fallout episode 16.
Plot Summary and Analysis
For the plot summary, click here.
Fallout Episode 16 follows the standard established during the first season. They attempt to take all of the plots from the season and wrap them into a nice little package. Meanwhile, that epilogue leads to other, and potentially bigger, plot developments. The Kaiser plot ends with Macaulay Culkin’s character stabbing someone in betrayal (fitting) and assuming the laurel crown. This action begins a march towards Vegas that, as they reveal at the end of the episode, leads to yet another war. The Ghoul’s search for his family ends with a stand off with Robert House’s electronic self. House leads him to an empty cryochamber and a postcard that reads, “Colorado was a good idea.” That starts his trip to Colorado because the search comes up empty again.
The plot in the past ends with Cooper taking the fall. It shows how he and his family are separated and fills in some of the 200 years of history in between. Lucy and Hank’s relationship ends, for now, with him wiping his memory. This further complicates things, however, and there is surely more to come. Hank never makes a decision without having first considered the options. I suppose we will find out next season. Max completes this part of his hero arc by keeping some Deathclaw’s busy while The Ghoul enters the casino to find his family. It ends with Max exiting his armor and facing them down with only a roulette wheel as a shield and a pool cue as a spear.
That ends with the New California Republic marching in. It ends with he and Lucy looking out the window at the marching Legion. This is the Wasteland. Nothing ever truly ends. It simply spawns new beginnings. In my immortal words, “I hope this show goes forever.”
Character Profiles
Hank: Hank’s major breakthrough is him wiping his own memory. The implication is that he does this to protect Lucy (and himself, of course) from what he sees coming.
Stephanie: Meanwhile, Stephanie, connected to Hank through 200 plus years, triggers “phase 2”, whatever the hell that is. We know that it invovles the Enclave, probably the most evil group in the games.
Thaddeus: Thad is mutating into….something. Based on The Ghoul’s reaction to his arm falling off, we can no longer assume that is a ghoul. People have theories. I will allow you to discover them yourself if you haven’t already.
Congresswoman Diane Welch: She ends up as the “battery” for Hank’s mainframe keeping his little experiment going. Other than being really fucking weird, it makes you wonder how and why that happened.
Robert House: In one way, he realized his dream of immortality. In another, he imprisoned himself and holds no actual power over anyone anymore. Be careful what you wish for, I suppose.
World Building and Setting
The major development comes at the end of the Fallout Episode 16. They introduce The Enclave. The pre war shadow government continues their work to finish off what the bombs started. The NCR, thought dead and hiding in the mountains, comes back in full force to clean up The Strip and set up their conflict with The Legion. Hank reveals that the Wasteland is the experiment. That was an honest to God, “Wait…what?” moment for me. Decades worth of games set up the vaults as experimental and now they’re actually the control.
Also in the closing moments, we see The Ghoul on his way to Colorado. Fans of the games know some about Colorado. They mention it in New Vegas and featured it in the obscure Tactics game. Supposed to have been featured in “Van Buren”, a canceled follow up to Fallout 3, the television show now promises to explore the region.
Themes and Social Commentary
This episode brought back the theme of family, both blood and chosen. Lucy and Hank reach a conclusion, unsatisfying as it was. The Legion come together under a new leader. The Ghoul gets his biggest clue from his lost family. Max and Lucy reunite. You can’t choose your family, but you can choose who is part of your family. And, often, that chosen family means more.
The murky nature of good vs. evil also permeates the show and games. Occasionally, they bonk you over the head with it like Lucy being faced with the task of putting Diane Welch’s head out of her misery. “Why does everyone always want me to kill them?” She remarks after the head begs for death. Is Hank a good dad? Is he a monster? He’s both and that shakes you to the core. For a world that tries more and more to force us into black vs. white debates, the murky gray on the edges continue to both fascinate and vex us.
Narrative Structure, Pacing, and Soundtrack
Throughout these two seasons, they make the choice to tell different, sometimes parallel, stories. Occasionally, you wonder how they might tie them all together. And, yet, so far, they’ve been able to pull it off. That is one of the strengths of the television medium that they miss in the games. You get some idea of other things happening in the game, but they are back stories that support the main narrative. The Ghoul, Lucy, and Max are all main characters with their own stories that intertwine in a satisfying way.
The show’s pacing, as a result, follows a quick but metered approach. They tell the story, take a break when necessary, and resume when there’s a story to tell. The best example of this is the Legion. Lucy “meets” them, they tell their story, the story goes in another direction, and then they’re back to continue that story and set up the next part of the plot. And, finally, for now, in these episodes, they pull back on the licensed music to allow the story to develop independently. However, when they do drop a song in, it fits the scene perfectly.
The Verdict
Fallout Episode 16 completes the season’s stories while leaving us with cliffhangers that make us want to come back for more. Luckily, if people don’t like the show, I’ve missed their opinions. Hell, even Invincible, a show that I’m having fun watching with my kids, I’m starting to see the grumpy fans who complain about everything. Sometimes, I agree with one of the premises of this show. Technology is a mistake and we need to go back.