In episode 2 of Fallout Season 2, Norm convinced the denizens of Vault 31 that he had brought them out of their cryo pods to help him exit the building by claiming that that was Bud’s last order before his death. After some initial confusion and chaos, the people of Vault 31 came together to find the exit hatch and went out into the open under Norm’s leadership. His father, Hank, was busy perfecting the brain-computer interface, and since the mice in the lab weren’t cutting it, he started bringing in human specimens from the “Premium Elite Plus” section of the Vault-Tec facility. Did that make any difference? Nope, but Hank soldiered on. Hank’s daughter, Lucy, and her friends, Cooper and Dogmeat, encountered some radscorpions in an abandoned hospital while trying to save a woman. Cooper got injured, and Lucy left him to heal there while she reunited the woman with her tribe. Said tribe turned out to be a Roman-themed cult called the Legion, who captured Lucy. Meanwhile, Quintus had assembled the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Coronado chapters of the Brotherhood of Steel to rebel against the Commonwealth in exchange for a seemingly unlimited supply of fusion cores. While the Elders shook hands with Quintus, the arrival of Xander, a Paladin of the Commonwealth, sort of ruined their whole plan. What happened next? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
The Brotherhood Weakens
In Season 1, Thaddeus’ ghoul-ification process had started, and in Season 2, we see that he has fully embraced his ghoul persona, and he has opened a facility where he has employed a bunch of supposedly abandoned kids to collect soda bottle caps, because that’s the most common form of currency in the nuclear hellscape. Not all of them are happy with this job, and a few of them can be seen resorting to discrimination against their fellow employees because they are becoming ghouls already. So, Thaddeus addresses all of them and underscores the fact that they should be happy with what they have going on in there, because things outside are extreme. He points out that they have a solid security system, they have a steady source of money, and while they don’t have access to water, they do have cola. This boosts the kids’ morale, and they go straight back to work. We’ll come back to them in a bit. For now, allow me to focus on the Brotherhood. As mentioned before, the arrival of Xander has caused some chaos and has prompted the Elder of the Yosemite chapter to back away from the plan of going against the Commonwealth. Quintus reminds her that the Brotherhood was formed because of a rebellion. Referring to Roger Maxson, a captain who was sent to a research center in California to unearth the experiments that were being conducted on humans, Quintus says that he was faced with a difficult choice: he could either stand by his government or his God. Maxson chose God, and the rest, as they say, is history.
All this stuff is from the games, and even in most of those games, Maxson was only mentioned in passing while talking about the discovery of the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV) project, the way he saved his compatriots during the Great War, how he went on to form the Brotherhood of Steel, and then died of cancer. As far as I know, it wasn’t until the Fallout Shelter Online mobile game that Maxson became a playable character. Going back to the plot, Quintus’ speech about Maxson doesn’t move the Yosemite Elder, and she sticks to her stance that she’s not going to partake in the rebellion against the Commonwealth. On top of that, she advises Quintus to give the Cold Fusion relic to the Commonwealth to avoid facing their ire in the future. After the Yosemite Elder exits the meeting room, Maximus tells Quintus that they can just kill Xander and continue with their plan. It seems like he is still hungover from the bloodlust of his deadly fight with that bald dude, and he thinks that he can turn that into a hot streak without facing repercussions. Quintus points out that if they kill Xander, then they won’t have a choice but to go to war with the Commonwealth, which is something the Brotherhood can’t currently afford because they don’t have the full support of all the chapters. When Maximus tries to persuade Quintus, he explodes and tells Maximus to leave the room.
Maximus Kills Xander to Save Thaddeus
As soon as Maximus steps out of the meeting room, he is ambushed by Xander, who starts pushing his pro-Commonwealth propaganda on him by talking about how the Commonwealth allows the Paladins and the Knights to call the shots, and the Clerics are just there for the formalities, which is the exact opposite of how the Brotherhood functions. Xander says that this isn’t the first time the Commonwealth and the Brotherhood have been at the brink of a civil war. However, this time, things feel particularly risky because the Elders are not even letting Xander into the room where they are talking about whether or not they want to continue their scheme of rebelling against the Commonwealth. That said, Xander believes that if Maximus sits down with him for a chat, they can come up with a solution. Given how Maximus is miffed about the way Quintus just treated him, he agrees to board Xander’s chopper and have that conversation. After some casual banter about the power armors and whatnot, Xander gets down to brass tacks and says that if Quintus doesn’t hand over the Cold Fusion relic to the Commonwealth, things will get sticky. And it seems like Xander is suggesting that Maximus simply steal the relic, hand it over to Xander, who will then give it to the Commonwealth, and Bob’s your uncle. As Maximus is weighing his odds, Xander reveals that the Commonwealth is on its last legs, and without the Cold Fusion, they’ll crumble, and if the Commonwealth crumbles, things in the continent will get worse than they are already. Maximus doesn’t make any commitments, but Xander feels that he has won him over. Hence, he shifts the topic to some power signatures that the chopper has detected and decides to hunt down the robots that are down there. Maximus chooses to cement his bond with Xander by going on that hunt with him.
They enter the facility from where that power signature is emanating and encounter a Securitron. They tag team to destroy the robot, and Maximus even gets to deliver the killing blow and extract the robot’s fusion core. Impressed by Maximus’ work, Xander passes his custom power hammer to him, and they then proceed to investigate the rest of the building. To everyone’s horror, it turns out to be the Nuka-Cola factory that Thaddeus runs with all those kids, and that Securitron was the “solid security system” that Thaddeus was talking about. Without even taking a beat, Xander begins dividing the kids into two groups: those who have smooth skin and those who are turning into ghouls. Why? Because it intends to kill the kids who’ll turn into ghouls. Thaddeus comes out of hiding to prevent Xander from doing so, but it becomes very clear very quickly that nothing can stop Xander from slaughtering Thaddeus and those kids. Maximus obviously doesn’t want his old friend, and all those kids, to die, but he also doesn’t want to jeopardize his relationship with his new friend. However, when push comes to shove, Maximus prioritizes Thaddeus over Xander and kills the latter with his new power hammer. Maximus realizes that he has probably started a war, because killing Xander is exactly what Quintus told him not to do. That said, Xander hasn’t been killed in Area 51; he has been killed in a Nuka-Cola factory that had a Securitron. So, maybe if Maximus, Thaddeus, and the kids can make it look like Xander died fighting that robot, maybe they’ll be able to avert a war. If the Commonwealth gets beat-by-beat updates of their Paladin’s activities, though, then Maximus and the Brotherhood are toast.
Lucy Is Crucified By The Legion
All the effort that Lucy put into saving that woman from the radscorpions goes down the drain because she is executed at the Legion’s camp for losing her Legionary, which I suppose was that guy who was injured by the radscorpion and then killed by Cooper. Lucy is then presented in front of their leader, Caesar. Lucy points out that they are all mispronouncing his name because Kaiser has its roots in Germany, but the members of the Legion ignore that, because they are busy discussing the terms of Lucy’s prima noctis. Lucy again points out that that practice—which allowed feudal lords to partake in carnal activities with any woman of their choice, especially if they were getting married—has nothing to do with the Roman Empire and has its roots in medieval Europe. And after she reveals that she isn’t a virgin and that she has been romantically involved with her cousins, all of which is true, she is tied up and taken to a pole from which she’ll be strung up until she dies of hunger and dehydration. Before getting up there, Lucy tries to knock some sense into the members of the Legion by critiquing their disregard for Roman norms while cosplaying as warriors from that era. One of the generals, played by Macaulay Culkin of Home Alone fame, shuts down Lucy by saying that since they are at war with the New California Republic (NCR), the Khans, and the Brotherhood, as well as the “unrepentant members” of the Legion, everything that they do is fair game. Lucy is a bit confused about the existence of this other faction of the Legion, which prompts the general to explain that the founder of this “Empire” died a long time ago. Before passing away, he wrote down the name of his successor so as to avoid a civil war. But to avoid learning the truth, as that’d mean they’d have to follow a leader they don’t like, the Empire divided itself into two pieces, with each faction being helmed by a Caesar, and began fighting.
The two camps are separated by a small hill atop which is the founder’s body, and every time either party tries to get the piece of paper on which the name of the successor is written, a battle commences. Lucy suggests that she is an expert at mediation and counseling, and she can help the two factions of Legion become one again, but the general turns a deaf ear to her and crucifies her with ropes, not nails. Even when she’s up there, she tries to reason with the general and tells her that things won’t end well for either party. However, it’s evident that the bloodlust of both the factions has turned them brainless. They don’t care if their cults are historically accurate or if they even have a chance at winning this “war.” They just want to keep at it because they are convinced that this is what gives them a sense of purpose. Meanwhile, Cooper is seen recuperating from the radscorpion sting by removing the part of his thigh that has been infected by the creature’s poison. In a flashback sequence, Cooper observes Barb as she tries to fit Janey’s essential items in her Keepsake Box. She is crying, because she doesn’t want to leave anything behind. Since Cooper knows that Barb is integral to the nuking program, he subtly tells her that if she is so heartbroken about setting the whole world on fire, maybe she shouldn’t go ahead with it. Barb doesn’t really react to that suggestion; hence, Cooper takes off to attend an event, the American Veteran Entertainment Alliance Annual Fundraiser, for his friend, Charles Whiteknife.
Cooper Accidentally Ran Into House
After getting to the fundraiser, Cooper asks Charles if he knows anything about House, and Charles says that, as per his intel, House is working on a weapon. Cooper tells Charles that Moldaver wants him to kill House, and it seems like Charles empathizes with Cooper because of the weight of the task that has been put on his shoulders. Cooper wonders if there’s some other way to handle this situation, and Charles basically says that killing House is the only way to stop this nuclear holocaust. He also points out that all the so-called veterans at that event, who are being celebrated like they are heroes, are guilty of killing innocent people because they, during wartime, were just told to point and shoot. In Cooper’s case, at the very least, he knows that the guy he is supposed to kill is bad. As Diane Welch, congresswoman of the District of Glendale, begins the proceedings, Cooper takes a trip to the loo, where he’s confronted by House—yes, the real one. Of course, Cooper doesn’t know that that’s actually House, and he innocently answers House’s questions about the event. Cooper is weirded out when House uses a slur reserved for people with left-wing or liberal views to define Charles. He even wonders if Cooper himself leans towards the left, but Cooper refutes those allegations as just rumors. House continues that line of questioning and keeps talking about the genocides that have happened and will happen in the name of nationalism and capitalism just to see if he can force Cooper to drop his mask. However, none of that affects Cooper, and he just walks away from the conversation. We know that they are going to meet again in the future; maybe that’s when Cooper will regret not killing House in that very bathroom.
Anyway, Cooper heads to the seminar to listen to Charles’ acceptance speech, where he reiterates his thoughts on the inhumanity of war and how it’s nothing that we should celebrate, because that bloodshed shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Charles says that since conflict is inevitable, the only thing a warrior can do is fight honorably and protect their loved ones. Charles doesn’t even keep the gift, which is a lighter, that the fundraising organization has given him, and passes it on to Cooper. Coming back to the present day, Cooper watches Lucy from afar and scoffs at her theory about making the world better by being helpful to others. Then he spots the two Caesars and immediately figures out that there’s a civil war going on. Cooper tells Dogmeat that even though he doesn’t like Lucy, he knows that he’ll need her help somewhere down the line. That said, it’ll be difficult to take two Legion factions on at once. So, he and Dogmeat go to a country club that belongs to the NCR to look for help. There’s no sign of any human life, but Cooper and Dogmeat do come across a Securitron named Victor, who is also not much help because his memory drive has been damaged. Victor just keeps saying that the Legion and the NCR are constantly at each other’s throats. Hence, Cooper asks Victor about House. Victor says that House is gone. Since Victor brings up House’s dream of living forever whilst using the Cold Fusion project as his fuel, I suppose the robot means that House is dead. So, then who the hell is Hank talking to? Or maybe it’s possible that House did find the key to immortality but has spread the rumor that he is dead so that nobody else can try to steal that formula from him? As pointed out by Victor, we wouldn’t have been facing this confusion about House’s fate if Cooper had just killed him back in the day.
Cooper Saves Lucy
All that talk about House prompts Cooper to leave, because he’s well aware of his failure, and he is convinced that Victor is useless when it comes to credible information. But on a parting note, Victor mentions that there are rangers on the hills, which gives Cooper a sense of direction. As he approaches said hills, he’s captured by those rangers and taken to their camp so that he can have a chat with NCR Captain Rodriguez. Rodriguez says that there’s an NCR battalion to the east, and they have lost contact with them since the fall of Shady Sands. Due to the Legion, Rodriguez and her group can’t move, and she wants Cooper to honor his old relationship with the NCR and help them out. Cooper begins laughing at the irony of this situation, because he was hoping that the NCR would help him rescue Lucy, but now the NCR wants him to help them out. His laugh turns into a raspy cough, and Rodriguez uses that opportunity to tell him that the NCR is fighting the good fight so that humans and ghouls can live healthy lives. She even gives him the medicine he needs to stay immortal. But instead of returning the favor, Cooper just walks away from those vials and advises Rodriguez to give up the dream of rebuilding civilization because, in his opinion, humanity deserved to die. On that note, Cooper enters Caesar’s palace, the one where Lucy is dying, and offers up the location of the NCR’s last camp in exchange for Lucy’s life. Caesar and his men are glad with this arrangement, and they let Lucy go. As Cooper is dragging Lucy away from the Legion’s camps, he looks at the barrels of dynamite sitting there out in the open.
In the ending of Fallout Season 2 episode 3, when Cooper, Lucy, and Dogmeat reach a peak near the camps, Cooper, while flicking that lighter that Charles had given him, wonders if he has done the right thing or the stupid thing. That’s when the dynamite goes off, which Cooper must’ve ignited way before he entered Caesar’s camp, thereby commencing the civil war that had been brewing for years. The Legion was completely debauched. So, I don’t think there’s any reason to feel bad for them because Cooper has betrayed them. There’s no way to say if any of the members of the Legion will survive that battle, but if they do, they might come after Lucy and Cooper. In addition to that, this move by Cooper shows that, even though he seems nihilistic and nonchalant about the future of mankind, he cares about those who are good. If he was as heartless as he claims he is, he would have put the NCR out of its misery instead of bringing about the downfall of the Legion. However, he clearly respects what the NCR is doing, and he abhors the Legion’s way of living. Or maybe Cooper’s whole quest, including his bond with Lucy and Dogmeat, is his way of atoning for the sin of dooming humanity. Well, those are just my thoughts on the episode. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
