Fallout Recap: We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Strip

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After a four-episode journey, we’ve finally arrived in New Vegas! Fans may have seen pictures of the New Vegas set – built in Los Angeles – earlier this year, but seeing post-apocalyptic Las Vegas come to life on screen is something special. The show consistently impresses with its incredible attention to detail, from the sets to the costumes, and it’s fantastic to see such a recognizable location from the game series recreated with such accuracy. While it’s not a perfect copy, there have been some changes to the layout. For example, in the game, you can’t directly access the Strip from the iconic ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign – you have to take a detour through Freeside, as the Ghoul points out. The arrangement of the casinos has also been adjusted.

The biggest surprise of this episode isn’t just that things have changed, but how much. When Lucy and the Ghoul arrive at the Strip, it’s a ghost town – completely abandoned and overrun by deathclaws, the most dangerous creatures in the Fallout universe. It’s genuinely shocking to see the Ghoul so frightened. (Look up “Quarry Junction” to get a sense of the backstory.) Even as a long-time Fallout fan, I’m impressed with how the writers – Graham Wagner, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and their team, including Jane Espenson who wrote this episode – are balancing fan expectations with bold changes that could upset some viewers. Showing the Strip in such a state of decay is a risky move. Previously, it was a rare haven of civilization in the Mojave Wasteland, a place known for its vices. Now, the robots are broken, a deathclaw is the Gomorrah’s only resident, and Robert House is missing. It’s a truly unexpected turn of events.

We’ll learn more about what happened to the Strip as the season progresses, but first, let’s appreciate that fantastic opening scene! It’s a flashback to Cooper’s time fighting in Alaska in the 2070s. For those unfamiliar with the backstory, the world of Fallout was shaped by a long war leading up to the nuclear exchange of 2077. It wasn’t a sudden event; the U.S. and China had been fighting for years, fueled by their different ideologies and a shortage of resources. China invaded Alaska in 2067 to secure its oil, and that became a key battleground. Throughout the series, Cooper has hinted at his experiences in Alaska, including his unreliable T-45d power armor – an early model that wasn’t as advanced as the T-60 (used by the Brotherhood of Steel in the Fallout show) or the T-51b. In the flashback, Cooper’s armor malfunctions during a firefight with Chinese soldiers, nearly costing him his life. A Chinese soldier even jokes about having to wear equally flawed equipment, highlighting the grim reality that war always remains the same.

Despite everything else happening, the flashback’s key moment really stands out. Cooper finds a crashed vertibird and through the smoke and flames, sees a massive, horned creature. It brutally attacks the Chinese soldiers nearby, then curiously investigates Cooper, reminiscent of the iconic Xenomorph encounter in Alien. The episode implies this was Cooper’s first time seeing a deathclaw, and reveals these monsters weren’t a natural result of the nuclear fallout, but were actually created in a lab by the US government as a weapon against China before the war. The fact that this scene is bookended by other deathclaw moments strongly suggests they’ll be the main threat this season, though Hank and/or House might still play a significant role.

Before heading to New Vegas, the Ghoul and Lucy stopped at an NCR Ranger camp so Lucy could recover from being crucified. She was treated with Buffout, a type of steroid from the Fallout universe. As they continue their journey, Lucy starts experiencing withdrawal symptoms. The Ghoul explains that being on a Buffout drip for two days will do that to someone. Lucy has two choices: a painful detox or taking more drugs. Deciding she doesn’t have time for a week-long detox, Lucy takes another dose of Buffout. This quickly eliminates her cheerful attitude and replaces it with a violent streak. She unleashes this newfound aggression on the Kings, a gang of Elvis impersonators from Fallout: New Vegas who have since become feral ghouls.

Honestly, the Brotherhood storyline feels a bit like a secondary plot to me, especially compared to how much fun Lucy and the Ghoul are having. We see Maximus grappling with the fallout from Xander’s death, and he pretty much admits he’s not a planner – he just reacts, which keeps landing him in trouble. He tries to take out Quintus, but fails. It doesn’t end up mattering much though, because once Dane swipes the cold-fusion chip, all the paranoid leaders of the Brotherhood chapters plunge the West Coast into a full-blown civil war. Maximus and Thaddeus – who spends the whole episode hilariously, and awkwardly, pretending to be Xander inside a T-60 suit (Johnny Pemberton is great as he keeps bumping into everything like a clumsy Transformer!) – make a break for the desert, presumably to catch up with Lucy and the Ghoul again.

Trouble is brewing in Vaults 32 and 33. Vault 32 is still struggling with a lack of water, and Vault 33 is ruled harshly by Stephanie. A surprising discovery? Chet finds Stephanie’s pre-war ID, revealing she was born in 2045… and is Canadian! Stephanie won’t share Vault 33’s water with Vault 32 unless Betty retrieves a keepsake box Hank left behind in Vault 31. Betty points out that this is essentially holding them hostage. (Rumor has it the box contains Gwyneth Paltrow’s head!) Meanwhile, the Vault-Tec employees in Vault 31 are enjoying some remarkably old BlamCo Mac & Cheese. One of them, Ronnie, reveals he was Bud’s assistant before the war and knows something about the experiment happening across the three vaults, but that information will have to wait until the next episode.

Bottle Caps

What I really love about this show is that it doesn’t feel the need to over-explain everything about the world, the different groups, or the creatures in it. They give you the info you need, but they trust you to figure things out for yourself, which is so refreshing! And honestly, if you’re curious about the smaller details, the Fallout wiki is always there to help – it’s a fantastic resource.

Early in the episode, players might recognize a familiar location: Thaddeus’s bottling plant, where he keeps child slaves, appears to be the same building used as the Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters in New Vegas. There, you can start a quest with Festus, a cowboy robot, who needs you to gather 50 unique Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle caps.

It’s amusing how drugs made before the war, like Buffout and Stimpaks, still work in the world of Fallout, even though they’re over two hundred years old.

As a total cinema lover, one moment that always gets me is when the aggressively masculine Coronado Elder reacts to Thaddeus admitting he’s having a panic attack. His response – a blunt, bewildered ‘What the fuck’s a panic attack?’ – perfectly encapsulates his character and highlights the generational gap in understanding mental health. It’s a shockingly honest, and frankly heartbreaking, line.

This episode features a well-placed song from the game’s radio, ending with “He’s a Demon, He’s a Devil, He’s a Doll” from Fallout 4 as a particularly creepy deathclaw appears from Gomorrah.

Dedicated Fallout fans frequently criticize Bethesda for focusing too much on the Brotherhood of Steel, especially how they’re presented as heroic figures in Fallout 3. However, in most other installments, including the recent TV show, the Brotherhood is more consistent with its original depiction from the first Fallout game and beyond: ruthless, strategic, obsessed with technology, and prejudiced.

The scene after the credits shows the remains of Camp McCarran from Fallout: New Vegas, suggesting it was conquered by Caesar’s Legion.

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2026-01-07 16:55