# Fallout Episode 8: The Beginning **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, amazon-prime\ **Created:** [April 11, 2024, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143 "2024-04-11T08:13:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/21 "2024-04-15T18:48:50Z")
The series was an excellent tour of the Fallout world, but it was pretty bad once they returned to the core narrative. At least they left it setup for another romp through the wasteland for next season. Corporations blowing up the world is dumb on so many levels. Even the basic elements like bringing the transmitting Pipboy into the meeting left me wondering. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/22 "2024-04-15T19:28:50Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > So I don’t have to rewind: the last we see of Norm in Vault 31 is him contemplating what to do next, right? Correct. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Not sure why Norm doesn’t threaten the brain Roomba to open the door though. What, exactly, is Norm going to do? Bud is pretty well protected in his niche and he controls the door. If Norm disables Bud then how is Norm going to get the door open? Norm has actually displayed some caution throughout this entire series, even if at times he seems cowardly. I could see him taking quite some time to think things over before actually making a decision or move. > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Also the secretary at the end ends up being Leslie Uggams. I don’t know if working for VaultTek pays well, but it certainly has fringe benefits. Definitely! Although with Betty being a secretary and Hank being an “executive assistant” I’m wondering if it’s the lower ranking people getting thawed out first, thus being subject to any hazards awaiting and shielding the higher ups from danger. The big wigs are scheduled to be thawed later when, presumably, the world is more “civilized”, that is, safer for them. > [@gnoitall](#): > > Maximus was 6 years old when he survived the destruction of Shady Sands, which would make him about 25 at the time of the show. That’s somewhat consistent with the apparent age of the population of squires, but historically quite old for a military organization. (Fallout canon used “squire” for child trainees, so obviously something has changed in how the BoS recruits, ranks, and trains troops, but I still would have expected squires to routinely be no older than teenaged.) Promotion might be a problem if there are limited numbers of power armor units. It could be there’s a number of squires still at the rank because they’re waiting for armor to become “available” via dead man’s boots. > [@Quimby](#): > > It was not clear to me how Moldaver lived so long. One is a ghoul, the rest were in the cryo pods but how did she survive? If Moldaver “sold out” to Vault-Tec and was frozen in Vault 31 she might have been thawed then subsequently escaped to the surface. There might be other entities with cryo-sleep tech, either other vaults or something else. She might have had something like the Snake Oil Salesman gave Thaddeus, ghoulifying her without the cosmetic side effects (for now). Who knows? Maybe we’ll find out if there’s a Season 2. Wasn’t there an in-game vault involving cryo-pods that ends up having just one survivor? Could she be the Lone Survivor? > [@Alessan](#): > > I never expected there to be full continuity between games and show, no matter what the marketing flacks said. To me, anything as good as the continuity between Marvel Comics and the MCU would be good enough, and the show surpassed that. I’m happy. Yeah, this. No doubt there’s a part of the fan base that would want absolute fidelity, too, but it’s a different medium and they have to appeal to not just Fallout gamers but the general public to make this investment pay off. > [@DigitalC](#): > > I think the only thing bothering me now is how nobody at vault 31 or 33 was aware of what happened to vault 32. Who is in Vault 31? Just Bud-on-a-Roomba, who occasionally thaws out the corpsicles. Maybe he has access to or control over a bunch of Mr Handy’s he can roll-out for clean up? Whose to say the Vault 31 people in Vault 32 are _not_ aware of what’s going on? Oh wait - it wouldn’t make sense Hank would arrange a marriage for his daughter if he knew everyone was dead. Maybe Moldaver knew enough to maintain the illusion everything was OK for awhile? We don’t know how long the raiders were in 32, it might have been for awhile even if they weren’t actually living there full time. The Vaults are clearly isolated from each otehr in many ways. Also, maybe best not to think _too_ hard about some aspects of the show… ---
**Author:** ![Mogle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mogle/32/12021_2.png) [@Mogle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogle)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/23 "2024-04-15T19:38:26Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Wasn’t there an in-game vault involving cryo-pods that ends up having just one survivor? Could she be the Lone Survivor? That was the PC of FO4, so no, absolutely not. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/24 "2024-04-15T20:26:08Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > What, exactly, is Norm going to do? Bud is pretty well protected in his niche and he controls the door. If Norm disables Bud then how is Norm going to get the door open? Well, Norm freed Roombabrain from a fallen mop handle. Take the mop handle and whack him with it (or just flip him over) with the thought being if I’m gonna die I’m taking that little monster with me. Or pick him up and dash him against a wall. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/25 "2024-04-16T05:39:26Z")
“Because war…” _Pause for dramatic effect…_ _Pause for dramatic effect…_ _Pause for comedic effect…_ _Pause because you know we’re messing with you now, right?.._ “…war never changes.” I love this show ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/26 "2024-04-16T18:30:09Z")
I don’t see the “American Corpos plotted to nuke the world” plot changing any canon, since we don’t see them actually do it. The games give a lot of theories how it all started (including aliens), so it’s just another theory. The news broadcasts in the first episode made it seem like nuclear war was imminent, so it could’ve been anyone that pushed the button. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/27 "2024-04-16T18:36:44Z")
Yeah, the way I took that meeting was “if the bombs don’t drop we’ll just do it ourselves” not “we are going to drop the bombs for sure”. They were also ensuring there was no chance for peace, so I doubt there was any need for them to drop the bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/28 "2024-04-16T20:17:22Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Yeah, the way I took that meeting was “if the bombs don’t drop we’ll just do it ourselves” not “we are going to drop the bombs for sure”. That seems a thin distinction though. I mean, the corpos wanted the bombs to drop and worked towards that goal. One way or another they wanted to see it happen. I’m a bit sketchy though on how they thought this would realistically make them money in the end. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/29 "2024-04-16T20:23:33Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’m a bit sketchy though on how they thought this would realistically make them money in the end. Seemed more of a “rule the world” kinda thing than a money making scheme. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/30 "2024-04-17T04:25:54Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Also to mention that the Griffith Observatory would be in no way connected to the city sufficiently to power everything even if they had the endless power magic pellet. I think a lot of you are missing the point that the show has established that the NCR annd Shady Sands was a fully fuctioning civiliation with at least a decent level of technological return… it’s not 200 years of decay…it’s 20 years and you can’t apply this kind of “Griffith Observatory isn’t on the grid” thinking… it also doesn’t have AA implacements…Things clearly changed… ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/31 "2024-04-17T05:38:49Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > …you can’t apply this kind of “Griffith Observatory isn’t on the grid” thinking… It’s a little weird. I can accept a Star Trek transporter which is almost certainly impossible yet be bugged that Griffith Observatory can’t power LA after a nuclear holocaust 200 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/32 "2024-04-18T03:17:50Z")
Final thoughts as I watch; - The Brotherhood has made Filly their base of operations. I’m surprised they didn’t just reclaim the Lost Hills bunker. - I wonder if Dane is telling the truth about injuring themself or if they just said it to protect Maximus. - Oooooh, Quintus is plotting to take over the Brotherhood. Is Arthur Maxson still in charge? I assume he’s on the Prydwen if he is. - Griffith Park! I knew it. Lucy has made it a grand total of about 20 miles from where she started. This whole series of sidequests could’ve been avoided if she’d just followed Santa Monica Blvd. and took a left on Hoover. - Moldaver’s actually got a functioning community going. These barely look like the raiders that attacked Vault 33 at all. - I would swear there’s some old western about three very different people with their own agendas pursuing the same McGuffin like this. Perhaps some morally ambiguous combination of good, bad, and ugly people. I can’t quite put my finger on which one, though. - Wait, nuclear-powered cars still need their oil changed? - Even this pre-war scene definitely wasn’t filmed in southern CA. There aren’t any deciduous forests like that anywhere _near_ LA. The only trees that grow natively in that area are evergreens. Back before the railroads were put in most buildings in the region were built from adobe because lumber was hard to come by, and many early American settlers had prefab homes shipped to them from the east coast. - Now that’s a feral ghoul. That thing looks terrifying. It’s no wonder people fear and distrust normal ghouls when things like that are roaming the wastes. - Poor robobrain overseer. I wonder if those things are still conscious and aware of what they’ve become. That’s got to be a terrible existence. According to Amazon the character’s name is “Brain-on-a-Roomba”, which probably isn’t canon since I doubt Roombas exist in the Fallout universe, but I like it. - YEP 31 IS A CRYO-VAULT. Vault 111 must have been a proof-of-concept for this facility that’s been keeping people on ice to run 32 and 33. - According to the credits, that mustachioed representative from RobCo is Mr. House himself! I wouldn’t have thought he was part of the Enclave. This context is gonna make me think a lot less of him the next time I replay New Vegas. I think he’s the only actual character from the games to have appeared in the series up to this point. - _The vault experiments were Barb’s idea_. Yikes. - So the entire purpose of the three vaults was eugenics. Double yikes. - VAULT-TEC STARTED THE GREAT WAR. That’s 20 years of fanon confirmed. - Betty was a secretary before the war. She’s come a long way in the world. - I do not like CGI-de-aged Kyle MacLachlan. Way too uncanny valley. Somehow it’d actually be less weird if they’d made him look like Paul Atreides. - “War. _War never changes._” I’ve been WAITING to hear that line. - I guess Dane was telling the truth. - This aerial shot of Griffith Park is amazing. - Lucy’s childhood memories of the sun are real. She wasn’t just misremembering the artificial sun in Vault 33. _And her dad nuked Shady Sands to bring her back_. What a bastard. - The chip the doctor put in his neck contains Moldaver’s pre-war cold fusion research. Not where I thought that was going, but it makes sense. - _The feral ghoul is Lucy’s mom_. Fuck. If this were a game, I’d be siding with Moldaver at this point too. - The scene with the vertibirds approaching Griffith Park is very Apocalypse Now. I’m actually a little disappointed they didn’t put Flight of the Valkyries over it. It’s been used in Fallout before so it would fit. - Maximus using one of the knights as cover is a brilliant tactic. - I so wanted Lucy to pull the trigger. Cooper doing it is just as good, though. - Cooper made the pre-war listening device into a bullet and shot Hank with it. Clever. - Lucy putting her mom out of her misery was as much of a mercy as Cooper putting down Roger was. - I thought for a minute there that Maximus was dead. I’m glad he’s not. - Moldaver and Rose were lovers, weren’t they? At least Moldaver lived to see her work come to fruition. - “ALL HAIL KNIGHT MAXIMUS!” What a bitter ending. He finally gets what he wants, but not for the reason he wants, and he absolutely hates it. - WE’RE GOING TO NEW VEGAS, BABY! Great finale. Overall, I’ve loved this show. It’s one of the few examples of a video game adaptation done right, and I hope to God it gets a second season. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/33 "2024-04-18T03:47:34Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Oooooh, Quintus is plotting to take over the Brotherhood. Is Arthur Maxson still in charge? I assume he’s on the Prydwen if he is. When they showed the big BOS “throne” in Filly, I really thought the final stunt casting of the series was going to be someone recognizable as Maxson. I do think the weakest aspect of the show has been establishing what the Brotherhood actually is and its purpose. So some old dude we havent seen in 6 episodes being all sinister and plotting to take over an organization we know nothing really about…and for some reason recruitting the shittiest member of the organization…seemed really bizarre. Now I’m fancasting who would make a good Arthur Maxson… Maybe Sam Worthington? Miles Teller? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/34 "2024-04-18T03:56:19Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Now I’m fancasting who would make a good Arthur Maxson… Maybe Sam Worthington? Miles Teller? Ron Offerman. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/35 "2024-04-18T03:56:35Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > According to the credits, that mustachioed representative from RobCo is Mr. House himself! I wouldn’t have thought he was part of the Enclave. This context is gonna make me think a lot less of him the next time I replay New Vegas. I think he’s the only actual character from the games to have appeared in the series up to this point. Mr. House is not a big fan of the government. He thinks he’s smart enough to be in charge and the best course of action is for others to follow him and his plan for the future. And I sided with him on my playthrough of New Vegas because he pretty much played it straight with me from the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/36 "2024-04-18T03:57:38Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > He thinks he’s smart enough to be in charge and the best course of action is for others to follow him and his plan for the future. In other words, he’s the Fallout-verse equivalent of Elon Musk. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/37 "2024-04-18T03:57:46Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Ron Offerman. oh man…I want him on the show now…as somebody at least… ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/38 "2024-04-18T03:58:49Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > In other words, he’s the Fallout-verse equivalent of Elon Musk. Mr. House is more like Howard Hughes. Unlike Musk, House is a good businessman and invented stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/39 "2024-04-18T04:00:41Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Unlike Musk, House is a good businessman and invented stuff. Good point. No doubt they share a similarly-sized ego, though. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143/40 "2024-04-18T04:04:16Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I would swear there’s some old western about three very different people with their own agendas pursuing the same McGuffin like this. Perhaps some morally ambiguous combination of good, bad, and ugly people. I can’t quite put my finger on which one, though. _Paint Your Wagon_? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-episode-8-the-beginning/1000143.md?page=3)