By Bradley Russell
published
A breakdown and recap of the explosive Fallout finale
The Fallout season 1 ending has one of the more explosive finales we’ve seen in a while. Not only does it (partially) wrap up the mystery behind Overseer Hank MacLean’s disappearance, it also launches a handful of new plot threads that could be explored in season 2 and beyond.
With that in mind, we’re about to run the rule over each of Fallout episode 8’s big reveals: what they each mean, how they affect existing character relationships, and how they simultaneously set the scene for the future of the Prime Video series while revealing some big answers about its past.
First, a quick recap of the Fallout season 1 ending to ensure everyone is on the same page – then we’ll dive into everything from Bud’s Buds, to Hank’s true identity, and everything else in-between.
Major spoilers for the Fallout season 1 ending follow.
Fallout season 1 ending explained: episode 8 recap
All roads lead to the Observatory in Fallout episode 8 but, before then, Maximus heads back to Brotherhood HQ with a fake head in tow. After the Elder Cleric sees through his ruse, Dane begs for mercy. In response, the Cleric takes Maximus to one side and laments how the Brotherhood has “lost its way”. If Maximus gets the relic (i.e. Wilzig’s real head), the Cleric suggests the pair start a new Brotherhood with Maximus “as its sword”.
In the 2077 flashback, it’s revealed that Cooper Howard has placed a transmitter on his wife’s Pip-Boy, while he also hears from Bud Adkins about his managerial program to maintain his and the company’s legacy centuries into the future.
In the present, Lucy meets Moldaver in the Observatory where she sees her father Hank held captive in a cage.
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In Vault 31, Norm encounters a brain in a robotic casing – later revealed to be Vault-Tec’s Bud Adkins – who tries to stop him from discovering the Vault’s secret: it houses Bud’s Buds, a program that saw Vault-Tec’s board and junior executives live on 200 years later to breed with the subjects in Vaults 32 and 33 to create a new generation of "super managers".
One of those is revealed to be Hank, an executive assistant at Vault-Tec.
As Barb posits in the past, Vault-Tec’s vaults would be claimed by the various companies so they could conduct experiments on the best way to save humanity. "May the best idea win," she says.
"How can you guarantee results?" one suit asks. The answer: "By dropping the bomb ourselves."
Back at the Observatory, Moldaver reveals what happened to Lucy’s mother: upon discovering that civilization has returned on the surface, she escaped the Vault with her children to Shady Sands. Hank found her, took Lucy and Norm back, and razed the city to the ground.
Moldaver then talks up the benefits of the cold fusion device, one that could help create a new world. She also suggests that the ghoul-like creature next to her is Lucy’s mother.
The cold fusion device is then activated, and Hank tells Lucy she did what was “necessary” to save his people. The Brotherhood of Steel then rocks up and fights Moldaver’s New California Republic.
In the final act, Maximus arrives and frees Hank without realizing his intentions. Hank, now in a suit of Power Armor, knocks out Maximus. The Ghoul then confronts Hank, who flees. The Ghoul tells Lucy that Hank is looking for the somebody who is “behind the wheel.”
Lucy shoots her mother as an act of mercy. After she leaves with the Ghoul, the cold fusion device activates with Maximus and a dying Moldaver overlooking the structures lighting up below. Maximus is declared a knight by the incoming Brotherhood forces, while Hank walks towards New Vegas…
Who is Hank?
As revealed in the finale, Hank has a longer history than just being the Overseer of Vault 33. He was also an executive assistant at Vault-Tec in 2077 and part of ‘Bud’s Buds’, a failsafe designed to ensure Vault-Tec and its members’ survival once America fell.
After he was awoken in 2267, he became Overseer and married Lucy’s mother. However, once Lucy’s mother discovered Hank’s true intentions to maintain Vault-Tec’s legacy, she fled to Shady Sands with her children.
Hank then destroyed the Californian settlement and took back his children. Since then, he had been keeping the Vault’s secrets safe – namely, that its Vault Dwellers are used to breed with the junior executives of Vault-Tec to create “super managers”.
One question for another day is who is Hank in league with? We’ll likely find out in season 2 – but it could be another member of Vault-Tec’s upper echelons, and possibly even Cooper’s wife, Barb.
Did Vault-Tec drop the first bombs?
While we don’t see Vault-Tec literally press the red button to kick off nuclear armageddon, the Fallout season 1 ending sure implies that Vault-Tec at least had a hand in dropping the first bomb to not only set off a chain reaction of retaliation from major opposing powers in 2077’s Great War, but also ensure that their plan to have companies face off in a perverse game of end-of-the-world capitalism would come to fruition.
The Fallout games never outright identified who started the nuclear war, so this doesn’t contradict with canon – though it is an intriguing wrinkle that could be explored further in Fallout season 2, Fallout 5, or another piece of media entirely.
What is the cold fusion device?
"Limitless power" according to Moldaver. It’s also what was hiding in Wilzig’s head that whole time: a device that could create enough energy to really kickstart civilization again. Its potential is evident in the final moments of the finale, with the device being able to generate electricity in the settlement below. Right now, it’s in the hands of the Brotherhood – but we imagine it’ll be something that several interested parties could be fighting over in the seasons ahead.
What are Bud’s Buds?
Bud Adkins is the middle-manager from hell. In 2077, The Vault-Tec exec kept bugging Cooper with his plans to create a legacy with the most powerful weapon of them all: time.
To help with his goals, Bud created ‘Bud’s Buds’, a program designed to keep Vault-Tec alive in pods for centuries even after America’s government falls. Bud, now a brain encased in a hapless robot, even explains that this clutch of Vault-Tec employees – including Hank – are there to mate with the Dwellers of Vaults 32 and 33 to help create a new race of “super managers”. Ick.
It seems Norm could even be joining them, as Bud traps the youngest MacLean in Vault 31 and heartily suggests that he can either get in his father’s pod or wait it out with no food, no water, and the threat of very large bugs. Tough call.
Is that New Vegas?
It sure looks like it! New Vegas, the setting of Fallout: New Vegas, is an iconic location in the Fallout universe and its close proximity to California meant that there was always a possibility it would show up in the TV series.
Now, it seems that whoever Hank is looking for is there – which means we might discover just which ending of Fallout: New Vegas is canon as a war was fought between two major factions: the Legion and the New California Republic. Did the Legion come out on top in the Mojave Wasteland? The New California Republic’s struggles and dwindling forces in the Prime Video series certainly suggest that could be the case.
What's next for the Brotherhood of Steel?
Right now, the Brotherhood of Steel are in their strongest position in years. With Maximus, they have a strong and charismatic leader and they also have the cold fusion device. What was once a ramshackle operation has immediately transformed into a towering force to be reckoned with in the wasteland.
The Elder Cleric may have wanted Max to start a new Brotherhood with him, though the pair may have differing views on how to proceed. Expect that – as well as Max’s desire to reunite with Lucy – to drive any future conflicts in season 2 and beyond. But, whatever happens next, the Brotherhood are going to be the authority out in the wastes. And it’s going to be very hard to see who might stop them.
What is the Ghoul looking for?
As we discover in the season 1 finale, The Ghoul is not only looking for his family (wife Barb and daughter Janie) but also the person "behind the wheel" and pulling the strings of Hank and Vault-Tec. They could, of course, be one and the same – Fallout 4, in particular, has an all-timer of a twist involving the player character’s child.
Will there be a season 2 of Fallout?
As of right now, there’s no official announcement of Fallout season 2. Amazon sure seem confident, though, not only moving up the first season’s release but also applying for tax credits in California to film another season of the show. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before Fallout season 2 gets greenlit. For more, check out our guide to a potential Fallout season 2.
Fallout, starring Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Walton Goggins, and Kyle MacLachlan, is now streaming on Prime Video. For more, check out the rest of our coverage:
- Fallout TV show
- Fallout TV show stars and creators on working with Todd Howard: "It means a lot to get his approval"
- The Fallout TV show went the extra mile – by creating a real-life Pip-Boy for its cast to use
- Fallout TV show star Walton Goggins intentionally chose not to play Fallout, even after getting the job
- Fallout cast watched Twitch and YouTube streams of the games before filming: "Watching people play was vital"
- Kyle MacLachlan immediately sells us on Fallout – by comparing it to two of his greatest works: Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet
- Fallout release schedule
- Fallout season 1 review: "A big Vault Boy-style thumbs up"
- Is the Fallout TV show canon? Here’s what Bethesda’s Todd Howard and the showrunners have to say
- When does the Fallout TV show take place on the series timeline?
- Will there be a Fallout season 2?
- All of the Fallout Easter eggs we spotted in the TV show
- Fallout’s finale may have just answered the centuries-old mystery behind who started the nuclear apocalypse
- The Fallout TV show just revealed the canon origins of Vault Boy's signature thumbs up
- Fallout season 2 sets up [SPOILER] as a major season 2 location
Bradley Russell
I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.
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