Welcome back to Sunday Debate! Amazon just confirmed Fallout Season 2, marking the official anticipation and confirmation of its second season, following the intriguing conclusion of the first season that left fans speculating about the future. There was a pretty clear teaser for the next part of the story, based on the way they ended things in the season one finale. Primarily, season two is based on the events of Fallout New Vegas. For those of you asking about how this series fits into the continuity of the games, Todd Howard, the creator of the games, clarified that the show isn’t meant to retcon any of the games. So, we’ll break it down.
Production Schedule
The show has been so well-received—it’s been great. People love it so much. I’m expecting Amazon to release it a bit more like they do with “The Boys” TV show and “Invincible.” Initially, they started binge dropping the shows. But when they proved to be very popular, they began releasing the first couple of episodes and then switched to weekly releases.
However, based on when they’re actually scheduled to start shooting season two, they won’t be able to release it until 2026. So, it’s going to be a while before we actually get season two episodes. Jonathan Nolan also said that the next person he wanted to cast for season two would be Aaron Paul from “Westworld,” just because he liked working with Aaron Paul so much. Aaron Paul in real life is a huge fan of the Fallout games. You can let me know in the comments who you want Aaron Paul to play in the Fallout series.
We owe a lot of this success to the amazing team at Amazon for their unwavering support and contribution, making the show a groundbreaking series.
Fallout Season 2 Teasers
At the end of the finale, they teased that Hank McLean, played by Kyle McLaughlin, escaped to New Vegas. He steps on the skull of a Deathclaw, also revealing that they would be doing more with Death Claws in season two. The producers say the reason why you didn’t see them in season one is mostly because they just didn’t have enough episodes to actually get everything in from the game, since there were so many things they did not do in season one. So they opted to save a lot of that stuff—characters, story twists, creatures—for future seasons, like the Glowing Ones, Aliens, and Super Mutants, hinting at the exciting stuff planned that will explore the period leading up to the nuclear apocalypse.
Game Continuity and Future Plans
There was a teaser for Super Mutants in the Enclave at the beginning of the season. It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of reference, though. When Will’s League was running his experiments with cold fusion, he sees them carting the body of a dead Super Mutant past him. Presumably, we’ll see more of them and other creatures during season two, and they’ll probably save some stuff for even further seasons beyond that, like season three, whenever they wind up stopping. They could do like ten seasons of the show if they wanted. Additionally, exploring post-credits stuff could hint at future storylines that delve into the aftermath of the games’ events, revealing significant changes in the world and potential new confrontations.
Fallout Canon and Game Continuity
Even though Hank was just a lowly executive assistant—the lowest you could possibly get on the totem pole next to secretaries or the janitor—he would still know Mr. House, who they showed in the flashbacks at the board meetings. He’s the founder of RobCo. We’ll probably see a version of him during season two. In present day, 200+ years later after the Great War, confirming that “The House always wins” ending for Fallout New Vegas is the canon ending. Bethesda Game Studios, as an executive producer alongside Amazon MGM Studios and Kilter Films, plays a crucial role in maintaining the canon and lore of the Fallout universe within the show, ensuring a faithful adaptation that resonates with fans of the franchise.
The Canon of the Fallout Games
A lot of people were pointing towards what happened to Shady Sands, thinking that because Hank dropped the second bomb on the town, that meant that they’d gotten rid of the New California Republic. Shady Sands in the games was the capital of the NCR, meant to be a really important faction during the present day of the games. But here’s what Todd Howard and the producers said recently: They did an interview claiming that the show was not retconning any of the plot of the games, and that Hank dropped the bomb on Shady Sands right after the events of the Fallout New Vegas game.
“We’re threading it tight there, but the bomb falls just after the events of New Vegas. Grandma Geneva wanted to blow up Shady Sands, the first to bring that up. We’re careful about the timeline; there might be a little bit of confusion in some places, but everything that happened in the previous games, including New Vegas, happened. We’re very careful about that. “ – Todd Howard
Additionally, the existence and eventual abandonment of luxury fallout shelters by the elite, forced to confront the harsh realities of the post-apocalyptic world they left behind, further explores the contrast between pre-war opulence and post-war survival, reflecting the show’s deep dive into the complexities of life before and after the apocalypse.
Timeline and Series Continuity
There have been some claims that the show was meant to take place several years after “Fallout 4.” I hadn’t seen that particular interview, but based on what Todd Howard and the others said about the destruction of Shady Sands taking place after “Fallout New Vegas,”
I totally believe that now. It seems the show is intended to fit within the canon of the games, technically at this point, it’d be after the canon of the games. They’re going to eventually make “Fallout 5.” There were also many people claiming that the show had to swerve on anything that the developers were going to cover during the “Fallout 5” game, or doing anything that would throw the plot of that game off the rails. Additionally, the anticipation and uncertainty surrounding the timeline just before the actual bombs falling are depicted, providing a gripping narrative of the events leading up to the nuclear apocalypse.
Creator Involvement
Todd Howard, along with Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, and James Altman, are the executive producers overseeing the production of the TV series ‘Fallout’ on Prime Video. Their roles are crucial, akin to how George R.R. Martin assists HBO with adapting “A Song of Ice and Fire” for the “Game of Thrones” series, including spinoffs and prequels.
Howard’s involvement likely extends to guiding the adaptation process, ensuring the series remains true to the essence of the “Fallout” games. Following the show’s release, sales for all “Fallout” games, particularly “Fallout 76,” experienced a significant increase. This surge in popularity underscores the impact of the executive producers’ contributions and suggests a promising future for both the game series and the TV adaptation. We are immensely grateful for the incredible support from the show’s cast, Bethesda, Amazon, and the showrunners, whose collaborative efforts have been pivotal in the success of ‘Fallout’.
Theoretical Plot Developments
Based on all this, generally when you’re making theories about what’s going to happen on the show, assume that everything from the games is still canon, and at most they’ll just recontextualize details from previously established plots. For example, “Fallout New Vegas,” there are a couple of different endings.
They’re probably going to say that in the context of the show, “The House always wins” ending is the actual canon ending. So that Mr. House can still be around in present day. Probably one of the biggest examples, though, of the show recontextualizing things that they only implied in the original games was who was responsible for actually dropping the first bombs to start the Great War. Additionally, we can anticipate more exciting stuff in future seasons, such as revelations and events in the flashback portions that could significantly impact the storyline and character development.
Fallout’s Vault Tech and Enclave Theories
In the games, they’d always hinted and implied that Vault Tech might be behind it because there were Vault Tech logos all over everything. But they’d also implied that other entities or factions might have something to do with that, portraying New Vegas not just as a backdrop but as ‘just a place’ that has seen its fair share of evolution, tragedy, and transformation.
The show at least up to this point, though, wants you to think that Vault Tech themselves did it in their bid to gain control of the future like that was the whole idea. They wanted to control the future, killing everyone else so that there would be no one else left for them to fight. But I know there are a lot of theories that the Enclave orchestrated Vault Tech’s decision.
The Enclave might have really been controlling Vault Tech because they existed before the Great War. During the games, they revealed the Enclave had been spying on Vault Tech in the board of companies here for years, and had been planning for the great War years before it actually went down. So it wouldn’t be too far off to theorize that the Enclave, at least, pushed Vault Tech to drop the first bombs.
Upcoming Seasons on Prime Video and Fan Theories
Getting back to Mr. House. Like I said, the house always wins. A reference to Vegas gambling in real life. Also the name of one of the endings from the “Fallout New Vegas” game. Probably now the actual canon ending. The whole idea is that the casino you’re gambling at in real life will always win, no matter what small victories you might have day-to-day.
It would be weird if they didn’t have Mr. House during season two. So, like I said, that’s probably how they explain he’s still around. He created the technology that Askins, the other Vault Tech executive, was using to extend his lifespan in vault 31, turning himself into the brain bot with the probes in it. During the events of “Fallout New Vegas,” you learn Mr. House had cryogenically frozen his body in a stainless pipe and was using a very similar version of these brain probes to keep his consciousness alive and control everything around New Vegas like he was wired into everything.
The portrayal of Mr. House and his complex machinations is a testament to the kick-ass cast of “Fallout,” whose performances bring depth and intrigue to the series. Their exceptional ability to embody these characters adds a layer of authenticity and engagement to the story, making the world of “Fallout” come alive.
He also had an army of security agents, which are basically like security robots. RobCo also created the Mr. Handy robots that were voiced by Matt Berry, the real-life actor from before the Great War who was good friends with Cooper Howard. They just took his voice and used it for all the robots.
Mr. House, his whole plan was to live forever, essentially in this state, controlling everything. This tower that Hank sees in the distance here is the Lucky 38 casino. Mr. House bought that before the Great War, turned it into his personal residence, Howard Hughes style. Because in real life, Howard Hughes actually did buy a lot of Las Vegas casinos and lived at the top of one of them, turning into a recluse in his final years. Kind of like what Mr. House has done, like basically turns into a recluse, putting himself in stasis, controlling everything.
Extending Lifespan and Future Series Developments
Speaking of extending your lifespan, there were a lot of questions about how Mal Diver was still alive in present day and didn’t look that much older than she did in the past, like, she looked like she had a few more miles on her, a few more wrinkles. There are a lot of you that wondered if she might be a synth, or she just cryogenically frozen herself, like the Vault Tech executives in vault 31 and people like Mr. House.
I do think eventually we’ll start seeing synths on the show. I don’t know if we’ll see them in season two. They might save them for a future season. But based on the fact that Mal Diver looked visibly older than her past self, my assumption would be that she just froze herself and periodically, froze herself to check on her plan to reactivate her cold fusion device and participate in the New California Republic.
She’s in these flashbacks 14 years ago with Lucy’s mother. That was probably when she, froze herself to participate in the New California Republic. She probably just stayed on frozen for the past 14 years while she was planning to find a way to get Hank so that she could reactivate her device. The funny thing about the code to actual vault tech code here that she enters to activate the device is the release date of the very first Fallout game.
Continuity and NCR’s Future
In real life. They didn’t really touch on what happened to the NCR after Hank’s second bomb, but I think they’re still meant to be around live. Todd Howard made such a big deal about the show, not retconning the games. I think that was them sort of slyly saying, oh, you’ll see the NCR eventually. Lucy and Cooper Howard are on their way to New Vegas following. Hank Cooper said that he didn’t want to kill him because his true goal was always to find his family. His wife and child, and because Hank wouldn’t tell him where they were, he opted to plant a tracker on Hank’s power armor that he stole.
My theory is that he and Lucy will arrive at New Vegas in season two, episode one, and Lucy will be the POV character where everyone who didn’t play Fallout New Vegas will just learn what happened to Las Vegas after the Great War and how it turned into New Vegas, all of which is available on Prime Video.
This platform has been instrumental in showcasing the series’ success and ensuring its availability to a wide audience, further tying into the future of the NCR and the show’s continuity. Cooper might already know about Mister House just because he’s been around periodically since the Great War, like he’s only been dormant for chunks of time.
He revealed that he’d been acting as a bounty hunter when he was active, and he’d been using that time to pursue people trying to find his wife and child. I think he was lying when he said that he was bounty hunting for love of the game. I think he was only doing that to earn money, to get more serum, to prevent himself from turning into a mindless ghoul so that he could continue searching for his wife and child.
Cooper’s wife kept referring to the good vaults, quote unquote, that Vault tech has set aside for itself. She and his daughter would be in one of those. I don’t think they’d have him searching for them for multiple seasons only to find them dead. I think what will happen during season two is he’ll just learn where they are. He probably won’t find them until like season three or beyond. His family probably froze themselves. But because we’ve seen that a lot of people have unfrozen themselves previously in the past, his daughter might be an adult by now, like she might have unfrozen herself and just be walking around now in present day. That’d be very TV style twist where Cooper winds up meeting his daughter but doesn’t recognize her immediately because she’s way older.
Villain Theories and Potential Reveals
Some of you theorize that they’ll turn his wife into a bigger villain on the show because they want you to think it was her idea to drop the first bombs. However, I actually believe that it wasn’t really her plan. She was merely reciting the plan given to her by the shadowy president of Vault-Tec, observing the board meeting from afar. She was just his proxy on the board. But they did want her to appear complicit in what Vault-Tec was doing.
So, she shares as much blame as everyone else at Vault-Tec. I do not think she will be the ultimate main villain, though. That role would likely be filled by the mystery president of Vault-Tec or the Enclave. I’ve also seen a lot of theories suggesting that the mystery president will end up being played by Todd Howard himself. That would be humorous, but Todd Howard is actually already technically canon to the TV show if you enhance the background here in Hank’s office in Vault 33, where there’s a picture of him that’s actually from the games.
Regardless, I do think we’ll see more Todd Howard cameos in future seasons in the background, so just keep your eyes peeled. There are a few elements in the game that they’ll probably save for even further seasons, like aliens. I’m not expecting a lot of alien content during season two, but we’ll see. Then there was the whole subplot with Maximus in the Brotherhood of Steel, or the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel. He was heralded as this great warrior at the end of the finale, getting credit for killing Moldavia, even though he tried to tell them he didn’t kill her.
They now also praise him as the great warrior who helped them gain control of cold fusion, which is essentially unlimited power. That pays off the whole subplot with the leader who wanted to reform the Brotherhood of Steel with Maximus into a much more hardcore version of itself. He’d been going on about how the Brotherhood had lost control of the wasteland, and they’ll probably start season two with them retaking control using cold fusion. They also kept referring to the other factions of the Brotherhood, like the East Coast and Midwestern factions.
Conclusion
Now that we know it’s all about New Vegas, and they’ve confirmed where the show fits in the canon of the games, it makes it a little bit easier to predict what they’re going to do. If you didn’t see it, there’s also a real-life phone number that they provided to call, based on Vault-Tec. It is hilarious and also kind of horrifying at the same time. Amazon will probably drop some bigger teasers for season two once they actually start filming later this year. They will indeed be filming later this year. Whatever they end up releasing, of course, I will create videos for it. We also have the Warhammer series featuring Henry Cavill that they’re currently working on. Additionally, there’s a BioShock series in development; we’ll probably see some bigger teasers for that in the next year or two. Thank you so much for reading, and we’ll see you all in the next one!
