Fallout – Season 1 Episode 8 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

The Beginning

Episode 8 of Fallout starts this finale with us in the wasteland. The Brotherhood of Steel have picked up Maximus and he’s en-route back to base. He’s prepared to do what he can to return to Lucy, who urged him to find her in Vault 33 at the end of the previous episode. After all his experiences, Maximus returns a very different man. He marches up to the Elder and presents the head to him. Dane is there too and unfortunately, Maximus is quickly found out to be a fake for bringing the wrong head to their leader.

Dane eventually pledges her loyalty to Maximus, begging for him not to be killed. The Elder is surprised, given this show of loyalty, and Maximus then reveals the truth. He points out that Titus died as a coward, running away. He promises to lead them to the relic, and the Elder decides that Maximus will be his sword as the Elder is going to establish control of the Wasteland. Given his whole life he’s been looking for a home, this is a very enticing proposition for Maximus. Except for one thing. His heart has wandered and seems to belong to Lucy now.

Speaking of which, Lucy shows up at Moldaver’s base and is led right to her father, who’s still alive and being kept in a cage. She offers her some food and encourages her to sit down and join them. Lucy hands over the severed head and while she drills into the side, she asks for her father back. She agrees… but beforehand promises to reveal exactly how she knows his father.

What is Hank’s secret?

While Hank begs Lucy not to listen, Moldaver explains that he wasn’t born in the Vault. This coincides with what Norman has found in Vault 31, which happens to be a brain in a glass jar. It recognizes that Norman has 50% of Hank’s DNA but isn’t Betty either. Beyond this, Norman clicks a button on and is shocked when he finds something called Bud’s Buds. Basically, these are test tube babies that have been grown and created specifically to keep humanity going.

In the past, Cooper keeps track of Barb and follows her to Vault-Tec HQ. There, he learns that the corporation is conspiring against the world, deciding that they can outlive everyone else by orchestrating the apocalypse and that way, they won’t need to fight. The group disagree over the best way forward here, but Barb is among them. With Hank listening in, he believes that Barb is going to do the right thing… until she brings up the interconnected three Vault idea. Vaults 31-33.

Barb decides that with 100 Vaults across America, they can each use them as a scientific experiment to see who has the best idea for humanity’s salvation.

What experiments are going on in Vaults 31-33?

When it comes to our three Vaults, Vault 31 is full of these executives in cryogenic freezing while Vaults 32 and 33 are the “breeding pool” full of selective companions. “The ultimate expression of HR R&D.” They are genetically selected to breed with the “Buds” in order to create a class of super managers; people who will inherit the earth after “wiping the surface clean”.

These experiments all coincide with one big, shocking revelation that we may have figured out by now – the bombs were dropped intentionally by the government to create a true monopoly. Now, Hank, Lucy’s father, was actually Barb’s new assistant we’ve heard so much about. And as he talks to him, Barb’s words ring through for all Fallout fans – war, war never changes.

Back in the present, we get more answers. It turns out Dane was the one who hurt themselves intentionally with the razor blade because they were afraid to go out into the wilderness. As for Moldaver, why did she take Hank in the first place? Well, it all stems from Lucy’s mother. Rose was clever, and figured out that something was siphoning the water away from the vaults. She believed that perhaps civilization had returned to the surface and she left to prove her theory correct. Hank believed it was a ridiculous idea, so she ran away when she realized he was hiding things.

What is the significance of Lucy’s childhood story?

Remember the story Lucy told about the sun and feeling its heat? Well, it turns out that was actually real. Lucy and Norman grew up with their mother outside the Vaults when they were really little but Hank came after Lucy and burned the city to the ground, taking the kids and bringing them into the Vaults. This all stems back to Vault-tec and how they deal with competition – they just destroy anyone who stand in their way.

Both Hank and Moldaver compete over Lucy’s swaying moral compass, but the kicker is what happened to Rose. It turns out she was turned into a Ghoul, and she’s sitting right there at the table. So Betty and Hank’s story about her being buried was a fabrication. This cold fusion inside Wilzig’s neck happens to be the key to unlocking civilization and starting anew.

Lucy forces her father to give up the code, and in doing so, starts a chain reaction that powers on the computers. As the Cold Fusion hits 100% and powers up fully, she looks set to hit the button… until the alarms wail and the Brotherhood is incoming.

What happens during the final fight?

As fighting breaks out between the two factions – the Brotherhood and the NCR – Lucy realizes that yes, war never changes. As the Brotherhood heads into the HQ, they find none other than The Ghoul waiting for them. He knows that the armour has a weakness in the chest plate and kills one of the soldiers with ease.

With the lights shut off, The Ghoul makes short work of them all. The fighting spills over to the rooftop, where Maximus shows and speaks to Lucy. Maximus frees Hank from the cage but his demeanour changes when he learns that it was Hank responsible for what happened at Shady Sands. In fact, while they talk, Hank dons the Brotherhood armour, knocks Max out and demands Lucy come with him. Instead, she grabs a gun… and then The Ghoul shows up.

Why does The Ghoul team up with Lucy?

Cooper comes face to face with Hank and demands to know where his family are. Instead, Hank, flies off the roof and scarpers. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get any answers and we’re left with more of a mystery to contend with. In fact, he’s decided that he and Lucy should team up together and go find Hank and whatever else he may be hiding. Including meeting their makers. Lucy grabs the gun, kills her mother to put Rose out her misery, and joins The Gunslinger. She kisses an unconscious Max goodbye, retorts “okey dokey” and off she goes.

We cut back to Norman who finds himself trapped in Vault 31. The only solution, seemingly, is for him to put himself to sleep inside one of the pods. We don’t see much more of him though given we actually focus on Max waking up in the aftermath of the fighting.

How does Fallout season 1 end?

Moldaver is still alive and she moans “Rose” before pressing the button on the computer and activating the Cold Fusion. This turns on all the power for the nearby city. However, Moldaver’s part in this is over as she bleeds out on the ground. With her gone, Dane shows and believes Max has killed Moldaver and he’s hailed a hero. His allegiance is starting to shift here and he doesn’t take kindly to the applause. Instead, he worries what the Brotherhood will do with infinite power.

Meanwhile, Lucy and the Gunslinger arrive at the wasteland that is Hollywood. While they continue forward, we cut to Hank who manages to make it to a very familiar settlement that fans of the games will absolutely love… New Vegas.

The Episode Review

So Fallout ends with an intriguing look at what could be in the second season. There’s a tantalizing glimpse of New Vegas and a potential for more morally skewed decisions for our characters to make. This finale, and the show as a whole really, has done an excellent job in capturing the moral ambiguity of the games and the different choices you get to make.

Here, we also get more answers over what’s happening in the world, while also giving us enough in the pipeline for a second season. That ending with Moldaver and Hank both vouching for Lucy’s loyalty is a lovely nod to the games and really captures the essence of what makes Fallout such a good show.

The ending leaves things wide open for a possible follow-up and for the future of this franchise too. The characters have been well written of the whole and there’s enough depth with everyone to make you want  to find out what happens next. For now though, Fallout bows out on a high.