From the beginning of Fallout, it’s been clear that Steph is up to something bigger. We finally get her backstory on Fallout season 2 episode 7, but it leads to many more questions.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Fallout season 2 episode 7.
While we spend some time in Vault 32, we also get caught up on things going on with Norm, Lucy, and The Ghoul, as journeys could end up combining soon. There’s also a surprise behind the power of the brain computer interface, and it’s not who you would think.
Who is Steph on Fallout season 2 episode 7?
We recently learned that Steph was from Canada, and this episode gives us some sort of backstory. Steph and, presumably, her mom are fleeing the country, but her mom is killed just before they reach the border. Steph makes sure that she survives, by even killing the man at the U.S. border to prevent her from being stopped from getting in.
From there, she was able to get to Las Vegas, which led to her working at House’s hotel and coming across Cooper. When she says that she wants to work at Vault-Tec, Cooper points to Hank as the one to speak with, and now it’s clear why Steph knew about the box that Hank had.
Betty does get that to her, with Steph saying that she will uphold her end of the bargain — although, we do have to point out that she never actually promised that. It will mean that Vault 33 can survive, but there is something bigger going on with Steph.
She has done something to Woody, placing his glasses in the garbage disposal. Chet finds them, but he decides to destroy them. I guess while in the apartment, he knew he wasn’t safe, and he’s a smart man. It’s while at the wedding — in front of witnesses — that he tells everyone who Steph really is and what she’s done to Woody. The shocks of disgust when Chet says she’s from Canada does make me question more of what was going on in the world before the bombs dropped, but I guess we’ll have to wait to see how that plays out.
Steph ends the episode in her office, with everyone banging down the door wanting to know what’s going on. And so do we!
What happened to Norm?
Two episodes ago, Norm was caught, and we get to his storyline on Fallout season 2 episode 7 to find out that the others keep knocking him out while they try to figure out what to do with him.
Claudia tries to get him free. It’s when there’s a mention of Hank that things seem to stop. Plus, Norm makes it clear that before he can leave, he needs to do something. He tries to send a message to Lucy.
It turns out that the radio is connected to New Vegas. So, Hank was trying to get to someone back at the old Vault-Tec offices? Is this the bigger plan that Bud had when everyone from Bud’s Buds had been woken up?
The Ghoul gets the cold fusion
Meanwhile, Maximus, The Ghoul, and Thaddeus get on with their bigger part of the story. They need to get into New Vegas, and the best way to do that is with weapons. There’s also a suit of armor with the NCR logo on it, which Maximus gets the honor of wearing. Never underestimate brand recognition. The people around New Vegas quickly follow behind because of the NCR suit.
While Thaddeus’s arm falls off, making him useless, Maximus works on taking down the Deathclaws so that The Ghoul can get into New Vegas. Maximus agreed that maybe giving The Ghoul the cold fusion was the right thing to do, as it would mean getting Lucy out of the trouble that she was in. It’s the least that The Ghoul can do, although he doesn’t tell Maximus everything.
As The Ghoul walks into the New Vegas building, it turns out that it’s the hotel. He heads to House’s old office, with the computer still sitting proudly in the building with a “No Signal” warning on the screen. The Ghoul heads to where House showed him the cold fusion technology would be, and he places the cold fusion inside.
Sure enough, the computer springs to life and House appears on the screen. He found a way to live forever, and it looks like the House always wins.
Lucy gets a shock as we end up with more questions on Fallout season 2 episode 7
While all that goes on, Lucy decides that she is going to destroy the main system that is powering the brain computer interface. After all, she realizes that it can’t be turned off, and a nozzle is all that stops people from remembering or fully remembering their past life. Seeing the guy from the NCR who helped her (even though he did get her high) is another reminder that she needs to do the right thing. Controlling people, even for the good of them, isn’t the right thing to do.
So, after managing to chain her father to the oven and steal his arm device, she heads to where the main system is. As she walks in, she’s shocked to find out that the senator from the past — who, in the past is teaming up with Cooper, as he and his wife look for a way to save the world after having an important talk — who just wanted to stop the wars is the head that is controlling the brain computer interface.
This makes a lot of sense. She was all about peace, even if she didn’t have much of a personality. And I think it also makes sense why the system didn’t work with House managing it, because he didn’t have the “good person” ruling everything. We end the episode with Lucy in shock at what she is seeing, but will she be able to pull the plug in the end?
The Fallout season 2 finale will air on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Prime Video.