Fallout season 1, episode 8 recap "The Beginning"

This is it, the season 1 finale of Fallout... Where do we begin recapping this explosive episode?

Between Lucy discovering the truth about her parents to Norm's experience in Vault 31 and the big reveal about who was behind the apocalypse, we have a lot to talk about. Grab a snack, get settled, and let's discuss.

The truth is finally revealed

The episode begins with Maximus returning to The Brotherhood of Steel with the fake head. It doesn't take long for the organization to realize the head is a fake and prepare to execute him.

Max's friend, Dane, who also admits to being the culprit behind their injury at the beginning of the season, begs for Max to be spared. Max promises that he knows the location of the head.

Whether it is the right call or not, Max is spared and is given the offer to be a true knight and change the course of The Brotherhood of Steel if all goes as planned. The Brotherhood spares no expense, gathering the troops together ready to retrieve the head.

As Max and Dane prepare, he excitedly shares that he met someone (AKA: Lucy) and will be leaving to live with her in her vault. Dane, who seems less than thrilled to hear this (is it out of concern or jealousy?) tells Max that nowhere is truly safe and wholesome.

Dane's reminder that Max can't leave sours the mood, however, Lucy's situation isn't much better. She finally arrives at the Observatory, Wilzig's head in tow, finding her father beaten and locked in a cage with Moldaver and a decaying Ghoul present at a table.

Moldaver receives the head and removes the device inside. The device is actually cold fusion, which Moldaver needed to bring back life into what remains of Shady Sands.

Yes, the same Shady Sands Max was from and just so happens to be where Lucy and Norm spent some of their childhood with their mother. It seems Lucy really did see the sun, even for a short while.

Lucy's wholesome image of her father collapses when Moldaver reveals the terrible truth that he worked for Vault-Tec and was one of probably hundreds who were placed in chambers to survive the apocalypse (more on that soon). When his wife, Lucy's mother, discovered the truth about Vault 31 and that Hank himself is 200 years old, she fled with Lucy and Norm.

They resided in Shady Sands with other survivors including Moldaver. When Hank found them, he (somehow, it's not clarified) had the town bombed and took the children back to the vault.

Lucy's mother, as a result (I think, again it's not outright explained), became the decaying Ghoul Lucy sees at the table. Although Hank attempts to lessen the blow of this information by reminding his daughter what Moldaver had done, Lucy isn't easily swayed.

Moldaver is able to get the cold fusion operation ready but before she can initiate it, The Brotherhood of Steel arrives.

Taking a short break from the present situation, this reveal coincides with another made by Cooper Howard pre-apocalypse. As he drops off his wife at Vault-Tec, she notices her Pip-Boy isn't working correctly.

Cooper attempts to use the device from Moldaver to spy on her but the frequency is off, leaving the actor no choice but to find an excuse to get inside the building. He meets Betty, yes future Overseer Betty, who explains that an employee would love to meet him.

Cooper agrees to meeting the fan and upon Betty's exit, he tries to listen to his wife's conversation once more. What he discovers is that his wife and other members of large companies are discussing the vaults and the fears of nuclear war.

The big reveal, although probably not surprising, is that in order to make sure the vaults are sold and used, Vault-Tec is going to drop the bombs themselves. Each vault will belong to a company who can then use the vault as they see fit.

Meaning whoever owned Vault 4 decided early on that it would be the vault for scientists and scientific research. This also means that whoever owned Vaults 31-33 decided to unleash some unknown experiment/havoc on Vault 32 (unless a Civil War broke out between those who wanted to know the truth and those trying to keep it).

What disappoints Cooper the most is that his wife is the one who convinces all the companies that nuclear war and wiping the surface clean is the only way to keep the world safe. This will allow them, mostly Vault-Tec, to decide how the world will function.

Upon this discovery, Cooper meets his fan, Hank himself.

Battle at the Observatory

Now back to the present situation, The Brotherhood of Steel arrives and all hell breaks loose. Soldiers and rebels on both sides are getting killed as they attempt to enter the Observatory.

Max and Dane are able to enter with a handful of knights but guess who else is here: the Ghoul himself. Due to Cooper's previous experience with prototypes of the suits as a Marine and considering the probability of any issues with the suits remaining unresolved, the Ghoul is able to kill a knight with one shot.

Amidst the chaos, Max escapes and makes it to Lucy, where he frees Hank from the cell. Lucy reveals to Max that her father was the one responsible for the destruction of Shady Sands.

Before Max can act, Hank gets into the knight suit and knocks Max out cold. Lucy holds her father at gunpoint, but she never shoots him.

Instead, she kills her Ghoul mother, putting her out of her misery. Surviving the fight below, the Ghoul arrives, remembering Hank from the past and demanding where his family is.

So, does this mean his ex-wife and daughter Janey survived? Hank escapes, leaving Lucy trying to help Max.

The Ghoul offers Lucy a choice; she can either stay and try to help Max, where she'll most likely get killed by The Brotherhood of Steel or she can leave with him to figure out where her father went. Believing she has no choice, Lucy decides to follow the Ghoul, and promises Max she will reunite with him again.

When Max finally comes to, the battle is practically over with Moldaver's group pretty much wiped out. Moldaver returns, suffering a deadly wound but initiates the cold fusion core which brings power back to the remnants of Shady Sands.

She dies next to Lucy's mother, as Dane arrives. Although Max did not kill Moldaver, Dane immediately ensures to The Brotherhood he did, deeming him a hero.

Even though Lucy follows the Ghoul and 4, unsure where they are going, its clear Hank is probably going to the remnants of Vault-Tec.

The story continues...

Below the surface, Norm enters Vault 31 and meets a brain in a jar on a Roomba. I wish I was joking.

I will admit I laughed way harder than I probably should have at this reveal. The brain in the jar, realizing Norm is not Betty, tries to slowly chase him with a deadly needle.

Norm ignores the slow-moving brain to discover the truth about Vault 31. The vault is empty except for an entire section of bodies in chambers.

These are people from, where we can assume, Vault-Tec management that survived the apocalypse and are in a deep sleep until needed. This is where Hank, Betty, and even Steph are from.

Now that Norm knows the truth the brain in the jar cannot let him leave, locking Norm inside the room with him.

Fallout season 1 episode 8 review

Phew, what a stellar season 1 finale. It's pretty obvious at this point that HBO's The Last of Us walked so that Fallout could run.

For the first time in so many years we're seeing multiple successful video game adaptations come to life proving that the stories are just as good (but let's face it, better) than a majority of what is written, produced, and filmed nowadays. Fallout has a very stylistic, specific tone and world to it.

It can be humorous, although the jokes are either dark or uncommon compared to the usual comedy audiences are accustomed to, while also being violent without completely overdoing it to the point it's pointless and combining it with a world that is so chaotically organized that it's hard to pinpoint another TV show like it as the moment. I am more than thrilled to know another season is coming and I'm deeply invested in what's to come.

Although I fear Fallout may be ignored by a majority of award shows and ceremonies (as many great television shows tend to be, except TLOU who thankfully broke that barrier) I hope that it can be greatly appreciated for every aspect that makes a television show successful. Will season 2 live up to the extremely high expectations?

Will all of our questions be answered? Stay tuned for a follow-up article regarding the questions we still have regarding season 1.

What did you think of Fallout season 1, episode 8? Let us know in the comments below!

Watch Fallout season 1 on Amazon Prime Video.