Fallout S2 Ep 6 Review
Well, it would seem that my worst fears/biggest hopes about the true villains of the Fallout TV show are coming true. Ever since the end of th first season, we thought the true big bad was Vault-Tec, with the implication being that they conned the US and China into nuking each other so they could take control. But in the last episode, Robert House said that it might be another player who’s really pulling the strings by creating things like the Deathclaws. That alone should’ve been a red flag, but I hoped that I would end up being wrong. For better or worse, though, I wasn’t. It’s looking like the ones responsible for pulling Hank Maclean’s strings are, in fact, the Enclave.
At least we got to see Ron Perlman join the show.
Hank Maclean, you are a great villain
So, after getting tranq’d by the Ghoul and passing out at her father’s feet, Lucy wakes up in his new base of operations somewhere in New Vegas. Through her, we see how he’s already built a small army of people with House’s black box devices, all working like corporate drones to do what he wants. And what does her dad do once she sees him again? Asks her about the book All Quiet on the Western Front, which they were gonna discuss after her wedding.
I dont know who on the show’s writing team made the decision to include that book in this episode, but they just pulled a big brain move. Like Fallout, All Quiet on the Western Front asks people why we fight wars despite knowing how much misery they bring. As Fallout says using Hank as a mouthpiece, it’s because we can’t help it. Almost all living things are hardwired by nature to fight to survive. It comes with the territory of having free will, and it’s what leads a lot of people to commit heinous acts. And as much of a scumbag Hank is, Lucy cannot refute what he’s saying about humanity, having seen for herself what people have done to survive. In my opinion, having them make a valid point is the sign of writing a truly great villain.
That doesn’t change the fact that what Hank’s doing is worse. He can justify it by saying that he’s using the black box on terrible people, like murderers, cannibal chefs, and con men, but if his idea of peace is robbing people of free will, then it’s a lie. Even worse, he makes Lucy compromise her morals by putting her in a position where if she doesn’t use the Black Box, an innocent person would die! That’s not only wrong, it’s bad parenting! And if Hank is looking to hand this over to the Enclave, then everyone is in trouble.
The Enclave still sucks!!
Two years ago, I wrote a piece on the Enclave, AKA the boogeyman of the Wastelands, AKA the omnicidal remnants of the US Government. At the time, I hoped that they were a non-factor at this point considering how they had lost on both coasts. Clearly, that was wishful thinking, because this episode all but confirms that they’re the ones pulling Hank’s strings. How do I know this? Because as it turns out, they were the ones who told Barb to suggest dropping the bombs to start the Great War. And it terrified her.
In one of the biggest twists of the season, it’s revealed that Barb is just as disgusted with Vault-Tec and her compatriots are as her husband. The problem is that the Enclave sends an agent, Dr Wilzig (who somehow lived through the War), to threaten her life and the lives of her husband and daughter. It’s honestly a relief to know that Barb is not the total monster we feared she might be. However, it’s also a terrifying reminder of how dangerous the Enclave truly is, as Barb doesn’t want to get on their bad side even if she doesn’t know who they are. What’s more, when she tells Cooper everything she knows, and he asks how he can be willing to sacrifice billions for Janey, she asks him if he would do the same?
This, my friends, is how evil is done right. Evil can try and crush good people with force, but it’s easier to have good people turn on each other and themselves. And if the notion of the Enclave being the ones who dropped the bombs sounds impossible, it shouldn’t. As a faction, the Enclave is the absolute worst of America rolled into one. They’re willing to slaughter anyone who isn’t them, create things like Super Mutants and Deathclaws, and unleash horrific plagues on their own country. I’d go so far as to call them traitors for abandoning America in its final hours. And if the show is trying to tell us that they’re coming back in force, then a war is coming.
And a war needs people to fight it.
Please, Give us more Ron Perlman
Even if it was only for a brief moment, this episode marked the first time we saw a Super Mutant in live action, and it was glorious. The Ghoul owes his life to this unnamed Super Mutant who tries to recruit him for what he says is this upcoming war against the Enclave. While the Ghoul refuses, his savior is nice enough to leave him somewhere where he can be found by Dogmeat, Max, and Thaddeus. With the two now deserters from the Brotherhood, Max wants to get the cold fusion diode into the hands of someone who can do good with it, like Lucy. But it’s not just the fact that we got a Super Mutant onscreen. It’s who they’re voiced by: Ron Perlman.
Hellboy fans know Ron Perlman as Hellboy; 2000s kids might remember him as the voice of Slade in Teen Titans. To Fallout fans, though, he’s the narrator that accompanied every game sans Fallout 4. His line of “War. War never changes,” is legendary. Having him descend to play a Super Mutant just feels so right for a cameo. I only wish that his character makes a return in the future. Because if there is going to be a war against the Enclave, then everyone will need to unite against them!
We are down to two episodes left, Lucy os faced with the fact that her dad might not deserve a trial, Max and the Ghoul have to work together, and I’m all out of Sunset Sasparilla. This is going to be an interesting two weeks for Fallout fans. And if you guys want to know more about the Enclave, then go check out my history of this disgrace to America.
