Episode 2, “The Golden Rule,” kicks off the show with an emotional flashback of young Maximus and his parents. We get to see, first hand, the nuclear bomb set off in Shady Sands just after Maximus’ father tries desperately to disarm it. Max’s father and mother tearfully hold each other as they close him into a fridge, sealing his fate and theirs. Viewers are then treated to a young Hank MacLean looking himself in the mirror as the camera pans out to his Pip-Boy reading “Detonation Successful.” This was a strong start to another great episode of Fallout. 

*Disclaimer: The rest of this review does contain spoilers for Episode 2! You’ve been warned, okie dokie?

Max is Back

As I mentioned in my episode 1 review, Max was missing from the season premiere. However, in this one, Max gets most of the spotlight. The character of season 1 is no longer present. Instead, he is replaced by a man who has garnered a lot of respect within the Brotherhood, especially from Cleric Quintus, who even calls him son at one point. However, it is clear that this respect has come with Max beginning to be further indoctrinated with the Brotherhood’s shady, and often misogynistic, way of thinking. This is all done to the disdain of the only person who really cares about him, Dane. It is my hope that as the season progresses Dane can knock some sense back into him, but as of now, he is gearing up to a minor villain. 

The Brotherhood

This leads me into the Brotherhood and the not-so-good business their leader is cooking up. Quintis (Michael Cristofer) is having his branch uncover a portion of a desert that we later learn is Area 51. We get a comical scene of the desensitization of the Brotherhood as they open an ice box and an alien is inside, however, they are more intrigued by a real-life ice box than a literal frozen alien. 

Although his plans are to return the world to how it was, it is evident that Quintis’ main goal is to conceal power for himself. He calls a meeting with the other branches of the Brotherhood and they come to the conclusion to start a civil war with the Commonwealth. Enter Xander Harkness (Khumail Nanjiani), Commonwealth representative, who pays Quintis a visit as he gets word that the Brotherhood is meeting without them, which is a big no-no. I thoroughly enjoyed this portion of the episode as we get to see how these factions that, on the surface, stand for good, have their own moral dilemmas that are clearly concerned with power. 

The Mad Scientist?

Hank MacLean also appears for a few scenes in the episode. Still alone in New Vegas, we get to see him testing out the miniature Black Boxes on mice. This led to a quite comical, and gruesome, scene of trial and error as it is clear that Hank doesn’t really know how to use these devices. Now, a normal scientist would wait until animal testing proves successful before moving onto humans, but Hank is no normal scientist. He finds a room where some ultra rich people are left in cryo sleep and decides to thaw one out. Hank again fails in using the device which leads to his test subjects’ untimely death. However, don’t feel too bad, the man had a wife and child and decided to only allow himself the luxury of living on. Obviously, Hank will eventually figure out how to use the Black Box devices, and I am totally looking forward to the villainy that goes on when he does.

Norm the Leader

Our guy Norm is also featured in this episode for a little bit. Where we last left him, he was unfreezing the rest of Vault 31; now he has to deal with that choice. The future managers quickly leap into hysteria as they realize that they are trapped. From their corny lines to their AI like movements, this is where the show most felt like a video game as the actors did a phenomenal job at acting like NPCs. Eventually, Norm is able to use the characters love for Bud Askins and Vault-Te in order to rally them together to figure out a means to escape. They soon use their unique skills to form a human ladder that leads to the outside of the vault. Again, the show masterfully mixes humor with seriousness as Norm looks out to the crashing waves and ferris wheels and lets out an “It’s beautiful” just as one of the managers disappointingly lets us know that the mall is no longer there. 

The Golden Rule

Fallout continues to shine the most with our two main characters Lucy and The Ghoul. Although we don’t get any flashbacks on The Ghouls story, we do get another conflict of morals. As they are walking to New Vegas, they hear a woman screaming for help inside of a hospital. The Ghoul, who lets Lucy know that for 200 years people have been screaming for help, believes that “empathy is like mud, you lose your boots in that stuff” . However, Lucy is stuck in her ways of the Golden Rule and decides to help, arguing that “doing the right thing is never a waste of time.” This leads to an attack by radscorpions (exactly what they sound like, radioactive scorpions) which eventually injure both the woman and the Ghoul. Lucy is left with another choice and decides to help the woman, leaving the Ghoul in the hospital. 

This is what I enjoy most about their storyline – it feels like an RPG. No, we don’t get to actually make the choices for the characters, but we do have to ponder what the right choice is for Lucy to make. Those decisions are ultimately met with consequences, just like they would be in a Fallout video game, or any other RPG. It is this that has set this video game adaptation ahead of others, it feels like you are watching a video game, not just another show.