House Predictions and Return of the Enclave

fall out

wrangler

season 2 episode 5

Editor’s rating 4 stars ****

The true great evil of the wasteland is finally emerging from the shadows. Photo: Lorenzo Sisti/Prime

Not only was this a very funny episode with a lot of terrible things happening, but it’s hard to think of a more momentous episode for the series as a whole, with the possible exception of the season 1 finale. I say this mainly because it seems to be fueling the reintroduction of Fallout’s long-time big bad, the Enclave, as the show’s most important behind-the-scenes villain. Previously all signs were pointing to Vault-Tec, but it appears to be just a pawn in a much bigger game. Simply put, this mysterious organization was formed by America’s political class and broader social and economic elites before World War I, in effect as a fascist shadow government. After the world was nuked, the Enclave emerged from the ashes and embers, claiming to be America’s true heirs. Unfortunately, it believes in purifying the waste of everything that is not “pure” human. A “pure” human, from that point of view, means someone who was not born within the Enclave. We have already met one exile, the scientist Wilzig (played by Michael Emerson), who proved that it still exists somewhere in the wilderness. But now it looks like the show is gearing up for the Enclave’s first major franchise return since Fallout 3.

Look, maybe I’m reading it completely wrong. But I don’t think so! The main thing that sets off the Enclave’s alarm is a pre-war conversation between House and Cooper, in which there are a number of character-appropriate revelations about the algorithms and predictive models that allowed Las Vegas executives to know exactly when a bomb would be dropped. (“Are you a fortune teller now?” Cooper asks incredulously.) House expresses doubt that Vault-Tec itself will cause the apocalypse, regardless of what Moldaver suspects, and denies any interest in doing so himself. “The bomb will not be dropped by me or any of the idiots who attended that meeting,” he says. “But I believe there is another player at the table, the same unknown being who is in charge of your demon in the snow.” Perhaps the same unknown being, whose silhouette will be spotted in the shadows when that meeting takes place. For a long time, he was suspected of being a representative of the Enclave. (I think it’s kind of treasonous to suggest that the Enclave itself created deathclaws, but it wouldn’t be such a huge leap to retroactively theorize that the Enclave was directly involved via American military and government agents. After all, we know from Fallout 2 and 3 that the Enclave was actively experimenting with deathclaws long after the world ended.)

We get another hint later in the episode, when the Vault 31 crew explores the ruins of Vault-Tec headquarters. After getting bored for a while with Philly’s iconic lesbian grannies (“Baby, shut up, I’m trying to be a better person” is my favorite line of the episode), they find a boardroom, where Bud’s assistant Ronnie is trying to use the communications radio. Unsurprisingly, 219 years of debris and neglect have reduced it to a working condition. But who was he trying to contact? “Investors.” Hmm, guess who? Gnome then finds a reference to FEV, the Forced Evolution Virus, a man-made pathogen that is actually responsible for many abominable acts in the wilderness, on Barb’s terminal hidden under the name of Future Enterprise Ventures, which appeared in the previous episode. (Many fans online have already figured out the connection.) The Enclave has used FEV several times in the past in attempts to carry out genocidal misdeeds in the Fallout games. So here I am, barking at you like a madman in a tinfoil hat: It’s the Enclave! Enclave! ! !

In this episode, we also learn more about Cooper and House’s relationship, mainly in the aforementioned flashback at the Lucky 38’s penthouse. (Highest praise goes to the show’s creators for transforming House’s post-war appearance as a giant robotized screen into a pre-war Uber workstation). Following the aforementioned algorithm, he believes Barb, and perhaps even Cooper, to be directly connected to the threat of impending nuclear catastrophe. Or, as he told Cooper, “our destinies are mathematically intertwined.” I have to admit that many of the numbers went over my head. I still don’t know how or why the predictive model comes up with Janie’s birthday, but I’m not a mathematician, roboticist, or casino owner. But perhaps the point is that we should feel stupider than the greatest living brain in the Fallout world. (Or maybe I’m just an idiot?) Cooper calls House a “fucking lunatic,” but House tells Cooper that he thinks he’s a “murderer” responsible for Earth’s heat death.

219 years later, Ghoul is still haunted by memories of what happened that night at Lucky 38. But considering how he decided to blackout after that, it’s somewhat surprising that it’s not clouded further. (I want to ride as hard as I can out of that bombing Bronco.) He slams back a whiskey at the Atomic Wrangler bar in Freeside. It’s where Ghoul and Lucy escape after the Deathclaw showdown on the Strip. Oh, remember in Fallout: New Vegas we mentioned a place called Quarry Junction? Apparently, that’s where the deathclaws currently occupying the Strip came from, in one word of explanation from the Wrangler’s bartender. We also know that he correctly guessed Janie and Barb’s whereabouts, as revealed when a mind-controlled snake oil salesman (another welcome return from season 1) shows up in the Wrangler’s ghoul room. When Lucy returns, the vial of Addictor she stole cures her Buffout addiction, but is it really a theft since the attackers got there first and killed the owner before she could get anything? — The snake oil salesman tells them that Hank is willing to kill Barb and Janie if the ghouls don’t take Lucy back to the safety of the tri-vault.

In this powerful, expressive work of a man wearing a prosthetic mask, Goggins expresses something he never actually did as a ghoul: regret, sadness, and tragedy. There are tears in his hollow eyes. He is about to betray someone who has become his friend over the years, but he will do anything to save his wife and child. Anyone would be like that. “Lucy, I brought you here to negotiate,” he says. Even the slightest bit causes my voice to crack. “This is a bargain,” the snake oil salesman exclaims. “That’s great. I’ll let management know you made a decision you feel comfortable with,” he says. Meanwhile, at Vault-Tec headquarters, Ronnie attacks Norm, who discovers the truth about the FEV on Barb’s terminal. The scene cuts to black as the latter suffocates him on the floor. Unfortunately, things don’t look too good for the Wasteland’s popular short king. But it’s definitely worse for him. He is forcefully punched through the Wrangler’s window by Lucy and finds himself impaled in the middle of the road. Soon after, Hank arrives to personally greet his drug-weary daughter. “Hello, little Sugarbomb,” he says.

• The barkeeper’s dialogue is very funny – “Don’t charge me taxes, lizard!” – but it also hints at what has happened in the decade and a half since the events of New Vegas. The NCR and Caesar’s Legion appear to have continued fighting after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam (the climactic event of the game, with no “canon” victor yet). “There has been a change in management again, that’s all.”

• On the topic of deathclaws, Lucy: “Are they called deathclaws?”

• In newsreel footage explaining why Fallout’s four major corporations come together for a major summit in Las Vegas, a photo of a fake Mr. House is seen standing in front of a pair of giant robot feet. This is actually taken from a photo players will encounter in Fallout: New Vegas, but with Raffi Silver superimposed on top.

• Once again, the exact details of the setwork for this series are noteworthy. The pre-war Las Vegas Strip is a stunning symbol of decadence and greed. Freeside is a nearly 1:1 recreation of the version seen in-game. It’s like a lively Western town.

• Another cameo, perhaps the best yet: the Fully Integrated Security Technotronic Officer, or FISTO, the robot who lets you choose who you have sex with in Fallout: New Vegas. The snake oil salesman seemed to be going through some tough times.

• “I have to make a weapon,” Voty says, grabbing a table fan. This is the primary crafting loot in Fallout 4, primarily for valuable precious screws.

Update: One person in the comments pointed out that Hank said “Hello, little Sugarbomb” instead of “Buttercup.” It’s been updated.

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