The opening of Season 2, Episode 1 of Fallout, dives into the volatile landscape of Las Vegas. Despite RobCo's relentless push for robotics dominance, the everyday working folk are standing their ground, but their resistance seems futile against the omnipotent Robert House.
As a group of construction workers dangle on the edge of confronting Mr. House in a bar, he calls their bluff. He takes them outside and attaches a bizarre contraption to one of their backs. In a sudden turn of events, he whips around and brutally smashes his two associates with a baseball bat. There are limits to House's contraption, and as the mad scientist twists the dial on his controller, the man's head explodes in a gruesome display of power.
Meanwhile, in the present (or post-apocalyptic wasteland), The Ghoul is captured by a ruthless gang led by Nick the Prick. However, Lucy is on the other side of town, perched atop a T-rex statue with her sniper rifle at the ready. Instead of firing first and asking questions later, she starts rambling, which doesn't go well as the gang decides they're not in the negotiating mood.
Lucy eventually opens fire and helps free The Ghoul, who jumps into the fray with a vengeance. It's clear that Lucy has honed her long-range gun skills since we last saw her, but she's still hesitant to take lives, aiming for kneecaps and buttocks instead. The Ghoul, on the other hand, is a different story entirely.
As they dispatch the gang, The Ghoul scolds Lucy for her acts of mercy. As they continue their journey, the pair eventually make it to New Vegas, the playground for Robert House. The Ghoul has certainly heard of him; back when he was still Cooper Howard, Robert House was the mastermind behind the plan to monetize the end of the world. Shocked by this revelation, Cooper meets with Kate Williams, who informs him that House is building a privately owned missile system in Las Vegas.
This scenario presents an opportunity for Cooper's wife's schemes to bear fruit in the form of bombing the city. Barb is preparing to embark on a journey to Las Vegas, where she plans to sell Cold Fusion to House. As Kate believes, this presents their singular chance to eliminate House by having Cooper take him down. Given the known future trajectory, it's clear that Cooper fails to execute the plan!
Meanwhile, in Vault 33, matters are dire. The dwindling water reserves demand urgency in their actions. Reg enters the office, inquiring about Norm's whereabouts. They dismiss his concern, stating that Norm has been sent on a leadership exchange program in Vault 31, much to Reg's dismay.
Norm, however, remains alive but obstinately refuses to enter the cryo-pods. With food and water withdrawn, he finds himself trapped alongside a talking robo-brain. Seemingly without an escape route, especially with inter-Vault communications disabled, Norm devises a plan.
Rising from his seat, he heads towards the computer terminal, determined to release everyone from their cryo-pods and embrace chaos.
In Vault 32, Davey struggles with the backward nature of everything. But the greater challenge lies with Chet, who is tasked with baby-sitting but lacks a job assignment. With Stephanie as Overseer, Chet's hands are tied.
Speaking of Vaults, The Ghoul and Lucy arrive at a Vault filled with communists who are part of Robert House's experiments. The air is thick with the presence of numerous corpses, each adorned with those same computer chips in their necks. Others have their heads blown clean off.
It's been a while since we've seen Hank, but he makes an appearance at Vault-Tec HQ. He brews himself a cup of coffee and dives into work, sending a message to Robert House.
It seems these computer chips have been employed in multiple Vaults. Vault 24 made progress on the brain-computer interface, while another was focused on miniaturizing the chip itself. Hank intends to continue where those Vaults left off.
The inhabitants are all deceased, their heads blown up just like in every other Vault. When it's all said and done, Hank is confident that he will receive his long-overdue promotion.
