Fallout Season 2 Episode 7 “The Handoff” makes it crystal clear that there are seasons upon seasons of content within this world. Personally, I haven’t dived into the lore of Fallout as a game. That might be surprising for some because here I am writing a review for this show. But I did it because I wanted to enter this show with no expectations. And this episode in particular opened up Fallout beyond the United States in a terrifying way while giving us a bigger clue as to what was happening to the rest of the world before the bombs dropped.
This episode also continues setting up the tragedy that is Cooper and Barb. Because they think they’re doing the right thing by trusting the President and the Senator. But if Lucy’s discovery in that room is any indication, the President knew and was okay with what Vault-Tech was planning. After all, you don’t hire a known actor to play the President unless he’s going to play a major part. Could he be the mysterious player that has been guiding this whole thing from the start?
Whatever is coming, the discovery of the Senator’s head in that room means despite people trying, this ended up terrible for everyone. And unfortunately for Lucy (and Norm), Vault-Tech’s plans aren’t done yet.
MORE: Need a refresher of last week’s episode? Read our review of Fallout Season 2 Episode 7 “The Other Player.”
Stephanie and the Canada of It All
The number one thing that I’ve been interested about when it comes to Fallout is: what happened to the rest of the world? Because the rest of the world just didn’t sit by and wait as Vault-Tech destroyed everything. And “The Handoff” paints a gruesome picture of what the US was doing to Canada in particular. It also gave us a grounded origin story for Stephanie seeped in survival, pain, and revenge. Because the United States isn’t the hero in this story.
Stephanie has been moving all sorts of shady in the vaults. And I assumed that she was part of management from the very start. And yes, I thought that even when I saw the ID that listed her as being Canadian but also part of the United States. But it’s much worse for Stephanie, because this episode opens up with her running for her life and being threatened to go back to some sort of internment camp. What follows is Stephanie fighting for her life, no matter who she has to hurt.
But you know what really helped paint a picture as to who Stephanie is, what she’s been through, and the rage she feels inside? The way that the vault dwellers reacted to the news of her being Canadian. Because they didn’t act this angry when the people from topside came down and they lost a bunch of their own in the Pilot or when Woody was prob hurt. But an accusation of Stephanie being Canadian had them turning into a mob? We saw Stephanie running for her life. We saw her loved one, who was unarmed, get shot and killed. But somehow Stephanie is the big scary bad guy that these docile vault dwellers went after?
Something isn’t adding up here. And I’m so desperate to sit down and spiral on the Fallout Wikipedia. I’m even more desperate to go through the Wiki after the credits where you see Canada being called the 51st state and “Little America.” So I’ll give it to Fallout for doing something that most shows aren’t capable of: making me curious and making me want more. Because we’ve been so focused on the horrors that have happened after the bombs dropped. But between this and the deathclaw that Cooper saw in Alaska, the horrors already existed. People were just really good at ignoring it because it didn’t touch them. And that is a familiar story.
The MacLeans
In Fallout Season 2 Episode 6 “The Other Player” we got to see Lucy battle between the version she was in the vaults and the version of herself that was born because of the wasteland. And by the end of it, thanks to her father’s manipulations, she chose her father’s way. And I didn’t fault her then and I don’t fault her now. She grew up with a form of mind control that she has been steadily shaking off. Plus it’s her dad. A part of her will always believe in the good in him.
But I will admit that I thought we had lost Lucy for a second there in Fallout “The Handoff.” Because she put on the dress and she was having dinner with her dad. Thank God I was patient because as soon as she recognized the guy from the New California Republic Army that helped her, she snapped out of it. You could tell that in that moment, she broke. Because despite everything he has done to her, and even against her own mother, she held out that her father would do the right thing. But he’s not doing the right thing now. And if she has to be the strong one to stop him, then that’s what she’s going to do.
Lucy isn’t the only strong one in Fallout. And no I’m not talking about Hank. He’s a psychopath who would rather control the minds of every single person on the planet, no matter if they’re killers or not. I’m talking about Norm. Because we only got to see a little bit of him in this episode. But what we did see shows that he desperately hopes his sister is okay and knows something bad is going to happen to the vaults. And who hid that from him? His own father.
What Lucy and Norm are doing right now takes a lot of strength. And with us being this close to the end of Season 2, none of the answers are going to be pretty and there’s going to be a lot of hurt to come. Basically, they’re going to need each other now more than ever.
Doing the Right Thing
Another thing about Fallout “The Handoff” that I can’t stop thinking about is how doing the right thing isn’t easy or rewarding. Well, sometimes it is. Helping people is doing the right thing. Stopping the apocalypse is the right thing. And that should be rewarded or be seen as something that of course everyone would want to do. After all, that’s what movies, TV shows, and books have taught us. Doing the right thing is the reward.
What Fallout is showing me is reality aka something I don’t want but need to see. Most of the time doing the right thing doesn’t get rewarded. And in the case of this show, most of the time you end up like that Senator, who 200 years later is just a pretty preserved head that powers some sort of machine to keep people under control. Or you end up like Barb and Cooper, who tried to do the right thing and ended up separated and with Cooper being outside with their daughters when the bombs dropped. Oh and let’s not forget Cooper turning in a ghoul.
But just because Fallout showed me the consequences of doing the right thing and trying, doesn’t mean that I don’t have hope for this show. It also doesn’t mean that I think that Lucy, Maximus, and the rest of our favorites should give up. Tales of perseverance have hard moments where you feel like giving up because the world has torn you down. But without fighting the darkness, nothing changes and the future never gets better. That’s why I believe that Vault-Tech will eventually fall. It’s just going to take time and the continued perseverance of a generation beyond Hank, Barb, and Cooper.
All of this to say that I think Fallout is an important story about the 1% controlling the world and what happens when the 99% wake up. Because they will. They always do.
The Fallout Season 2 finale is next Tuesday at 9p.m. ET.
