Fallout Season 2 Episode 7 “The Strip” was a powerhouse hour of television that solidified this show as one of the most thought-provoking and lore rich shows on TV right now. And I know the game goes deeper than what we’ve seen. But the show has carved out such an interesting space for itself that even myself, who has never played the games, am thoroughly invested in the world created and have found myself absolutely spiraling on threads, forums, and the wiki for this property. Basically, I think we’ve entered the obsession phase and I need to know everything.
A large part of the reason why the Fallout Season 2 finale works so well for me is because of the steps that each character takes. I might not agree with all of them, like the fact that Hank is still breathing, but I understand them. None of these characters are who they were in Season 1 or even at the beginning of Season 2. They have become hardened by this world. But what makes them exceptional is that they still hold on to their humanity. That’s why I want to see them succeed and thrive. And yes, that does include The Ghoul.
So without further ado, let’s dive into Fallout Season 2 Episode 7 “The Strip”!
MORE: Need a refresher of last week’s episode? Read our review for Fallout Season 2 Episode 7 “The Handoff” here!
Maximus, My Beloved
Maximus stepping out of his power armor after having a vision of his father and then squaring up against the deathclaw, might be one of my favorite moments of TV. Ever. At that moment he was facing insurmountable odds and was most likely going to die. But the memory of his family and the hope that he still carries inside of him, got him moving. And when he rose, and fashioned himself a shield and a spear, that was the man that he had become due to The Brotherhood melding together with the good man his father knew he could be.
No, it wasn’t an easy road to get here. And I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t like Maximus in Season 1. He was a little too green for me. But I’m glad I stuck by him because the progress that he has made makes me just want to go back and watch Season 1 all over again with new eyes. Because meeting Lucy, putting on that power armor, and not letting himself be defined by The Brotherhood, allowed him to shatter in the beginning of Season 2. What followed was him rebuilding himself, bit by bit, until he was that man standing with Lucy looking over at the Legion approaching.
What comes next isn’t going to be easy for Maximus.
He’s a new man who doesn’t need the power armor to fight his battles. But now he also knows he doesn’t have to fight those battles by himself and that he’s enough. Better yet, Lucy is at his side. And he’s going to have to adjust making decisions, not just for New Vegas and the residents who saw him almost die for them, but because Lucy is by his side. With the way that the Wasteland has changed them both, I believe they can find solace in each other, but also balance each other out. And in a world that’s consistently trying to devour you or define you, I know they’re going to change everything at each other’s side.
Lucy’s Choice
Season 2 of Fallout was all about Lucy finding her father and bringing him to justice. But she couldn’t quite figure out what that justice was. Because she had lived in a society that didn’t allow her to ask that question. And she wasn’t going to let her answer be defined by The Ghoul or the Wasteland. But no matter how much she ran from that answer, in “The Strip” she had to make a decision. Unfortunately it was taken away by her father.
When confronted by her father after she destroyed the senator’s head, there was still a spark of hope in Lucy’s eyes. After all, this is her father. But despite everything that he’s done to her, their family, and humanity, the light didn’t leave her eyes when it came to her father until he tried to force her under his control. And I really like how Fallout built this culmination point even if I found myself having moments throughout this season where I wanted to see more of Lucy’s change after her father’s actions.
But back to Lucy’s choice.
It goes to show you how Fallout as a show is still keeping hope alive in its characters while being realistic. Because Lucy wasn’t going to kill her father. She was going to make him the father that she always thought he would be. But in a way it was kind of a death. So her father took away that choice from her. He pressed the button. In a way, it was a small mercy to Lucy. He didn’t want her to have the weight of essentially killing him on her conscience. But it was also the coward’s way out, because he took her choice away, even if it was a cruel one.
The Ghoul’s Journey
Like Maximus and Lucy, The Ghoul’s journey in Season 2 was one of hope. I don’t think I got that while watching most of Season 2 because The Ghoul remained this stoic kind of anti-hero throughout. But watching The Ghoul stand over Barbara’s pod, I didn’t see The Ghoul anymore. When you looked at his face, that was Cooper. And with that Colorado postcard in his hand he found himself again. He found his light but also that hope that he had trampled down so much to the point where when he saw it in Lucy, he tried to squash it in her as well.
Looking back, I did see some sparks of Cooper returning when The Ghoul shot Lucy’s dad. He could’ve killed Hank, who obviously had a huge part in the nuclear apocalypse. But he gave her a choice instead of making it for her. Because that’s what the Enclave does to you. This big mysterious hand that controls everything has stripped everyone of their choice. And instead of condemning Lucy for being like him, he gave her the opportunity to make her own mistakes, just like he did.
Circling back to the Barbara of it all, he might regret handing over cold fusion to the president aka the Enclave. But Cooper, and subsequently The Ghoul, don’t regret a thing he’s had to do to find his way back to his family. And not just his daughter, but his wife Barbara, who surprised me with her turn in Season 2. She surprised me so much that even when they were being confronted with the possibility of an arrest, she was willing to fight. And he pulled her back. He grounded her. And the sum of everything that I’ve seen between Cooper and Barbara is a love that defies time and the end of the world. It’s enduring and has slowly but surely become one of my favorite parts of Fallout Season 2.
Additional thoughts:
- The roaches. Omg the roaches.
- What kind of vault is Norm going to go back to now that Stephanie has initiated phase two?
- Also Stephanie is married to Hank??? Why did they then wake her up late so she had to marry someone else?
- What did Hank mean by the experiment being above ground? I thought the experiments were all about the vaults. If it’s above ground, where are people going to go when the experiment is over?
- “He’s just a kid.” hit hard because when we see these big power suits and we think they’re big damn heroes. But underneath that suit is just flesh and bone.
- Thaddeus, you’re a real one. Your arm fell off and you’re like, “I’m not going to let that stop me, I’m going to use my foot.” Iconic.
All episodes of Fallout Season 2 are available on Prime Video.
