Who Ends the World? Fallout Season 2 Just Got a Lot More Interesting With Episode 5 — and Fans Have Plenty of Theories About What It All Means

Fallout Season 2 Episode 5 contained a fig of revelations for the ongoing storyline of Amazon’s adaptation of the post-apocalyptic video games — immoderate of which person ramifications for what we recognize of the overarching Fallout lore. And, arsenic you’d expect, fans person a fig of theories astir what it each means.

Warning! Spoilers for Fallout Season 2 follow:

Episode 5, called The Wrangler, features a flashback to pre-war Las Vegas, wherever Cooper Howard meets the existent Mr. House. This country has got the Fallout assemblage talking for a fig of reasons, main among them the proposition that determination is simply a concealed subordinate astatine the table, a adaptable pulling the strings that Mr. House can’t rather fig out, overmuch to his annoyance.

The Fallout TV amusement has highlighted the power and powerfulness of pre-war corporations successful determining the destiny of the world, and a meetup betwixt them successful Vegas provides the backdrop to Episode 5’s flashback scenes. Mr. House is alert of his relation via his company, RobCo, of course. He knows astir Vault-Tec, West-Tek, and Big MT. That’s 4 megacorps gathering secretly to crippled the extremity of the world. But Mr. House believes determination is an chartless enactment astatine play, 1 that is besides down the Deathclaw seen successful the flashback to the Battle of Anchorage. Mr. House believes this enigma subordinate volition trigger the atomic warfare helium himself is preparing for.

Fallout’s atomic apocalypse was thought to person been triggered by China dropping the bombs first. Tim Cain, co-creator of Fallout, has said this was the developers’ archetypal intention. The Fallout TV show, however, had heavy suggested that Vault-Tec, the evil firm shaper of Fallout’s celebrated vaults, triggered the atomic warfare by dropping bombs of its ain — fundamentally for profit. But Mr. House casts uncertainty connected this possibility. He knows Cooper Howard volition extremity up having thing to bash with the extremity of the world, but precisely how… well, he’s clueless.

“The bombs volition not beryllium dropped by maine oregon immoderate of the idiots successful that meeting,” Mr. House insists, referencing the representatives of the large 4 megacorps. “I judge determination is different subordinate astatine the table. The aforesaid chartless entity liable for your demon successful the snow.”

So who, oregon what, is this “unknown entity?” The mentation picking up the astir traction close present is that it is The Enclave. For the uninitiated, The Enclave is the secretive faction from the video games that was formed by pre-war members of the U.S. elite. It claims to beryllium the existent successor of the United States authorities crossed the wasteland, displaying the aforesaid fascist tendencies beauteous overmuch each the factions successful Fallout do.

The Enclave really appeared successful the Fallout TV amusement astatine the opening of Season 1, erstwhile Doctor Siggi Wilzig defects from the enactment and sets the crippled successful motion. And successful Fallout lore, The Enclave are thought to person played a portion successful the instauration of immoderate of the Deathclaws, which Mr. House ties to this “unknown entity.” It’s not confirmed, but fans judge The Enclave fits the bill.

Either that, oregon there’s a marque caller faction that’s ne'er been seen successful the video games, 1 that was secretly successful complaint of satellite events but known by no-one. The instauration of a marque caller faction seems a spot overmuch for the Fallout TV show, and would telephone into question beauteous overmuch everything fans person travel to recognize astir the past of the world.

If it is The Enclave, past which characters are progressive with them? Some judge Hank to beryllium secretly moving for The Enclave, alternatively than Vault-Tec, and his enactment successful the Vegas vault for absorption to beryllium astir continuing the group’s secretive work. Indeed, immoderate judge Hank’s connection to an chartless recipient earlier successful the play was directed astatine idiosyncratic astatine The Enclave, not Mr. House.

How does the revelation that FEV is portion of the tri-vault experimentation origin into each this? It’s unclear. In Fallout lore, The Enclave is not revealed to beryllium down the supermutant-creating virus, but possibly the amusement volition corroborate that they were.

“I could bargain the Enclave being the wide antagonist of this show,” said 1 fan, “the ones who ended it each and are attempting to power the wasteland for their idealized America.”

With conscionable 3 episodes of Season 2 left, we’ll hopefully get immoderate answers soon. Season 3 is already confirmed, truthful possibly we’ll spot The Enclave play a salient relation there. And what does this each mean for Fallout 5, which Bethesda improvement main Todd Howard has confirmed volition instrumentality into relationship the canon events of the Fallout TV series?

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].