'War never changes': Neo-naturalism and Determinism in Prime's Fallout (2024)
- Tadhg Kearney
- Apr 24, 2024
- 14 min read
Updated: Apr 25, 2024
I recently finished the newly released Fallout TV series released on Amazon Prime, and I was blown away. Video game adaptations have a tendency to crash and burn, but this one stuck the landing. I grew up playing these games, I hold the series near and dear to my heart, and a poor adaptation would have felt like a personal attack. Thankfully, Fallout was faithful to the source material and expanded the universe in fascinating ways.
Todd Howard, a lead developer in Bethesda, the game studio that develops the recent Fallout games, has confirmed that the show is in fact canon to the world of the games, which has fascinating implications for the storyworld (Tassi). It also means that Fallout is now a transmedia story, which I adore.
The technicalities of that are difficult however. The TV show is set in California, which directly ties into the events of Fallout: New Vegas, a game with multiple endings depending on the player’s choices throughout the story. The game culminates in the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, and the player’s choices mean that there are four different outcomes. The show does not acknowledge New Vegas until the very end of the first season, when one of the characters flees from Lucy and The Ghoul, the show’s two protagonists, and finds himself looking over what appears to be the ruins of New Vegas. I must admit seeing New Vegas on screen reawakened unbridled childlike glee within me.
It is an interesting work around. The ending showing New Vegas in ruins means that whichever faction controls New Vegas by the events of the game does not matter by the time the show rolls around. New Vegas takes place in the year 2281, while the show takes place in 2296, some 15 years after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. There is potential for still acknowledging events of the original game with this set of circumstances however. In the ‘Lonesome Road’ DLC package in New Vegas, the protagonist of the game, henceforth called The Courier, accidentally releases creatures called The Tunnelers, mutated monsters adapted to living underground. Ulysses, the primary antagonist of the DLC, says this:
‘Death'll come from below. In the Divide, need to watch the sky and ground... Mojave'll be easy prey for them. They'll start emerging throughout the Mojave in time, might be years. Probably less. They breed fast, hunt in groups, more than enough to bring down the strongest in the Mojave. Once they draw blood... Seen them tear apart Deathclaws... Deathclaw might get some, but the rest will swarm it, tear it apart, like Denver hounds’ (New Vegas).
He also says:
‘Predators that make their own roads beneath the ground here. Divide broke their sky, showed them the world above - and the scent of new prey. Be a slower death for the Mojave than bombs and fire... but they'll come for its people, from where they least expect - below’ (New Vegas).
If this is the ultimate fate of New Vegas, it is a terrifying one, but suiting, because it still acknowledges the impact of The Courier in the events of the game. There is also no choice when it comes to freeing the Tunnelers. It must be done to progress the story. The ultimate fate of New Vegas, Ulysses, and The Courier will be interesting to explore in the subsequent seasons. I cannot wait for it.
Now that my mega fan behaviour is out of the way, there actually are some academic things I’d like to discuss in– what I’m imagining– will be my final blog post. Namely, it is the naturalist elements in the show, namely, the determinism and clashing ideologies of pessimism and optimism as represented in the show. The first two sections of this post explores the dynamic of two of the show’s three primary protagonists: Lucy and The Ghoul. The final section explores determinism as a whole in the Fallout wider universe, exploring the commonalities between prominent factions and their respective philosophies.
Lucy and The Ghoul’s “Honest Exchange”
Prior to meeting The Ghoul, Lucy sees a fawn in the wilderness of The Wasteland. This isn’t a mutated fawn, but an unmutated one, reminiscent of the pre-war days. Like Lucy, the fawn is a reminder of the pre-war days, a relic of an older time that the majority of the world can never return to. This is indicative of Maximus’s reaction to instant violence during his and Lucy’s time in Vault 4. Their time in Vault 4 is crucial to the development of Lucy’s character, but more on that later. Lucy and the fawn are vulnerable, their survival being contingent on the lessons they will be forced to learn. It is ultimately the very reason Lucy is drawn to the fawn, its innocence, is the reason it is killed (‘The Head’ 00:20:00). This transparent warning is acted upon in subsequent episodes, when Lucy finally meets The Ghoul.
The Ghoul is, unsurprisingly, a ghoul, 200 years old, his body mutated due to radiation. His pessimistic worldview is starkly opposite to Lucy’s unrelenting, almost exhausting optimism. The Ghoul takes Lucy hostage and intends on selling her to a Mr. Handy robot that harvests organs, affectionately known as ‘Snip-Snip.’ On the way to the Super-Duper Mart where Snip-Snip is waiting, The Ghoul acts as a quasi-mentor to Lucy, telling her the lessons she’ll need to learn in order to survive. First, he reorientates Lucy, stripping her of her pickiness and elitism. Food is just a resource needed to survive. So is water. In an interaction with another ghoul, Roger, we see how each character is rubbing off on each other, impacting their personalities.
Lucy and The Ghoul’s interaction with Roger foreshadows a lot. Namely, it foreshadows some decisions Lucy will have to make later on. In universe, ghouls must consume a drug to stop them from going feral. Roger has run out of this drug and is on the brink of becoming feral, losing his mind, becoming something reminiscent of a wild animal, killing and eating anything he sees. The Ghoul, also out of the drug himself, decides to kill Roger to put him out of his misery.
What immediately stands out is that this scene is the first glimpse of Cooper Howard, the man he was before he became The Ghoul. We see kindness, sentimentality, in the kind way he executes Roger, making him think of fond memories, shooting him when he is genuinely unaware. Here, Roger's final moments are pleasant and nostalgic, unattached to the time he finds himself trapped within, allowing him the closest thing he possibly could to a peaceful death. The old and new world are juxtaposed, both in the sentimentality shown in the lead-up to his death and the immediate reaction thereafter. Lucy and The Ghoul are desperate to survive at this point, and The Ghoul takes out his knife and begins to eat Roger’s corpse. It’s impersonal, he needs food and Roger doesn’t need his flesh anymore. Lucy asks him how he can live like this, which angers him, foreshadowing his motivations for staying alive as revealed in the season finale. He questions whether Lucy’s father was as righteous as she believes, then hands Lucy a knife, quipping ‘ass-jerky don’t make itself’ and forces her to carve up and eat the cadaver (‘The Ghouls’ 00:07:47).
It's at this moment Lucy learns two important lessons: that well-intended kindness can resemble cruelty. Also, a desire to act kindly versus a willingness to do whatever it takes in order to survive, regardless of how initially harsh it may seem, aren't mutually exclusive.
Also in this episode, we have Lucy and The Ghoul’s “honest exchange.” The Ghoul deprives Lucy of water so much she breaks down and drinks radioactive, dirty water she finds in the street. The Ghoul mocks her, but then displays symptoms of going feral, coughing and vomiting. Lucy, seeing a window of opportunity, tries to escape, but fails. The Ghoul hogties her and, in one final desperate attempt, Lucy bites off one of the ghoul’s fingers. In return, The Ghoul carves one of Lucy’s fingers off as well. After which, he says ‘that was the closest thing we had to an honest exchange so far’ (‘The Ghouls’ 00:14:15).
It is worth noting that they remove each other’s trigger finger, the finger that you use to fire your weapon. This is the finger that facilitates violence; both almost immediately regain the finger that they had lost. Crucially, however, Lucy isn’t given back her original finger, she is given a spare one from a cadaver when she is given to Snip-Snip, surgically reapplied onto her hand. However, The Ghoul stitches Lucy’s old finger onto his hand.
In Alan Gibbs’s seminar, that was the topic of a few blogs ago, he mentioned that neo-naturalist texts often feature instances of bodily harm and physical injury when character’s learn a lesson. This might be the best instance of this trope that I’ve seen as it foreshadows the ultimate effect Lucy and The Ghoul will have on each other. The Ghoul literally takes on a part of Lucy, receiving something living, young, and malleable, and most importantly human, indicating a potential resurfacing of his own humanity. Lucy, however, receives something dead, replacing it with a necrotic, dull blue finger signifying that a part of her has been permanently severed off but now, in order to survive, she must learn to utilise this new dead finger. It is the physical embodiment of character traits being passed onto each other, complimenting each other, allowing them to survive in this harsh wasteland.
The Golden Rule
Lucy’s naivety stems from her upbringing in Vault 33, which shall be discussed more in Section 3. But it can be embodied in her ‘Golden Rule,’ ‘do unto others as you would have done unto you’ (‘The Head’ 00:34:25). As discussed previously, The Ghoul does what he can to make sure Lucy learns the lessons she needs to learn in order to survive, but the inverse of that is equally true.
This quote really sums Lucy up, her kindness is a constant, but throughout the course of the season, it transforms from naivety into bravery. The end of episode four, the culmination of their “honest exchange” shows Lucy leaving the Super-Duper Mart, having rescued herself and those captured inside. She also manages to get a hold of the RadAway that The Ghoul needs to survive. At this point, he is so ill, he has collapsed in front of the building. Lucy questions whether or not she should give it to him, before finally dropping the vials by his head, leaving him behind, saying ‘Golden Rule, motherfucker…’ ('The Ghouls' 00:38:10)
The Golden Rule represents the values that Lucy was raised on, but the show constantly reveals how much of a lie this is. The Ghoul tells her that her father isn’t the man she thinks he is, and we find out that this is unbelievably true in subsequent episodes. In the seventh episode, Lucy and Maximus are presented with a choice. Keep a stolen fusion core that would deprive a community of its power, or return it and lose an advantage in Maximus’s Power Armour.
Their conversation:
Maximus: Do you really want to give the fusion core back if it means you don’t get your Dad?
Lucy: If my Dad found out I destroyed an entire community to save him, that’d break his heart. (‘The Radio’ 00:22:30).
Lucy forgoes an advantage to save a community that exiled her to maintain her morals.
The end of the season sees Lucy finally uncover what happened to her mother. She was turned into a ghoul after Hank, Lucy’s father, bombed Shady Sands, a settlement of tens of thousands of people, because she took his children away from him. The revelation of Hank destroying Shady Sands is huge as it completely rocks the foundation of Lucy’s upbringing and morality and it also reveals the perpetrator of Maximus’s trauma, as he survived the bombing of Shady Sands as a child by hiding in a fridge.
Also, when Lucy meets her mother as a feral goal, she must then make the same choice the goal made to put her out of her misery, without having the luxury of providing her peace in her final moments (‘The Beginning’ 00:49:15). Her Golden Rule is important here because it synthesises with the lessons The Ghoul taught her and, using her new, dead finger, she kills her mother because she wouldn’t want to be left like that herself. This highlights that violence and kindness aren’t mutually exclusive, thus completing Lucy’s season one character arc. Consequently, she joins The Ghoul to track down her father.
The Game Was Rigged From The Start
“The game was rigged from the start” is the end of the iconic opening monologue of New Vegas. It is spoken by Benny, the initial antagonist of the game, before shooting Courier Six in the head. This sets The Courier on a quest for revenge across the Mojave. This encapsulates a theme of betrayal and manipulation that runs throughout the game's narrative but also it is indicative of a wider theme of determinism throughout the Fallout universe, something that crops up in the season finale of the show.
The season finale introduced the potential that the Sino-American War, the war that up until now it was presumed preempted the dropping of the nukes, was not actually to blame for the apocalypse, but rather possibly, it was Vault-Tec. It is yet unclear who dropped the bombs, but Vault-Tec having a desire to drop them makes sense. Capitalism needs incentives to function.
Vault-Tec was a defence corporation which won the federal government contracts to design and implement a network of bunkers known as Vaults. Over the course of the Sino-American War, Vault-Tec became the largest company in the United States. The eighth episode featured frequent analepses, showing Cooper, or The Ghoul, before the war and the depiction of a meeting of Vault-Tec with the rest of America’s top companies, most notably, RobCo. Here, I recall a comment made by Friedrich Hayek: ‘Emergencies have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded – and once they are suspended it is not difficult for anyone who has assumed emergency powers to see to it that the emergency will persist.’ It is quite interesting that Hayek’s precious free-market capitalism, in this case, led to corporatocracy, and thus, capitalism led to the end of the world. Vault-Tec needed to see the emergency, the War, persist lest their bottom line suffer.
Any peaceful solution to the Resource Wars and especially the Sino-American War would eliminate the spectre of nuclear war and wipe out the need for Vaults, hurting the corporation's profits. This perverse incentive resulted in Vault-Tec having every reason to see the war continue or even see nuclear war erupt, especially since the government was broke and powerless in comparison with the company. It also led to them acquiring and burying cold fusion, invented by Lee Moldaver, that would produce unlimited clear energy, thus ending the Resource War.
Vault-Tec allowed other companies control over the vaults, giving them free-reign to experiment with humans in controlled environments, allowing morally reprehensible actions to be perpetrated over centuries.
In the finale, The Ghoul says to Lucy ‘everything about your whole little world was decided over 200 years ago’ (‘The Beginning’ 00:48:20). This meeting that decided the end of the world is what he is referring to. But the monopoly Vault-Tec envisioned did not come to pass. This war for monopolies is, in fact, the driving force behind all of the conflict in the Fallout universe as a whole.
The most important factions, I am guessing, will be Fallout 4’s Brotherhood of Steel (as seen with the presence of the Prydwen in the finale), Mr. House, and the New California Republic. We can look past the latter for now, the NCR is already in the show and appears to be in waning power compared to New Vegas. Let’s examine the philosophies of the first two in more detail, as I imagine that they will have a lot of prominence in the coming seasons.
The Brotherhood of Steel is a techno-religious military order originating from the remnants of the United States military. At the heart of the Brotherhood's philosophy is the belief that advanced technology is both the key to humanity's survival and its greatest potential threat. They see themselves as the guardians of pre-war technology, tasked with preserving it from misuse and ensuring that it is used for the betterment of humanity rather than for destructive purposes.
The Brotherhood of Steel views themselves as the rightful owners and custodians of advanced, pre-War technology. They believe that only they have the knowledge, discipline, and authority to wield such power responsibly, and they are willing to go to great lengths to acquire and safeguard it. This often puts them at odds with other factions and individuals who seek to control or exploit technology for their own ends. In the case of the TV show, this is the NCR led by Moldaver in a battle for control of cold fusion.
In Fallout 4, the Brotherhood of Steel operates as a highly disciplined military organisation, with a strict hierarchy and chain of command. They place great emphasis on loyalty, obedience, and adherence to their code of conduct. Members are trained rigorously in combat, tactics, and technology, and they are expected to uphold the Brotherhood's values at all times. Interestingly, this is not overtly the case in the show. Titus, a Knight, is depicted as a coward, and the protagonist, Maximus, is naive to the world and ill-trained in combat.
While the Brotherhood of Steel is deeply rooted in tradition and history, they also recognise the need to adapt and evolve in order to survive and thrive in a changing world. Under the leadership of Elder Arthur Maxson in Fallout 4, they undergo significant changes, including the expansion of their influence beyond the traditional boundaries of the West Coast. I am curious to see who the Elder is in the show, I can’t imagine Maxson would remain the leader of the faction as it would de-canonise a few of the endings.
The Brotherhood of Steel is often characterised by its distrust of outsiders and its isolationist tendencies. They see themselves as a separate and superior caste, distinct from the rest of wasteland society. This xenophobic mindset leads to friction with other factions and communities, as well as internal conflicts between those who advocate for greater cooperation and those who adhere strictly to the Brotherhood's isolationist principles.
This belief that they should be the sole custodians of pre-War technology coupled with their isolationist, xenophobic rejection of both sentient non-human creatures (like ghouls or super mutants) and outsiders leads to cult-like devotion to a cause that seeks a monopoly on dangerous machines, not even for the benefit of humanity, but just for the sake of keeping it out of other people’s hands.
Robert House, on the other hand, is a big part of New Vegas. He was shown in the season finale of the show as the RobCo representative in the meeting that decided the end of the world. His name is synonymous with New Vegas and it is in fact the search for his platinum chip that motivates Courier Six to journey across the Mojave. Mr. House is perhaps the most interesting character in the Fallout universe. Deathly intelligent and witty, he ensured that Vegas remained safe from nuclear hell fire.
The platinum chip was integral to the successful execution of House's plans, containing a vital OS upgrade for his Securitrons and the laser defence network. The chip was to be delivered in the afternoon of October 23, 2077, but a miscalculation of mere hours by House prevented its arrival in time. 20 hours before the chip's scheduled delivery, the Great War occurred, resulting in the chip being lost in the ruins for the next 200 years.
By 2281, House's efforts led to the establishment of New Vegas as a major power in the Mojave Wasteland through lucrative treaties and trade deals with the nearby New California Republic, guided by his aims to use the Republic's conflict with Caesar's Legion to further expand his control of the region. Eventually, the chip is found and delivered to Mr. House by The Courier.
Mr. House's actions and decisions are often guided by a utilitarian philosophy, which prioritises the greatest good for the greatest number of people. He sees himself as the best hope for humanity's survival and prosperity in the post-apocalyptic world of the Mojave Wasteland. His ruthless pursuit of power and control over New Vegas is justified by his belief that he can bring stability and progress to the region, even if it means sacrificing individual freedoms or morality at times.
He is a visionary technocrat who places great faith in the power of technology and human ingenuity to solve society's problems. House envisions a future where advanced technology and scientific progress lead to unprecedented levels of prosperity and human achievement. To this end, he has preserved and expanded upon pre-war technology, particularly in the form of the Securitron army and the Lucky 38 casino, which serve as the centrepieces of his power.
Interestingly, he is a libertarian dictator. That may be an oxymoron, but he truly does not care about people’s personal lives until they threaten his hegemony over the Strip. Mr. House's philosophy is largely secular and rationalist, eschewing traditional religious or ideological beliefs in favour of empirical evidence and pragmatic solutions. He dismisses the superstitions and tribalism that dominate the Mojave Wasteland, viewing them as obstacles to progress and enlightenment. His worldview is grounded in science, logic, and a belief in the power of human intellect to shape the course of history. He claims that, given a few decades, he could begin humankind’s colonisation of space, and what’s even more interesting is, there’s no reason not to believe him. House, through his securitrons, seeks a monopoly of technology also.
Which leads us to all three factions seeking monopoly over technology and influence. This of course leads to conflict. Vault-Tec’s idea that time will render them the sole proprietors of humankind did not account for humanity’s resilience in survival and the plethora of beliefs that would crop up in the interim. The potential of this show is unlimited.
WORKS CITED
Tassi, Paul. “Todd Howard Rules on Whether the ‘Fallout’ Show Makes ‘New Vegas’ Non-Canon.” Forbes, 18 Apr. 2024, www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/04/18/todd-howard-rules-on-whether-the-fallout-show-makes-new-vegas-non-canon/?sh=348af6a63071. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
'The Head.' Fallout. Directed by Jonathan Nolan, Amazon Prime, 2024.
'The Ghouls.' Fallout. Directed by Daniel Gray Longino, Amazon Prime, 2024.
'The Beginning.' Fallout. Directed by Wayne Yip, Amazon Prime, 2024.
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