From a nod to a cult classic that inspired the games to the impending return of an iconic foe, all of the easter eggs in Season 1 of "Fallout" add up to be a bountiful feast.
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00:00 From a nod to a cult classic that inspired the games to the impending return of an iconic
00:05 foe, all of the Easter eggs in Season 1 of Fallout add up to be a bountiful feast.
00:10 "Damn, y'all ain't got me workin' up a appetite."
00:13 If we had a bottle cap for every time the Fallout franchise referenced an infamous Indiana
00:18 Jones scene, well, we'd have three bottle caps.
00:21 Yes, we're talking about that often-derided moment from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
00:25 of the Crystal Skull in which Indy survives a nuclear test at the Nevada Doomtown site
00:29 by hiding in a fridge.
00:31 The interior logic of the film holds that the fridge being lead-lined would protect
00:35 Indy from radiation.
00:37 The exterior logic of reality holds that a nuclear explosion being a, uh, nuclear explosion
00:42 would have given Dr. Jones an immediate "game over," fridge or no fridge.
00:47 In Fallout, Maximus is shown surviving the nuclear destruction of Shady Sands by hiding
00:51 in a fridge.
00:52 While it's a clear reference to the aforementioned Indiana Jones scene, it also harkens back
00:56 to two similar sight gags in the Fallout games.
00:59 The first is in Fallout New Vegas, where the player can discover a fridge filled with bones
01:03 and Jones' signature hat.
01:05 The second is the "kid in a fridge" side quest from Fallout 4.
01:09 "Ugh, my legs are so stiff.
01:12 Everything's so different."
01:14 It's clear the Fallout team has always held Indiana Jones in high regard, so this scene
01:18 should give those waiting for Bethesda's Indiana Jones video game a little hope.
01:24 One of the most memorable locations from Season 1 is Philly, a seedy town that perfectly encapsulates
01:29 just about every horrible aspect of the Wasteland in a few square miles.
01:33 At the center of the town is a landfill that residents mine for pieces of discarded technology
01:38 that they may be able to use or sell.
01:40 This early locale provides Lucy with the perfect place to organically learn what she needs
01:44 to know about this new world she's entered.
01:47 Of course, she might learn a lot more if she spent a little more time investigating Ma
01:50 June's storefront, which just so happens to sell a copy of the Wasteland Survival Guide.
01:55 Conspicuously placed in the background of some shots, the Wasteland Survival Guide is
01:59 well-known to players of the Fallout games.
02:01 Its author, Moira Brown, is an NPC inventor and shop owner who the player interacts with
02:06 frequently during a multi-part side quest in Fallout 3.
02:09 While it's unlikely that viewers will ever see Moira in the Prime Video series, it's
02:13 strangely heartwarming to be reminded of her here.
02:17 In Season 1, Episode 6, entitled "The Trap," viewers learn more about the pre-war life
02:22 of Cooper Howard.
02:23 The actor turned ghoul played by Walton Goggins.
02:26 Apparently, when he wasn't starring in Western flicks, Cooper was the commercial spokesman
02:30 for Vault-Tec, the nefarious megacorporation responsible for building the dystopian vaults
02:35 in which America's richest citizens survived the nuclear apocalypse.
02:38 "Now that right there is Vault 4's three-foot thick lead casing.
02:43 Strong enough to keep out the rads and the reds."
02:47 Of the four Fallout factions, Vault-Tec's power is the most absolute, and perhaps the
02:52 most deadly, too.
02:53 As Cooper takes us on an appropriately sterile tour of Vault 4, a phone number flashes up
02:58 on screen — 213-25-VAULT, or 213-258-2858.
03:04 As some fans have already discovered, this phone number is actually active and tied to
03:08 the Fallout series.
03:09 If you're in the United States, you can call the number.
03:11 When you do, you'll hear a voice — presumably that of Goggins' character — screaming in
03:15 a manner that's totally jarring when compared to the commercial.
03:18 It's one of the best real fake phone numbers we've seen in a while.
03:23 The Trap also gives viewers a window into what Cooper Howard's home was like back when
03:27 he had a nose and wasn't a murderer.
03:30 On one of his walls, fans can spot a poster for one of his films, a Western titled "A
03:34 Man and His Dog."
03:35 If that name sounds somewhat familiar, it might be because you've come across the real
03:39 1975 science fiction comedy film "A Boy and His Dog."
03:42 This cult favorite is set in what was then the not-too-distant future year of 2024.
03:47 The United States has been largely eradicated by a nuclear war that took place decades earlier.
03:52 It's unknown whether this film exists in the Fallout universe, but what's interesting is
03:56 that "A Boy and His Dog" and the Fallout video games share a lot of creative DNA.
04:01 Jesse Heinig, one of the creators of the original game, told The Escapist that they took a lot
04:06 of inspiration from the film, from underground communities of survivors to glowing mutants.
04:11 He also revealed that he thinks the famous dog from the Fallout games was named after
04:14 a line from the movie as well.
04:16 He said,
04:17 "My understanding is that Fallout designer Scott Benny settled on the name 'Dogmeat'
04:21 for the character, and it's likely that he did pick that from the story in question."
04:25 "I said 'fine' and I ain't kidding."
04:27 "One does not say 'ain't,' Albert.
04:28 Simply say 'I'm not kidding.'"
04:30 "Fine, Dogmeat.
04:31 And stop calling me Albert."
04:34 Speaking of Dogmeat, this leads us to yet another Easter egg.
04:37 In Season 1, the trusty canine companion becomes acquainted with the ghoul after the latter
04:42 stabs her during a fight, only for him to revive her with a stim pack before ultimately
04:46 adopting her permanently.
04:48 He does so after rescuing her from a Nuka-Cola cooler at a Red Rocket gas station, which
04:53 just so happens to be how the player protagonist in Fallout 4 meets their own canine companion,
04:58 also named Dogmeat.
04:59 Yes, this may give Fallout fans who care about continuity a bit of a headache, since these
05:03 two meetings happen around a decade apart and on opposite sides of the country.
05:07 Still, it's a great scene nonetheless.
05:10 It could also be argued that the ghoul previously starring in this universe's version of a boy
05:14 and his dog improves the moment by granting it some extra narrative weight.
05:18 In general, the Fallout series fixes everything wrong with Dogmeat, so it's hard to be angry
05:22 with little inconsistencies.
05:24 As an added little Easter egg, viewers may also notice that the gas station used in the
05:28 Fallout series was also used for a set piece in the first John Wick film.
05:33 In Episode 7, entitled "The Radio," we're introduced to a small family living in a secluded
05:38 area where they're enjoying a nice, peaceful existence in a world otherwise overrun by
05:42 callous cruelty.
05:44 Unfortunately for them, such cruelty is waiting in their kitchen in the form of the ghoul,
05:48 munching on whatever meat he's managed to find in their modest home.
05:53 Adam, the patriarch of the family, wears a helmet that should be instantly recognizable
06:00 to fans of Fallout New Vegas.
06:02 As seen on the game's memorable box art, it's part of an armor set belonging to the New
06:06 California Republic Rangers, which could indicate that Adam was once a member of their forces.
06:11 However, based on their living situation and routines, it can also be hypothesized that
06:15 Adam merely found this outfit while scavenging.
06:18 In any case, putting the character in what would be the NCR equivalent of a law enforcement
06:22 uniform is likely a cheeky nod to the actor that plays Adam, former chip star Eric Estrada.
06:28 In this classic procedural, Estrada plays a member of the California Highway Patrol.
06:32 Even though his scene in Fallout is horribly tragic, he's a welcome and surprising face
06:36 in the wasteland.
06:39 Perhaps the most Easter egg-rich scene in the whole first season is the secret evil
06:43 cabal meeting in which the various executives spitball some post-nuclear Fallout plans.
06:48 As part of a deal struck with Vault-Tec, the other executives present were gifted vaults
06:52 which they could populate and use to conduct experiments, ostensibly to determine the ideal
06:57 path forward for humanity.
06:59 This quickly devolved into bloodthirsty billionaires sharing their best ideas for torturing trapped
07:04 humans, at least three of which were pulled from the Fallout games.
07:07 The tamest of the options thrown out is a vault that would be intentionally overcrowded.
07:12 This eventually became Vault 15, which appeared in the first Fallout game back in 1997.
07:17 Also referenced are Vault 87, where inhabitants were used as lab rats in the evolutionary
07:22 experimentation program, and Vault 106, which had psychoactive drugs pumped through its
07:27 air filtration system.
07:29 And then there's the appearance of the CEO of the multi-billion dollar robotics and software
07:33 corporation RobCo, famous for developing the bafflingly advanced yet archaic operating
07:38 system seen throughout the Fallout universe.
07:41 Fans of Fallout New Vegas surely recognized him as Robert House, who appeared from the
07:45 neck up in the game as a major character.
07:47 "You needn't be afraid of me.
07:50 It's my securitrons that are going to kill you."
07:53 His attendance at this clandestine meeting provides a new and exciting explanation for
07:57 why he was so well-prepared when the nukes were fired.
08:00 As seen in New Vegas, Mr. House was able to use the complete destruction of society for
08:05 his own personal gain, becoming a despotic ruler with unmatched influence and power.
08:10 He was inspired to pursue his own digital immortality, jamming his consciousness inside
08:15 a computer.
08:16 He's basically the Arnim Zola of the Fallout universe.
08:20 The Season 1 finale is disquieting for a whole host of reasons, chief among them being the
08:25 awkward reunion between Lucy and her father Hank, when Lee Moldaver claims that Lucy's
08:29 father is actually a Vault-Tec envoy.
08:32 Hank confirms this horrible truth by entering the passcode to activate the Cold Fusion Reactor.
08:37 The precise code he enters is 101097.
08:41 This can be translated to the date October 10, 1997, the date the original Fallout game
08:46 was released to the public.
08:47 But there's a catch to this Easter egg.
08:49 For whatever reason, be it poor record-keeping, online stubbornness, or something else entirely,
08:54 there's some debate about when the first Fallout was actually released.
08:58 October 10 is the date you'll find on the game's Wikipedia page, which itself references
09:02 an old "Now Shipping" article from PC Gamer.
09:05 However, Steam lists the release date as September 30, and even commemorated this date at least
09:10 once with a special anniversary discount for the game.
09:14 Fans have even reached out to developers directly for clarification, but even they are largely
09:18 split on the issue.
09:19 The general consensus among them seems to be that September 30 was the date the game
09:24 was prepared for shipment, and that it was released in stores between October 6 and October
09:28 10.
09:29 Programmer Tim Cain, who co-created the game, said on Reddit that he considers the exact
09:33 date of release to be October 7.
09:36 Whatever the case, the code is a fun, if potentially imperfect, inclusion for Fallout experts.
09:42 When the camera reveals the remains of what was once New Vegas in Season 1's final moments,
09:47 viewers are treated to a tease of a fan-favorite enemy.
09:50 That is, if "fan-favorite" can mean an enemy that was always a pain in the butt to deal
09:54 with.
09:55 The skull resting in the Mojave Sands without question belongs to a Deathclaw, a creature
09:59 which can arguably be dubbed the apex predator of the post-war Fallout universe.
10:04 Deathclaws could also ironically be considered pre-war relics, as these genetically engineered
10:09 creatures were originally created to fight alongside the old U.S. military.
10:13 Once that military ceased to exist, along with the U.S. itself, the Deathclaws spread
10:17 across the land and their numbers multiplied exponentially.
10:20 With every new trailer Amazon released for Fallout, fans grew more anxious to see them
10:24 in live action.
10:25 Some were likely disappointed in the series for only using the skull of one, but this
10:30 was a strategic move.
10:31 The creators of the show have acknowledged that by excluding the Deathclaws, they were
10:35 leaving out an iconic part of the Fallout world.
10:38 But they felt their status was precisely why they deserved more attention than could be
10:41 afforded in the packed first season.
10:44 Co-showrunner Graham Wagner told The Wrap,
10:46 "We wanted to get Deathclaws, but we didn't want to just throw it away.
10:49 It's such a monumental piece, so Season 2, we're very excited to finally tackle one of
10:53 the most iconic elements of the games."
10:57 If there was any moment in the series that caused concern among Fallout fans, it was
11:01 the revelation that Shady Sands has been decimated by a nuclear bomb.
11:05 What was particularly troubling about this, aside from the destruction of one of the franchise's
11:09 most beloved locales, was a timeline that seemingly implied this decimation had taken
11:14 place in 2277.
11:16 Given that Fallout New Vegas takes place in 2281, this would effectively render the game
11:20 non-canon.
11:21 "Oh, please."
11:23 Fortunately for the game's many fans, longtime Fallout developer Todd Howard, who also serves
11:29 as an executive producer on the Amazon series, has confirmed that New Vegas is indisputably
11:34 canon and that Shady Sands was destroyed soon after the game's events.
11:38 He told IGN,
11:39 "There might be a little bit of confusion in some places, but everything that happened
11:42 in the previous games, including New Vegas, happened.
11:45 We're very careful about that."
11:47 It seems that Shady Sands fell in some form in 2277, but wasn't actually nuked until a
11:52 few years later.
11:53 This still leaves the question of why New Vegas seems to be destroyed, or at least in
11:57 a state of severe disrepair, when it appears during the finale.
12:01 Taking its state into account, this could be a clue that some version of the Caesar's
12:05 Legion ending, in which the player helps drive out the NCR and the Legion takes control,
12:10 is currently canon.
12:11 This would provide one explanation for the decline of New Vegas, with a brutal, totalitarian
12:16 faction having taken over.
12:18 -