@funnylilgalreacts I feel the same way! His growth and development is incredible. And he calls himself a coward when Lucy left the vault and when he was talking to Betty, but he was literally the only one that had an inkling of what was going on during the wedding, and he went to investigate by himself. That's not a coward. It's just showing bravery by using an alternate route.
Much of what makes this show amazing is the characters. Even the fill in characters like... we'll call him "Chicken lover", and Ma June, Barv and the guy with the sand filled, 'water filter', from the 2nd episode. Norm started off as a secondary character, but has has developed so much. He absolutely is one of the main characters at this point, and as for my favorites (no offense to Maximus) a close third behind his sister.
27:00 Yes, I LOVE Chet's reply! People love shitting on him as if we all are gun-slinging rootin-tootin heroes. Not a single person seems to have sympathy for Chet's struggle because they see Norm as the standard when he is not. He is the anomaly.
Maximus and Lucy don't need chemistry - Lucy was going to marry a total stranger just because she was told she should - so Maximus turns out to have more of a connection with her than what is typical in the vault.
I do think they did well enough to show some chemistry - not perfect chemistry mind you, but they’ve already shown her having a bit of hero worship for him, and they did appear to bond over the course of their travels. He is so far perhaps THE most trustworthy person she’s seen so far (that she didn’t accidentally burn due to mistrust).
Their characters are semi-mirrors of one another - as is The Ghoul. Fundamentally good people surviving in a world that...isn't good. The Ghoul shows one consequence of what happens to people like that.
Hard to imagine that anyone on the surface doesn't actually smell bad. Like, how and where are they washing themselves and their clothes if clean water is that valuable and you'd rather drink it? Surely all of them smell to the heavens.
Fred Armisen’s comments about people not liking his music selection is a reference to fans of the game not liking one of the radio stations you can find in one of the games and complaining about it online.
In full context, once you get Radio Freedom up and running it becomes the sole way to get Minutemen radiant quests. If that's something you want to do, you end up listening to the same three fiddle songs over and over again - sometimes forever without getting what you're listening for in the first place, if the radiant system breaks (which happens with Radio Freedom often). They somehow took the 'thanks for helping, another settlement needs our help' Preston meme and made it worse.
There is a quest in FO3 to recover a violin from a vault for a woman who starts a music station of her violin music. Radio Freedom being fiddles may be a reference to that.
The armour the lead farmer at the beginning was wearing is NCR Veteran desert ranger armour, seen in Fallout: New Vegas. It's a really iconic design from the games, so the fact that we got to see it in the show, and that they accompanied the scene with another version of the main theme from the games, was a real delight! Chances are the father in that family was ex-NCR. The hacking thing Norm did on Betty's terminal is also a match for the password-guessing minigame used to hack terminals in the games, too!
I like that even Thaddeus said, "Ni-nice meeting you!" before leaving. Lucy just has that effect on a lot of people, bringing out the good with her upbeat civility.
At this stage, I don't think the ghoul is going with CX404 because she leads him to the head. He already got the location of the head/Moldaver from the lead farmers. I think he freed her simply because he likes her company (even is she is not Him).
Absolutely. It's quite clear that the whole ordeal is leading him to recollect some stuff he has probably buried and tried to forget. At this point I'm sure having the dog around feels better than not simply because it does help him remember Roosevelt.
Notice, too, that when he says to her "Sorry Dogmeat, but you're not him", he says it in COOPER's voice. His 'Cowboy Twang' is noticeably gone. It's one of two instances in the show where the real Coop comes through, rather than his Cowboy persona that he uses to deal with life in the Wasteland.
Love Norm. Totally thought he was just a throw away character. Also the truth bombs they characters say. "We all are (cowards) Norm. We live in a Vault." My favorite is from episode 2 with the scientist talking to Lucy at the campfire. "You will have to adapt. The question is will you want the same things when you have become a different animal altogether." Said to Lucy but really applies to all of our main characters that are still human. And I think explains The Ghoul and why he is the way he is after all this time.
The lead farmers scene is an homage to "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly." If you've never seen it, check out the scene where Angel Eyes and his soon-to-be-victim share dinner together. :-)
The way this show uses music to help enhance situations both dramatic and comedic continues to really impress me. When they started in with Maximus brutalizing the vault security officers to "Only You" by the Platters, I couldn't stop laughing.
I guess it's just me... I saw Lucy and Maximus as googly-eyed for each other pretty much since they met. There were a few spots where it was played more for the gag, but I still never doubted they were going to end up at least kissing.
Now here we go, Thadius might just become a main in the future. You got Lucy (Dorthey, naive out of place), Maximus (Tin Man, she even had to save him from not being able to move), The Ghoul (Scarecrow, ugly but clutch), then there is our cowardly knight wanna be turned Mutant (The Lion). just a thought....
I had completely forgot about Eric Estrada until he popped up in the first scene has the father. He is famous for the CHiP's tv series that ran during the late '70's/early '80's.
I also saw that scene as a callout to the cabin scene in the streaming show, The Last of Us, where Joel and Ellie ended up in the Native American couple's cabin.
The way I view Lucy's and maximus's relationship is that Maximus is the closest thing the surface has to a vault-tec approved partner, and Lucy has grown up believing she wants exactly that. Max is healthy, strong, easily manipulated, and works well with creature comforts. ... But then I ponder Wilzig's words, asking if Lucy will still want the same things after being on the surface world for a while, and it makes me wonder.
The scene where the Ghoul tells CX404: "I'm sorry Dogmeat, but you ain't him." -- it reminds me of how my soul dog recently passed and try as he might, his "brother" just isn't him.
Betty clearly considers Norm to be a person to be reckoned with. She hasn't/won't take him into her confidence, tho when she sees her admin computer screen she's bound to add 3+5=Norm. She keeps dropping advice to him She wouldn't waste on the standard fare Vault 33 Drones. I don't remember seeing Betty during the 33 wedding massacre. Makes you wonder???
Betty also set Norm up by killing the prisoners so the vault could possibly later on turn on Norm since he said “do the same to them” line at the vault meeting.
Since the 1st time Lucy saw Max, she saw him as a Knight on shining Armor.. only time she didn't was after the supermarket episode, but she has always had feelings for him, maybe him not so much, but he evolved too, always love your reactions! keep rocking and stay safe!
36:16 Not even that. A person lying doesn't make them a liar. There is often more nuance to the motivations for most of us lying. We could do it to protect someone, to protect ourselves, to manipulate someone, to encourage someone...I think in this context Maximus is a survivor. And yeah, definitely Norman was a natural born detective in a world that had no mystery until now.
Earlier in a flashback Coop told Roosevelt that he couldn't join him at the Vault-Tec party because he was "heading into enemy territory." Later, he's told that there are no dogs in the vault and echoes it again while digging through the trash. The show is full of fun foreshadowing.
Going to lead off that this does not spoil anything in the show. There are other ghouls besides Cooper who remain stable. It's still a mystery in the games what makes some ghouls more susceptible than others, but it is implied that most ghouls will at some point go feral, some very quickly; some take years, some decades. There are also rare ghouls that have lived for centuries (even some from before the nuclear war like Cooper) and remained stable, though they are indeed rare. All that to say Thadeus has a chance to be a sane and stable ghoul, though the odds are he will turn eventually. And no, never trust a miracle cure/drug in this world. There's always a twist.
Cooper also mentioned Bakersfield in the show, Bakersfield is home to vault 12 where the experiment was a faulty main door allowing radiation to slowly leak in the vault. They were testing long term effects on people. Everyone in vault 12 became ghouls and it became known as Necropolis in the game.
While playing Fallout 4, a dog named "Dogmeat" was my faithful companion. In a situation fighting raiders in a building, I'd moved to my right to get a target on a raider through two doorways, and some distance beyond. I didn't see what weapon she was holding until she fired... oh sh#t! Missile launcher! I tried to quickly move back to my left but was stuck. Luckily the missile hit outside the furthest doorway, causing no damage. When I looked to my left to see what was pinning me in, there was Dogmeat. While I do not condone the actions of Thaddeus and would never abandon an animal in a container, I get the joke. In my experience, the majority of times after an encounter, I'd greet Dogmeat with "Way to go!", or "Good boy!". He only occasionally tried to get me killed. To clarify the difference between game and show, Fallout 4 was set in Boston, and Dogmeat was a male German Shepherd. This series is several years after, set in Southern California and 404 is a female Belgian Malinois (even though The Ghoul, Coop refers to her as Dogmeat). 404 is certainly a callback to Dogmeat and one many of us appreciate! I've not played the other games, but evidently "Dogmeat" appears in some of the others. Although clearly they're not the same dog, as they're in different times and separate parts of the country. Dogmeat must be a common post apocalyptic name for a dog, as Rex, Fido, or Spot were in the past.
The funny thing is Maximus' LUCK stat is actually higher than his INT stat.... in the games theres a perk called Idiot Savant that triggers MORE the lower your intelligence
What really makes Norm so well done is that in episode 1, Chet (the biggest person in Vault 33) is willing to head right out with Lucy but Norm (the smallest person) tells Lucy he's 'too chicken'. Then as they both explore 32 and the mystery deepens, Chet turns out to be the actual coward and Norm is the brave one. A complete reversal of expectations which is *brilliant*. Then, Norm always 'lacked enthusiasm' because no job in the Vault could keep him engaged, but the mystery of what's going on in 32 and 31 have now really kept him focused and he's able to use his intelligence (in game terms probably a 9 or 10 - the very top rating) in seeing what's going on. In fact, that hacking scene at the overseer's computer, was pretty much right out of the game and in game is easier the higher a character's intelligence is. More brilliant writing by the show's creators.
The radio station music being the music from Radio Freedom is so hilarious! OMG, I dreaded checking in with the Minutemen, waiting forever to get to the announcement, the same several songs playing over, and over, and...AHHHHHHH!!! Them making that into a joke? Priceless, and totally worth hearing those tunes again.
Just want to say, I discovered your channel via Fallout, but I've been burning through your Expanse series and it's been a breathtaking journey. So glad to see how much you enjoyed it. Also, not for nothing, but I bet everyone here would agree that it would be a lot of fun to get a series where you actually *play* Fallout 4. I'd love to see that, and I bet a lot of other folks would too!
Becoming a ghoul by taking some kind of mystery potion would be a novel thing, in the games that's not how ghouls are made. But then again they also don't need a constant supply of something to stop from going feral either so we're in uncharted territory either way. I hold out hope that he was exposed to the FEV, a virus that turns people into super mutants. We've not seen any of them so far but they're a staple of the games. That would be cooler, imo.
OMG LOL! I had to laugh at Angela hanging right on the edge of her seat just as the episode was about to end. I watched this Saturday and Sunday nights over dinner, so it was a bit of work avoiding spoilers for a month because I'm a fan of the games.
One of the issues people seem to have with the Max and Lucy and there relationship is that it has no chemistry. However, neither of them are wired like that. We see Lucy's mindset on relationships with her wedding. She is looking for a breeding partner and preferably a decent person. Love doesn't seem to matter. Max has shown he has ZERO relationship experience. He is a blind puppy meeting the first girl that likes him. He is in deep shit with the Brotherhood and Lucy is the only person that hasn't betrayed him or treated him like shit. He would literally die for her. Sure it's not romantic, but for most of human history weddings were more transactional. Like this. As for Thad turning ghoul... No, I didn't think he was a ghoul. Further more, I still don't. There's another possibility... but spoilers.
I'm a big Norm fan. I love the big intelligence build they gave him, and even though he said he's a coward, it took some serious courage to walk through the door to Vault 31. He's my absolute favorite this season. I can't wait to see more of his character next season!
As a long time fan of nerdy books with weird names: you pronounce things however the hell you want. Your thoughts about the characters and their actions are way more important than whether we say their names the same way. :D
Dont....FUCK! 😆 Reminded me how i hate cliffhangers. I feel for you. 😄 At least they didnt make it one episode for a month version or i would scrape the painting from the wall while waiting. Anyway that was the cutest swearing i ever saw, LOL.😁
It's so interesting to me how people have two completely different impressions of Maximus depending on whether they think he sabotaged Dane or not at the start. Such fascinating psychology. * People who think he did it interpret everything after as reinforcement of their existing opinion of him as selfish, incompetent and untrustworthy. Any compliments for good behavior are fleeting at best. * People who don't think he did it see him as a flawed, naive goofball who tries to do his best but panics a lot and doesn't think ahead.
@@funnylilgalreacts Personally I wouldn't say broken, more like...half-formed, maybe? You can see in both him and Lucy where they have big gaps in education and life experience. Youre going to love the last episode, that's for sure. ☺ I'm more referring to things like Lucy throwing the acid versus Maximus attacking Thaddeus. In both cases the characters felt threatened, jumped to a conclusion and took action. In fact, as it turned out, Lucy was utterly wrong in protecting herself, while Maximus was actually the more justified of the two. But the way the show frames Maximus, it leads people to just brushing off Lucy's actions, while reinforcing the opinion that he's an idiot, even though both were 'correct' in the moment. Like I said, fascinating.
To be clear... Cooper only made those concessions... saying the line and killing in the movie, or doing the commercials... as favors to his wife. Recall the discussion they were having when he was first getting into the costume for the commercials. After a while he resented it, which is why he went to the meeting with his buddy, and also why he ended up digging the earpiece out of the trash. He knows that the business model for his wife's company is to peddle and foment hatred and fear. This way, people will be more likely to buy their products. After all, if there is no threat of war and only the promise of peace, then where does a vault fit in to all of that? He even stated as much in the meeting with Moldaver and in his conversation with her in the hall after he walked out. He was caught in the middle because his wife wanted one thing, but his values led him to something else. Now, he is gunning for the people responsible for the war (and hoping to stop more from happening) and his being a Ghoul... people like Moldaver and whoever worked with Vault-Tec and his wife. Keep in mind that there have now been 2 nuclear wars fought, and each time more people were driven into the hands of Vault-Tec; and Cooper was around for both of them!
Vaults 31, 32, and 33 are all connected via underground tunnels, so they can text each other. Most vaults are not connected to other vaults that way, so they can only communicate with the outside world via CB radio (if they have one) or couriers (not the name of a technology; couriers in Fallout are actual wastelanders who are paid to deliver messages and packages).
I don't know if this has been mentioned, but the stats in the game are called your "SPECIAL", Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck (S.P.E.C.I.A.L). From watching the show I'd say Maximus has very high Luck and very low Intelligence.
"if my dad found out i destroyed an entire community to save him, that'd break his heart. James to my Evil playthrough F3 character: im very disappointed in you.
I cannot get enough of Walton Goggins in this series like seriously he's such an amazing actor. Thanks for such an awesome reaction and great video too!!
The armor the guy in the very beginning was wearing was NCR Ranger armor, which is a very very good set of armor from the New Vegas game. Rangers are very elite NCR special forces troops, either that guy used to be one or took it of a dead guy.
@@michaelhoward142It's armor from the cover art of a game that came out in, what, 2009? 2010? NCR has already been brought up in the show. Saying that it's NCR armor is fine.
I've played Fallout 3, NV and 4, and I had zero clue that Thaddeus has been turned into a Ghoul until Maximus said it. This isn't even the first time this has happened to a character in the Fallout series, but it completely went over my head this time.
the opening scene of this episode, with Erik Estrada (from CHiPs), is very similar to that of the villain's introduction in the 1966 film "the good, the bad and the ugly".
it's ok to laugh at stuff like the gulper being the great uncle of the overseer that's part of Fallout's humor. there is a theory ive seen that Thadeus is turning into something else instead of a ghoul, wont spoil what hoping they show up in season 2.
Absolutely adore your reactions; informed and insightful. And always with a wonderful laugh. I would also add that while the Ghoul sees the practicality of using 404/Dogmeat to track the head, the Ghoul did give doggo scratchies before the Ghoul pulled him out of the cola color.
I've been watching this reaction for 3 days lol. I'm about halfway done, and I actually have a few minutes so I might be able to finish it now. Gotta keep those tabs open 🤘🖖Edit: I finally finished and it was over 2 devices lol. I'm off till tomorrow so I might be able to catch up the patreon videos tonight 🤘
10:20 The father is Erik Estrada, famous for starring in CHIPS back in the 1970s. ======== For all of Maximus' flaws, at the end of the day, his biggest flaw/virtue is that his primary motivation is revenge. You'll find out what he wants revenge for in the final episode. ======== Please allow me to give you a bit of background on Shady Sands, since that city has been mentioned several times already. It's important to the game, and you may have glossed over the very fast explanation given in the show. In the first game, you are from Vault 13 and sent to get a new "water chip" from Vault 15, or else your people will die of thirst. You find Vault 15 abandoned, and the survivors barely holding on in a tiny village called Shady Sands. I believe Shady Sands is the first major quest hub after leaving Vault 13. After completing a few quests around Shady Sands, you save the village from destruction, at the end of the game, you are told that the town prospers as a result of your efforts. In the second game, you find out that the people in Shady Sands were motivated by the original hero of the first game to found the New California Republic, which was basically an inclusive democracy that served as a good contrast to the bad people in the Enclave (the remainder of the original American government). Shady Sands was the capital of NCR By the third game, NCR had grown into one of the largest, most powerful factions on the West coast of the former USA. As they became larger and more powerful, they developed a nasty corruption problem, but overall was still one of the least bad powerful factions in the game. I'm not sure what happened in Fallout 4 or New Vegas, so I won't comment. ======== I want to stress again that the relationship between Vaults 31, 32, and 33 are not normal. Other vaults are more isolated. In the first game, you have to travel overland a good distance to reach Vault 15, which is the closest to the vault you start in.
Fred Armisen in the role of...Fred Armisen! Tremendously fun reaction, top marks go to the editor! Xander (or whoever it is on this series) you killed it! ❤
Whether or not Thaddius is a ghoul now is debatable. There are a few other things the "serum" could be turning him into. Regardless, the Brotherhood would try to kill him.
I love your intro to this video, and respect that you held onto your suspicions but appreciate that you were more open minded in your theories and not just concluding that everything you don't understand is evil. I always disliked how little everyone thinks of Maximus but I do get it. Vantage point, and all.
I must say that I love Vault 4. The complete subversion of expectations, made in the best way possible. BTW, that was the vault in which Cooper made his commercial. What I want to see the most at this point are vaults 1 to 3.
@@sergioaccioly5219 However, they tend not to pick up the larger lesson - don't make judgements about places/people/events without knowing the full story. Because I see a lot of people go right on doing it with....certain characters. Often in this same episode.
"Diamond City Radio" In Fallout 4 its what you listen too clearing out, Well everything it plays all the music you hear in the show on a loop with a DJ doing breaks and telling news of the day which is usually about you the Lone Wanderer and your exploits.
I think my favorite part to this episode is the death by banishment on the surface scene and the fake out they pulled. I laughed so much at that entire scene. Closely followed by your meme you made about the irradiated beverage machine (Nuka Cola) lol. Oh, the cliffhanger I am on pins and needles to see your reaction to the next episode!
I did not initially believe the Doc was turning him into a ghoul.....until......the hints in things he said before he skedaddled about rads and not worrying anymore.
To answer the Thaddeus question, as a player, watching the foot regrow there were two options that crossed my mind, especially with the comment about not needing to worry about radiation. The second option hasn't been hinted at in this show in any way, so I figured probably ghoul and it ties in with them having had ghoulification as a recurring theme this season. So very keen to see your reaction to the finale - see you there!
39:50 I think that vault trio is triangular, so 33 probably connects to 31 and 32 individually. I'm just going off the poster, and that just makes the most sense to design it that way.
pretty sure we can see the ghoul changing in this episode. he didn't just kill the younger guy outright, he waited until he went for a weapon. granted, he goaded him into it, but he waited. then you see his look of "wtf, who did this" when finding dogmeat. as for stats in game they use the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system. strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence and luck. these can start from 1 to 10 depending on how you want to allocate the points you get to start with and then can go up as you level or find certain items.
I can honestly say I feel for Thaddeus regarding his foot. earlier this year I was in a bad car accident that caused severe frostbite and burns on one of my feet, and having to walk on it for three days before I could get proper medical attention. i'm lucky i survived
