Fallout: New Vegas - Father Elijah: An Archetypal Tragedy 

Sealing Elijah in the vault always felt like the most appropriate ending for him. In the end you left him with one last chance to let go of the Sierra Madria Treasure, his refusal to let go would seal his own fate not you as the courier.

I always figured that each DLC had some connection to Christianity, Honest Hearts was about Old and New Testament values, Old World Blues was about the consequences of playing God, and Lonesome Road is about the Apocalypse and how mankind always seem to seek self-destruction. Dead Money, and the Sierra Madre, is about purgatory. Where lost souls must avoid temptations and vengeful spirits who seek to drag them to hell. This is all from the same game that had an anal fisting robot sidequest.

Ulysses is a great next character, but his story is closely tied to that of the scientists in Big MT, so you might wind up having to work on both at the same time

I hated Dead Money originally but every time I come back to it, my appreciation grows for its bold desire to double down on what it was. A death trap full of regret and lessons of letting go.

The thing I love about New Vegas, is that they teased the DLC content and characters before their launch.

Wait, I had no idea there was a "join him" ending. o_O Also, yes, Ulysses next, please. It's because of him that my hatred for the Legion will never die. It was because of him that I found out what happened to Harold's people. His former family from the vault he left as a child. :(

I think Father Elijah's "Wipe the slate clean" speech. Really revals what kind of man he truly is. A man so obsessed with revenge and so filled with ego. That he would rather, literally, destroy the entire known world, and stand alone in the fallout of his own destruction. Than admit he was ever wrong about anything.

Ulysses is an amazing character because discussing him automatically leads to discussing the Courier as his own person and not a representation of the player, which is really cool.

I came back to New Vegas after many years. I performed my duty as a gamer and made off with the gold, using Elijah's body to take advantage of the fact that walls are a suggestion. My mission was completed as I walked out of the basement, knowing that I obstinately ignored the game's lesson.

I’ll kill them, I’ll kill them until it’s only me. Me, alone, in a quiet world. A world that’s nothing like what happened at Helios One.

I loved Elijah as a villain, but I hated how old he was. "I will rule a quiet wasteland for all 5 years left of my life" is sort of a joke.

I always will love Elijah deconstructing the Pip-boy and how it leads you around by the nose. How its a crutch that makes you weaker. He also does the same for the gamer desire to "find cool shit to kill and loot", blaming you in part for getting yourself trapped at the Sierra Madre. Dead Money was my favourite part of New Vegas despite on paper it should be vying for the worst (items gone, linear, drab and oppressive environment).

so there's this one character named Vaas Montenegro, he's pretty cool :p great video Max, thanks for bringing back those memories

One thing no one mentions. During the bad ending when Elijah kills you, your character has a hologram made of them and haunt the halls like other holograms. When you trap Elijah and listen in to his last words, He says "When you die, I'll be waiting." Our character cant find their way back to the Sierra Madre but if we could, I'm certain we would find a vengeful Elijah hologram, waiting just like he said.

"I'll kill them until it's only me, me alone... in a quiet world. In a world that's nothing like what happened at HELIOS One." You forgot to even mention this line in the entire video. Father Elijah is not an inhuman monster. He's a broken old man that just want to be alone. He is blinded by trauma and regret.

The more content I watch from you,the more freaked out I become 😨

Ahab is fighting against the Demiurge.

Honestly most of the followers in fallout are worth taking a look into. Their stories often have complex moral situations that really bring out good conversations with ourselves. Namely Boone from Novac, or Cass from the Mojave Outpost but they all have amazing stories.

Dead Money seemed to not be like by a lot. But this DLC was may favorite.

At 19:32 you start to hack a terminal. Idk if you know but if you scroll over each line you will sometimes find q jumble of symbols that have no words. If you select them you can remove dud word or reset your tries. I found this out only a year ago and i been playing fallout for years. Hope this helps.

Fallout New Vegas AND Max Derrat. Absolutely.

Ulysses, like Elijah, is connected to Old World Blues DLC. I would recommend looking at it first, and their involvement there. Also OWB is just tons of fun and weirdly terrifying at times, so playthrough is in order even if no video comes of it. What is most striking about Elijah in Fallout New Vegas is that he is the only major character you cannot talk into abandoning their objective. Like - if you choose to flee from Zion in Honest Heart, you can convince Salt-Upon-Wounds to surrender and let everyone go without a fight. If you choose to destroy the White Legs, you can convince Joshua to spare Salt. In Old World Blues, you can convince the Think Tank to stand down. Ulysess himself can be talked down, and you can do it without speech skill, just need to do some holotape hunting and smart dialogue choices. Even both Legate Lanius and General Lee Oliver can be convinced to withdraw for now. But not Elijah. He will come down to the vault, sure. But he isn't letting go no matter what. And i think that fits the general message of Dead Money brillantly.

Elijah is such an underrated charater. He's in the same tier as Joshua Graham but doesn't get nearly as much attention.

I can't believe Max is about to discuss Ulysses, finally a competent discussion!!!

I can't wait to watch the Ulysses Video. I believe he is probably the most misunderstood villain in FNV.

I haven't even watched the video yet, but you made a good move with this one. Sierra Madre was my favorite DLC from that game. It made me feel so many intense emotions

Ulysses, Joshua, Elijah, Mr. Hegelian dialectic Dialectics? No, the real deal is Fantastic, you need to analyze him.

Doctor Evil MeMe during space laser took me by surprise and sent me into hysterical laughter. Brilliant video sir, thank you.

1:22 Hey, Max, you should check out 8MM with Nick Cage

Ulysses is my all time favorite FNV character. Unfortunately some less than intelligent persons (oxhorn) have slandered his dialogue in popular videos.

Just wanted to say that I'm happy for you for reaching your milestone, Max. Keep going.

Ulysses would be the best option for the next fallout video

I'd like to see a video on Forecaster. An easily missable but fascinating character. He's a psychic fortune teller trapped in the body of a child. when asked he'll tell your fortune for a fee, that's heavily laden with gambling imagery that translates into tarot.

Judge Holden would be perfect for you sir. “Whatever in creation exist without knowledge exist without my consent”.

I just replayed Fallout NV recently, Elijah is my favorite character, I followed it up by playing Dust, a Mod where Elijah releases the fog, and tunnelers take over the Mojave like Ulysses predicted. Moby Dick has hella influences all over gaming, wish they made me read that book in school lol

This video brings new light to the character. Both Elijah and God/Dog. Would love to see a vid on Ulysses too.

The next one should definitely be Ulysses, you've already done Joshua and now Elijah. But whoever you do keep 'em coming man, these Dissections are so interesting.

more on archetypical villains: i can’t help but think of d&d and how there are so many dark wizards/mages within the lore. there’s something so interesting about human hubris and how destructive and dangerous it can be. it’s so prevalent within even player-made mage characters that “wizard hubris” has become part of the d&d community’s dictionary.

HA! That was great, putting in that blink and you miss it frame of Dr. Evil! Great touch!

"The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him." - A. W. Tozer

Yesss another Fallout video from Max! As someone who's currently obsessed with Fallout, this made my day 😊

Man that Sierra Madre could be a nice movie about utopia goes wrong just like Bioshock's Rapture City

One of your best Max, truly profound. Mulling over the notion of Moby Dick being a representation of our existential irrelevance and the indifference of the universe, then equating that to a cosmic deity gave me goosebumps. I started thinking Lovecraft, but then I appreciate the representation of the great (and by extension terrible) mother as nature. If you can subdue the indifference of the universe/nature to your human plight, even symbolically, you can feel like you transcended mortal limitations, effectively becoming a god. The fantasy of this promises peace of mind and a sense of safety through the eradication of uncertainty. Also, I think the 21st century techno Satan and his emissaries that Jung warned about it Aion might be the new Ahab. Hear me out... you mentioned the last barrier for Elijan and Ahab being their animal instincts (evolutionary genetic programming)... well, there's a movement that refers to those instincts as "the tyranny of the Darwinian mind" and seeks to selectively genetically engineer these instincts out of our species based on presence or "science". Max Tegmark also references this as Life 3.0.

I just watched your synchronicity video yesterday

Yes! Uylsses is absolutely the next character you should cover. Great vid as always man! 😁

It's only right that he becomes the heart of the Sierra Madre, sealed forever and dying alone in the darkness.

Absolutely do a video on Ulysses. Also, If you make a video about how characters come to terms with guilt and traumatic actions in their past, i think the NV companion Boone would be a perfect example to showcase

Ulysses is the penultimate fallout character. He is basically the Kreia of Fallout.

Dead Money has the most important lesson taught from it that applies to the main base game story as well as all the DLCs that follow. And it's letting go (of your obsessions), base game New Vegas itself is the obsession, Honest Hearts is about letting go of your religion/traditions as well as vengeance with Joshua Graham, Old World Blues is as the title implies letting go of the Old World Blues and Lonesome Road is about letting go from the lost dream and revenge again. Revenge is a theme that repeatedly pops up in New Vegas and all the DLCs stories. The courier gets called out by his own brain even in Old World Blues meaning canonically the courier obsesses over revenge as well.

I watched Cronenberg’s eXistenZ a year and a half ago and I enjoyed it because of the acting and presentation, and the plethora of unsettling questions that were elicited as well as its surreal ‘game’ scenes. That and of course its grotesque body horror in plugging into a port located in someone’s stomach or near the bellybutton. Also, the fact that it is hard to tell if the characters are still in the game or have gone back to real life after exiting it kind of like how our lives are like a game we are force to participate and play. Great existential film! Would highly, highly recommend, Max

"The most difficult part isn't finding it. Its letting go." - [Begin Again song plays]

that package... that machine... long 15... bear bull... caesar... courier...the divide...

You could easily have a field day with FNV

Amazing lore video 🙂🙂

Ohhh a comparison video on Mr. House and Andrew Ryan would be a good watch!

"There is no great genuis without a mixture of madness." - Albert Einstein

Thats crazy, after playing Dead Money dozens of times I had no idea about the multiple endings. I ALWAYS would kill elijah and take the gold for myself, learning nothing

I think before covering Ulysses you should cover Caesar and House first, since Ulysses character and DLC revolves around the themes of letting go and both the new and old worlds

Another great video, love your content Max 🙏🏻

Ulysses is pretty interesting, and no doubt there's a lot of room to play with him. Caesar, who sorta lays it all out, would also be fun. I'll give a suggestion from out of left field; perhaps a dissection of Caesar's officers, those being Lanius, Vulpes, and Lucius; however I don't know if there's that much to dissect by only doing one out of the three, I think it would require doing all of them in one video and comparing them.

The way this guy says archetypal pissed me off WAY more than it should

Love your videos man

I believe that Melville went temporarily atheist and got really depressed after writing Moby Dick.

Dead Money recently became my favorite of the DLCs. It was the first released, and by far the largest breakaway from the Bethesda style open world setting New Vegas, and *all* it's other DLC represents. Five distinct characters with stories that you might not hear because you chose the wrong path *on the second quest.* Dead Money's story doesn't stop though-- for the Courier, it's impossible to Begin Again. There is always something pulling them to a next destination, whether it be brain waves, or history. Paying attention to the history of the construction through all the terminals in the Sierra Madre is important. I feel like a lot of people hate this part of New Vegas for it's departure, but doesn't realize it's impact on the overall story.

Obsession That is the one word that sums up his caricature it is his sole motivation but it also what ultimately causes his undoing in the end it's his obsession that you use against him to lure him to the basement vault and seal him in or kill him

Do the Think Tank next. Ulysses is best kept for last, seeing how he ties everything that took place in the other 3 DLC's together. Also spectacular analysis as always, love your stuff and can't wait for more FNV stuff, this game is just such a masterpiece and I'll never tire of it...

13:05 you reminded me of another villain which resemble those 2 perfectly. The one from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Ah yes, Father Elijah - the idol figure for one infamous gringo

Synchronicity is both satisfying and uncanny.

Oh neat- didn't see that you did this game. Watching now.

Yessss Ulysses next! Oxhorn has a decent video explaining why Ulysses is the way he is, but I’m sure you’ll have a great time figuring him out.

Hey Max, I recently brought you up to a friend and to my surprise he knew of you. Thought you might enjoy that. Also do you know that FO3 references Moby Dick directly?

don’t see the parallels as vividly as you do but great video

Orbital Space “LAZER” 😂 well done sir! 1000/10

Anyone else hoping a New Vegas re master arrives?

Do Todd Howard.

Ulysses. For the love of GodDog, Ulysses...

"All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were *_visibly personified, and made practically assailable_* in Moby Dick..." This has always disturbed me because I can imagine how empowering/motivating that would be - I think Ahab is underrated when it comes to how seductive madness would be.

I'd love to see your take on the original big bad from the start of the series, The Master!

Still waiting for you to get to Ulysses, patiently. You're doing the series justice, and I applaud you.

i always end up sneaking out with the gold and then struggling to sell it all

Excellent video

PLEASE, Do a Psychological analysis on Returnal. It has so many Scientific analyses on RU-vid and some Philosophical ones (like Jacob Geller analysis, I recommend to see it) but I love to see a full in depth Psychological breakdown on Returnal.

if I'm not mistaken I could've sworn I saw a flash of Dr.Evil from the Austin Powers movie.

Yep. There is no other option then Ulysses. For his voice only. Man I love his voice. And he is also a deep and complicated person. Later maybe someone from Old World Blues? Think Tank? Mobieus? Tbh they are more comic characters thou. Anyway thank you for adressing my fav game of all times. Stay Yelow

Great lore dive, but you kinda left out Father Elijah's brilliance and his interactions with the other DLC NPCs. After retreating from Helios One in shame, he stumbled upon the Big MT in search for technology. He nearly got caught by the Think Tank, and he narrowly eluded capture and mauling from lobotomites and robots by jury rigging LAER weapons and firing it on them. He encountered Ulysses (who had his own struggles with the Think Tank) and Ulysses told him of a pre-war casino to the east, which contained untold treasures. Soon Elijah noticed he was stalked by Christine who was sent to kill him. He then sicced the inhabitants of Little Yangtze and robots after her, trapping her with the Think Tank, and allowing them to perform nefarious experiments on her brain. After learning of the Cloud, the Holograms and stealing the slave collar tech from Big MT, Elijah hacked into the trains, used it as a ram to punch through the perimeter, and frying Dr. 8's voice module, he escaped.. in Ulysses's words: into a special kind of hell. Finally, trapping him in the vault is the only poetic end for him. He spent so many years and ruined so many lives to get in, and now he's here, alone, in a quiet world.

I've always loved Cronenberg but for whatever reason had never seen Videodrome- until it was on tv the night before last. Whilst watching it I remember thinking I hope Max does something on Cronenberg!😆 Also- my mum was recently diagnosed with autism & has been nagging me to take a test. Your videos on the subject helped a lot, especially the one on relationships. Made me feel a tad queasy! Funny how things come together.. Cheers!

You have great content!

Nice hidden meme between 5:50 and 5:51 ;D well done Max.

Ulysses is the sensible choice character to analyze next, _but_ both Ulysses and Father Elijah went to the Big Empty so taking a _small detour_ to Old World Blues DLC in order to understand their journeys before analyzing Ulysses would be preferable. Especially since Ulysses interacted with many of the prominent characters of F:NV and it's DLCs which ties in with his philosophy.

You really should look at Ulysses last out of all the major characters, he's the bow that goes on top of the lore present lol I think you'll really like him but you'll want to go through the Big MT first, i dunno how much you can do on the scientists there but you'll want to hear what they have to say before you eventually meet Ulysses.

Loved it. Do the granny gang next or fisto. Anybody else wanna see if the mans wit is as sharp as his insight?

Great video Mr Derrat you should do either Ulysses or Legate Lanius.

I think you should definitely cover Ulysses. You could also cover some base game characters like Caesar, House, or even Boone (who has one of the most emotionally powerful and interesting stories in all of Fallout, in my opinion)

You may want to cover the Think Tank and Dr. Moebius before taking on Ulysses... they are... at least a little relevant to the Divide.

I did all of the options for the dead money dlc and I gotta say. Locking him inside tthat vault felt nice.

It would take time, but I suggest looking into an anime called "Legend of Galactic Heroes". You could find quite a few characters worthy of analying.

An analysis of Cincinnatus C from Invitation to a Beheading would be sweet

Great video, I liked it.

Lol I caught that Dr evil frame