The Master also takes a lot of inspiration, especially his physical appearance, from the movie "From Beyond". Of course, that movie was inspired by a Lovecraft story, and Fallout has a bunch of Lovecraft other references... but the "absorbing" and mutating mass of flesh stuff is pretty much directly from the film. BTW: Mariposa is Spanish for "butterfly". A bit nail-on-the-head naming there.
Sadly yeah. I would recommend Wasteland 3 it's reasonably close to that even if the game is a little bit shorter than the fallout games were it shares so much DNA with the original games that it's as close as you'll probably get. I wish Bethesda would take Fallout 5 and go really dark and twisted with it.
@@infernaldaedra Sincerely, having them "going back" in the timeline opens them so many possibilities to tie in facts and events loosely quoted in tge games, as well for leaving a dreadful desert-like wasteland, and even make a dark, sinister, revolting place to live in.
that's because the theme of the franchise moved from "no-matter how advanced or savage it is, humanity will always manage to both adapt, and be awful", to just "war bad, apes together strong" with a shitty cultural underlying "theme". and i believe New-Vegas is reponsible for that, because it's entire theme was about how radically differents-cultures can't help reform society as long as one isn't more powerful than others. and don't get me wrong, F:NV is one of my favorites games, and i absolutely love it's theme, but bethesda missed the fucking point while trying to recreate it again and again. Fallout 1 and 2 were about the slow reconstruction of humanity after a cataclysmic-event, Fallout: New-Vegas was about differents cultures with their uniques outlook on how society should be rebuilt, fallout 3 and fallout 4 were about "war-bad, don't commit war" and "don't be mean to others, we should all be friends".
The main reason I love the master is that when you show him the proof that the mutants are sterile, he feels so terribly bad for every terrible action hes done, because he did those things in the name of the unity, but the unity was ultimately going to fail, and seeing him become sad and depressed as he kills himself is actually quite sad.
It's indeed rare and interesting to see a main villain who isn't just some narcissistic and arrogant psychopath but someone reasonable and with some humanity left despite his horrific form who, when presented with solid facts and evidence, quickly realizes the harm he caused and decides to redeem himself.
It's just weird to me because it's like... you haven't dipped nearly everyone dude, just stop the dipping for now and start work on a new strain, and then don't start full production until it's confirmed to work. What sort of scientist are you, man?
I have never played Fallout and this guy was my introduction to the series. And having him say THAT as his last words is probably gonna haunt me forever. Having to realize that your inhuman efforts were all for jackshit is - extremely depressing to go out with. Especially without any other option, given - well, his condition.
I genuinely spit my drink laughing at 1:50, where you're introducing The Master, but the filler footage is you SPRINTING up to some dude in his house and caving his fucking skull in with a giant hammer
Thats my favorite thing about the Master, he genuinely believed that his actions were for the good of all society. He genuinely believed that by turning everyone into super mutants and killing anyone who got in the way, peace would actually reign and the ends justified the means. When you keep trying to tell him the Super Mutants are sterile and, will eventually all die out, he keeps disagreeing. He doesn't want to imagine that every awful thing that he did was completely meaningless and his entire plan was thwarted by just one mistake he never thought to calculate for. Eventually when you finally provide enough evidence for him to believe it all, he kills himself. Not because he would rather die than let you beat him, but because he's sorry. He genuinely wanted to help everyone and bring peace in the only way he knew how. When you tell him that his entire plan has failed, he sees suicide as the only true form of justice to make up for the actions he committed.
Whoever voiced The Master couldn't have done a better job. Especially with the dialogue where you prove his plan will fail. "I cannot continue to do the things I have done in the name of progress and healing. Leave now, while you still have hope." Gives me chills every time.
It’s interesting. There are two types of antagonists. Those who can be reasoned with, and those who cannot. And finding out after which is which adds a retrospective context to what interactions you’ve had. And teaches you about what’s been done and it’s effect. The interesting thing is you can’t really tell most of the time which is which. It makes characters like Vader compelling.
I love the fact that the Lieutenant actually knew there was something wrong in the mutant reproductive process but didn't have enough courage to tell the Master about it. This is what happens when you control people with fear too much; your subordinates tend to lie to you to keep you happy, and in the end you are completely unaware of the whole situation.
seems like a plot hole though, with his "intellect" how could he be ignorant so something so simple to see through basic observation? why wouldnt/couldnt he simply initiate a SM preg through invitro to make sure his "master race" was viable.
That part when the Master realizes he messed up and that female voice says, "All my work" in that shocked and dismayed tone always sticks with me. Amazing voice acting.
@@Phoebe5448 I love the fact that the voices are personified emotions, the computer-like voice is the neutral one, about statistics, scientifical facts, etc...Then you have the angry male voice, for all that is violence authority, angriness, wish of killing, and the female voice, for good emotions, protrction, caring. Aded to the master own voice, it give an exceptionally complex character.
@@Areldil it's like there is an inner debate between the various personalities inside the Master: The "angry" voice at first is enraged, but after that he sounds confused, as when after moment of immense rage you feel astonished and wonder what you have done, the "computer" voice is more logical and cold towards all the horrors that were done, asking for proof, calculating the information and proposing to continue while the "female" voice is genuinely tormented and horrified by all the actions done seeking the Greater Good
Sad that Fallout 4's villian, Father, wasn't as well rounded. If you ask him why he even made synths and what their purpose is, he just says "you wouldn't understand" and then dies. Very poor writing.
I'd like to think it's something up to interpretation. Usually individuals such as himself keep things vague and isolated. He's cruel and separated from others so you could guess it could be a deep reason. Regardless, I do wish that his reasoning will eventually be revealed.
@@ungabungus01 I think "talking head" is also used to describe puppet like people on TV and Caesar is saying that it's weird that someone so interesting is a talking head. Think that was also what they called the models when making the game :) not 100% sure though.
I feel bad that Harold never learned the true fate of his old friend, he knows about the Master by Fallout 2, but he never found out he was Richard, and Richard likewise thought Harold must have died because otherwise he would have helped him out of the vat he fell into. I kinda wish there had been an option to tell Richard and/or Harold about the truth at least as an Easter egg rewarding players who put two and two together, even if just to have one or two extra lines of dialogue. Also, if you do another Fallout 1 Villainpedia, I’d love to see one for the character Set cause he is so bizarre as a character but surprisingly multifaceted, I think he’s highly underrated. I guess technically he’s not a villain but he is a resentful pawn of the Master and not a nice fellow.
@@SSD_Penumbra It’s one of those details that isn’t super obvious, but some of Set’s dialogue and a note from the Lieutenant in a desk that’s out of the way confirms that the Master put some super mutants into Necropolis to force the ghouls to be on the lookout for humans that the super mutants can take, but Set isn’t interested in following along, hence why he asks you to kill the super mutants at the watershed. So basically, Set isn’t a minion on the level of the super mutants or children of the cathedral, he was only intended by the master to be a watchdog in Necropolis, but Set is not having any of it.
Another unique thing about the Master, is that the Master, *knows* that he is wrong. The Master just sees it as simply the only way humanity can go on, he thinks he has to do it, because demise would come to them otherwise. Which is the only reason he kills himself, all the evil he had done, was supposed to save humanity in the long run, and his plan failed.
I always wondered why, after such a long time, he would just give up his plan in an instant, instead of trying to fix FEV in not sterilising the individuals that are brought in contact with it. It's critique on a very high level, I know. I'm a Fallout fan of the first hour btw =b The thing that sticked with me is the rawness and harshness this game slaps things around and I love it till today.
@@EdMcStinko indeed it was. I thought it was pretty neat to have the option to talk him out of his plan! It's not like I discovered it on my first playthrough, since the speech threshold is rather high to get the option and then you still would have to follow the right path in the conversation. I guess I stumbled across the option by accident one time and was I was flabbergasted.
I just love how the game doesn’t end when you beat the master. You have to beat him AND the lieutenant, because the game is aware that the lore implies that he would continue with the mission, even if the master was gone. It’s so rare to see a game respect secondary villains in this way. And I love how the game itself almost believes that the master would have been in the right, had his plans not been doomed to fail from the beginning, due to the reproduction issue.
I played Fallout when I was way too young. The scene where you get dipped in the FEV vat and the Super Mutants kill everyone in the Vault scared me. The Master terrified me. I had nightmares for months after meeting him.
rats we're rats.. we're the rats.. we prey at night we stalk at night.. we're the rats! i'm the giant rat that makes all of the rules.. let's see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into..
My first play i come to military base and was oneshot and cut in 2 parts by mutant with laser rifle. This shocked me so much so i deleted the game😂 my next attempt was only in few months
I like that they kept that *SPOILERS* In F:NV, if you have enough speech you can convince the Legate that even if he wins and takes over the dam, he wouldn't be able to hold it, as his army had already suffered many loses and all it would take for any of the factions to re take it would be to send reenforcements. He sees this and admits that he never wanted the dam, that he thougth Cesar's obssesion with it would break the legion, and that they would return with greater streght.
I was traumatized the first time I walked into the master’s room without the helmet protecting you from his psychic abilities, reading about the terrifying horror show going on in the vault dwellers scrambled mind as he tries to take a single step, losing massive HP along the way
What ultimately made the difference between the master as a truly evil villain, and the master as a tragic villain really does come down to trying out the diplomacy option. If you don't take that route he is nothing ever but a evil maniac, albeit a really cool and perfect fallout one. But the diplomacy option to defeat him shows that like you said he truly always meant to be the savior, and the moment he chose to die and end his reign instead of riding the madness and trying to conquer anyways is the moment he proved everything he claimed he wanted, that he didn't lie, and that when we found out he was wrong, he accepted it, and chose to end it, rather than perpetuate it. It's a very very powerful moral backbone that is disturbing if you think to be present in such a monster of a man, yet lacking in so many wastelanders that are absolutely human. The master, the practical father of mutants was honest, if anything.
@@b42charlie funny how Internet historian has a channel all about "i must expleeeene" based in the "I have no mouth and I must scream" and you asked to explain.
Considering the Master had already merged with the base's computer when he was moved to the vault, I imagine four supermutants carrying the computer all the way across the west coast.
I really want more villains like The Master. He’s so grotesque but he has a way about him that he knows what he’s doing, and that he truly believes it’s for the greater good. I especially want more villains that can be talked to, eventually showing them reality and that they’ve been doing wrong, not right, to the point that they just give up.
I find kind of underwhelming how, at least according to his journal of Fallout 2, the path where the Vault Dweller opens The Master's eyes with hard evidence and makes him redeem himself with self-destruction is not canon and what actually happened in the lore was just a generic battle to the death with no nuance.
That's what I loved about Halo 2, you get to see both paths of a villain who believed they were right but were shown they were wrong. The Arbiter accepts reality at a great cost, the character Tartarus can't bear the truth and continues in denial.
@@Sextus70 Wasn't that left up to interpretation? Vault dweller says in his journal that he doesn't want to talk about what happened there other than the fact that what he saw there was grotesque, depressing and that he still doesn't feel ready to talk about it.
@Jerma985_Enjoyer Just reread the memoirs, and he says that indeed. However, there's a picture in them of what seems the Dweller firing at The Master with some kind of anti-material rifle. That seems to imply he was so disturbed with what he found out (or if there was some dialogue attempt, it failed) that he decided to fight to the death.
33:20 the way that the slightly angry voice just says “madness?” Pierced my heart. He sounded so enthusiastic, but in that moment it’s just confusion and possibly sadness towards all of his work being useless.
It's interesting to compare The Master to Dagoth Ur. They have a few important similarities. Both were corrupted through the discovery and attempted destruction of something powerful, in Ur's case the heart of Lorkhan. And both attempted to unite people by making them "one" through corruption, in Ur's case via Corprus. They're both tragic figures that seem more like victims the more of their story you hear.
The saddest thing is, much later on, i think it was in Jacobstown in Fallout NV, you will learn from Marcus that the reproduction system of supermutants actually started to heal... and since they can live for hundreds of years, it would in the end work out. Master DID really have a master plan.
I'm quite sure this was added to justify existance of super mutants in Fallout 3. Bethesda is so out of touch with this lore and it makes me sad they've done a stupid fan service with their games instead of actually doing proper writing and world building.
@@shiverr1337I rather think in that case it was more of a freak accident than anything, like for fallout 4 the reason why we don't see chimera anymore is because they've either been all wiped out or there isn't much fev left and the wasteland there is more stable now thanks to the past actions of others, atleast that's my interpretation of things
I don’t remember that being the case at all. Mutants are sterile and have been that way forever. It’s even explained in fallout 3 and 4. That’s why the mutants in 3 capture humans. What dialogue did you get from Marcus in FNV? Never heard him say it healed.
@@TRP_7022yeah mutants are still sterile, there is a big misconception from a single line from Marcus in fallout 2 we’re he jokes that it takes some time to get the juices flowing again after visiting a brothel. Chris avellone confirmed it was a joke
@Rencol666 actually it was fallout 2 where Marcus said it healed but it was said by developers that he was kidding so to this day supermutants can't reproduce
The dominant mind probably got a boost from the rat's survival instincts maybe that first rat has alot of influence? Like wonder where he got the idea to spread across the wasteland? rat's can also sense bad genetics making them reject mates with genetic flaws perhaps this created his view of humans being unacceptable and flawed?
@@JonatasAdoM I think it could apply to not spreading stds like all the other rats would just know same with cancer it wouldn't get passed on. Nature can be harsh sometimes but ant colonies came from a mother insect producing oodles of infertile young but a weakness can be a strength like jurassic park and mimic said "life finds a way"
The time limit made it hard for players that really like to be thorough, with a completionist mindset, but it made so much sense story wise It drilled into my mind, sometimes when I’m playing a more modern game I find myself focused hard, hurrying to the next objective cos that would “make sense” Then I check myself, I usually end up realising “this isn’t fallout” I reload a much earlier save and take my time getting around to things, ensuring I set myself up as thoroughly as possible A little more realism wouldn’t hurt, maybe developers could add it to a “hardcore” mode for realism Imagine if fallout new Vegas had a 100 day limit for the courier to set things up, like wouldn’t the ncr and legion face off happen without the players input? Wouldn’t easy Pete, just chilling out front of the saloon hear the distant gunshots, the rolling of artillery and see the dust slowly rise over the horizon? Hardcore mode would have been more relevant with a time limit
I agree. Fallout 1 is one of those rare games which doesn't handhold you at all. It doesn't even tell you what direction to go half the time, and you have to be exceptionally observant and listen to the clues. To actually get to necropolis you end up going through a ton of dead ends. The time limit for the water chip makes sense I guess, but having another one for the Master just as quick is too much. Fallout imo is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace, worrying more about learning the ropes and surviving than achieving a campaign victory quickly. After all, if you fail, that's game over...You'll have to reload a very old save if you've not managed your time. And NOBODY wants to undo like 5+ hours worth of game time to rush an ending.
The solution to the sterility problem is twofold. First, just don't convert all humans, keep a healthy-sized population around. You don't even have to force them into the vats, just foster a culture of understanding and brotherhood/hero worship of the super-mutant among the population, and make becoming one an honour, maybe even the prize of a festival or something. Second, just keep researching and experimenting, you only need one breeding pair of supert-mutant to start the ball rolling after all. It's the same with necromancers in fantasy, why do you kill everyone, when everyone is going to die in time regardless ! Just wait, and use the powers of propaganda and narrative, and manufactured consent, just like the real-life demons !
I feel the same way about The Master's plan. In fact looking back on it and what you have stated here it seems to me that The Master could have done what The Emperor of Warhammer 40K did with his space marines, making the super muntants into a elite force of valiant warriors using examples like Lou to try to convince people that they are a force of protection and order against the raiders and mutated creatures of the wasteland able to rebuild human civilization out of the destroyed world.
The problem with this is that both the Master and his Liutenent had no idea the mutants were even sterile. They only find out at the very end of the game because frankly neither checked to see if their super mutant armor even had genitals and each of them assumed they were "unique" among the mutants.
@@gelmorn18 Well, the thing with the Emperor is that his plan was much better for humanity, and hinges on actual understanding and abolishing of dogma that historically held humanity back. What tanked everything were his idiot sons.
@@fireflocs But it was a problem he knew of and worked to improve in the first place. His entire plan was about continuous evolution and unity. I dont get why he’d suddenly forget the most central aspect of being a mutant: change.
the fact they never stop to think of failsafes like this is in my opinion part of the point. The master was so broken and twisted and focused on achieving his one goal that as soon as the first real roadblock in that path is exposed he descends down a self destructive spiral and takes his own life, showing his failings as a being.
Also i realy find interesting that . In Fallout 1 main antagonists wanting to make everyone mutant but in Fallout 2 main antagonists wanting to kill everyone who is mutant . They are kinda opposite side of each other i think developers intentionaly did this .
@@NephritduGrey mmmmmm I don't know about that the whole reason the planet was nuked was because of humans lol if the planet was just full of humans again the same thing would prolly happen just many years later
Jim Cummings took over the roll of Tigger in 2000, but played Winnie the Pooh himself as well as over 400 other roles! He does lots of singing double work too, Scar in "Be Prepared" and Rasputin in Anastasia being the most iconic.
@@chereaj7891 Jim Cummings beeing the voice of Minsc and Buzz Lightyear made me cry with laughter😂 But now that I know that he was the voice behind so many so drasticly different characters I'm impressed beyond belief😯👍
Jim Cummings is a legend. Other than the Master he also voices Gizmo and Set. As well as many characters in Fallout 4. Not to mention he plays Patriarch and Wreav in ME2, Barlin and Aldous in DAO and many characters in Skyrim such as Skald, Dengeir, etc.
It’s also cool, that in the second game you can go to brothel with Marcus, and he says that he’s afraid of making the hooker pregnant. You can ask about the infertility of mutants, and he answers that it takes a few decades for “everything to get on its place”. So, virtually, if the vault dweller wouldn’t have killed Master, his paradise could come to fruition.
One of the writers later backtracked this by going “UUUUHHHH ACTUALLY MARCUS WAS JUST JOKING NEVER MIND ABOUT THAT LINE” cause I guess they realized later on that they didn’t want the possibility for the Master to be right all along.
@@madmorgo6233 that was the flaw in the Master's plan. His tweaked FEV ensured that the reproductive organs were preserved... ... ...just he didn't bother to check whether they still still produced gametes.
He’s a psycho obsessed with creating a master race. Humanity is beneath him, and human farms would almost inevitably entail either using vaults which could lead to revolts, or using mutated wasteland humans, which have a really hard time mutating “properly”
I don’t think you understand at all the human farms probably wouldn’t work. I mean I could be wrong as well but I’d say it’s safe to assume that the irradiated FEV caused some sort of molecular mutation that could possible be carried on to offspring. Just theorizing here but it holds up in my head cannon (obviously lol)
@@Xnvasxveexcept all the vaults hold unmutated humans so he could just as easily use those. Either way he could probably see an eventual human uprising followed by war between races, which is exactly what he wants to avoid in the long run.
Sure it could work, but you gotta realize this isn't a practical problem, it's a philosophical problem. And if you still need humans to breed, then humanity didn't evolve, there's merely a two class system now.
Mariposa means "butterfly" I guess that's a dark nod to the "transformation" that was going on there at the MB. Very Silence of the Lambs I thought this was "The Strain" Master. Another good villain.
Cool to know that Mariposa in spanish means Butterfly. I Speak Portuguese, and this exact same word (Mariposa) means "Moth" in my language. Which i think it fits better to the whole trasnformation thing.
That's pretty cool. I actually used to live nearby Mariposa and still have some friends that live over there. Its a neat town but it's just like many other small town in California. Its not a desert like pictured in the games except for the last decade or so due to drought. But normally it's a beautiful place
Legitimately one of the best villains ever. One that you can kinda understand why he does the things he does but is also unforgivable because of those every same things. Also the fact that you can talk him down and reason with him (much like legate lanius in New Vegas) is so cool and I wish more games did this
To anyone possibly thinking about trying the first two fallout games, if you enjoyed the modern fallout games and you enjoy a well written story and slow but sure progression then you owe it to yourself to play through these games. They are masterpieces.
Fallout 2 has the worst Tutorial of all time Ever It's all the slow dragged out-ness of fallout 3, and it's not friendly to new players While also not even teaching you enough of the game And if you're a non combat character.... Yeah, good luck Besides that It's amazing
Dude. It is worth playing fallout 1. I was a guy that had the 1.0 version so I literally lost because I hit 400 days. My middle school brain was so blown away that I could fail by not finishing the quest in time
@@brooksy_ it's a small game. You can beat it in 20 hours without feeling cheated. However, there's a reason why it started a mega franchise and all the old heads miss the writing from the pre Bethesda days
@@aj1218 I played it a few years ago because I wanted to get into the fallout series so I decided to start from the beginning and was shocked to see what the first two were like. I was pretty skeptical at first but the writing ended up being so great I ended up liking them more than the 3d games
Just a fun point of trivia; the Master's male voices are Jim Cummings, AKA Winnie the Pooh. The Lieutenant is Tony Jay as well, Shere Khan from the animated Jungle Book. Two of the all time greats giving these characters some incredible presence! Could you please look at the evolution (or devolution) of an icon of PC gaming; the enigmatic Kane of Command and Conquer?
Nice! Oh, by the way, your idea is so refreshing to see. I grew up with Command and Conquer, and it's one of the very first games I played. Glad to know that there's still someone out there who recognize (and appreciate) the influence of Kane!
The female voice from The Master is Kath Soucie. Who played characters like Kanga from "Winnie the Pooh", Phil and Lil from "Rugrats", and Dexter's mother from "Dexter's Laboratory".
What if the thought “what if I used another rat” was actually the rat brain taking over and the biggest baddie is all of Fallout is just nuclear ‘Ratatouille’ with a psycho Remmy?
I like to think that The Master was unfairly kicked out of his vault or framed, just like the Soul Survivor, as a way of making them better foils of each other.
My favorite piece of lore is that even the Master was reluctant to use nuclear weapons against his enemies, while since Fallout 3, we as the players have been blowing them for giggles
That's why in Lonesome road DLC. I always have Ed-E prevent a nuclear disaster with all these talks of history and seeing what damage was done to the Divide. Preventing a nuclear strike against the NCR and Legion seems more logical to someone having to explore and survive the Divide.
One became a mass of flesh and metal, the other, a mass of tree and earth. The former wishes to live, and the latter wishes to die. Both stationary, mutated, and leaders of humans. Am I winning yet? Am I deep? Me so smart.
It's a little poetic that the Vault Dweller in Fallout 1 convinced the Master to die for the sake of others where as the Lone Wanderer in Fallout 3 convinced Harold to live for the sake of others. The conclusion to both their stories end up opposite to each other- especially since Harold finds himself to be a reluctant leader as opposed to the Master who was obsessed with imposing that he was the leader of humanity-at least the future of humanity.
There is something to be said about the style; and I couldn't tell you for certain if this was an intentional art choice, or a matter of technical convenience, or some other third category; of Fallout 1 and 2, especially with it's talking portraits. The fact that so many of the characters have this hideous, uncanny, ghastly, and/or creepy look to them, and that they're faces are pushed up so close to your face when you're talking to them, it gives you this choking sense of claustrophobia and unease. And of course, The Master, is the best/worst example of all of them. The fact that he's been reduced to a slimy, gory mess of flesh and machine, one with schizophrenic tendencies and an unnerving, inconsistent cadence, all the while his hideous visage dominates half your entire screen... it's fucked up, to be honest. I remember being a pretty young kid, in the early 2000's (way before the Bethesda Fallout's), watching my step father play through the end of Fallout 1, I remember him entering into The Master's chamber, and I remember finding him so creepy. I was obviously too young to understand anything that was going on, and I knew nothing about the story of Fallout, but even still, I remember sitting there, uneasy but unable to look away, completely enthralled by this insane character design.
You know what, I really like the fact that they went to the trouble of giving an explanation for the weird animals in the wasteland beyond things being made big and scary by radiation. I always just assumed that they were a throwback to 50s b movies, so it's interesting to see it reinterpreted through a more hard sci fi/anti-authoritarian lens
Anti-authoritarian? What does that mean? But I like the explanation for mutants other than "rads done did it" I wish the modern fallouts would use more actual science and less magic.
@@therealestmannyt1029 i know there is some supernatural elements. Like that quary that is alive or huanted. I know it's connected to the dunwich building in fo3. in nuka world isn't there a huanted house with a little girl ghost? But I was referring to radiation turning creatures into mutants like ghouls, ghouls were originally created by a mixture of FEV and radiation but now its just radiation.
@@whitegluestick6039 it's anti-authoritarian in the sense that the explicit reason that the world is only so dangerous is because of the government and the corporations that it contracted out to overstepping ethical boundaries. The government of the pre-war society had no regard for its people, only showing interest in furthering its imperialist agenda, and that's why the wasteland is so hostile. There isn't really anything external to the US military-industrial complex that really gets any attention beyond the implication that mutually assured destruction was preferable to the alternative and having even the incidental mutation of the local fauna be due to the government of the USA trying to create supersoldiers, rather than being an incidental effect of the radiation, is further evidence of that.
The Master is pure Chad-nerd euphoria. I remember as a teen thinking it was cool that you could convince Sarah to off himself in Mass Effect, but then I discovered this game and it just doesn't compare.
I remember my first encounter with the Master in the late 90s as a kid. This guy made of goop blew my mind, and is one of the many reasons I have become a life long fan of the Fallout series
This was such a good character profile I watched the whole thing twice and will probably watch it again. The Master is indeed a masterclass of “villainy” in general.
The Master's ultimate downfall evokes much that of a classical tragedy, like Hamlet or Tamberlaine. His core traits--his scientific perspective, charisma, desire to improve the wasteland, and heal the world--all evoke those of a hero. However, circumstances & personal failings gradually twist those ideals--they mutate--into self annihilation and damnation. Something that's actually kind of difficult to write for an antagonist, and give the protagonist sufficient agency. The traits that make him heroic end up destroying him and his soul.
There is just one thing. Why did the Master just give up when he found out the new mutagen also sterilized the mutants? Could he not just keep working on it until he managed to make a version that didn’t? Wasn’t he made virtually immortal by all his consumption and merging with technology?
@Mister Majestic I just don't know if I buy that he would even still be rationalizing _anything_ at this point. I thought his morality was lost long ago.
Holy shit. I never played the the first two games in the series but this video made me want to. Just the way he crumbles as he realized his work was all for naught. Perfection indeed
The best fallout villain period fallout 2 villain is the enclave in its whole and they want to rid the land of "mutants" (frank on the oil rig is just a final tough mob at the end game) fallout 3 villain is basically the same but without a tough opponent cuz you just fight through footsoldiers fallout NV the final boss can be either general oliver (a puss) or lanius but lanius is just a bloodthirsty sociopathic warmonger he has no end goals he just wishes to conquer think of it as a dog chasing the mailmans van like what would the dog do even if he caught it Fallout 4 villain is the Institute...this secret secluded organisation of scientists who use people outside of the institute to test their sick experiments (ofc you can be join the institute but i aint talking about that) like none of the fallout games have such a thought through villain who actually wants to make everyone equal and just better the world (through some cutthroat methods) but he actually has a end goal and ambitions but he had not forseen one singular flaw that destroyed his whole plan (that being sterilization) and thats what makes him such an interesting and actually a tragic character he didnt choose to become the master he just fell into the vat of the FEV accidantally and was "corrupted by it"
The wonderful writing of the Master is the fact that while he's hideous in form and goals, it's hard to argue that he's downright evil. He genuinely believes that his plan will save mankind from itself, and he's got a good argument in favor of this belief. With everyone being super mutants, they will no longer be plagued by the ravages of radioactive fallout, and with the Master having a telepathic link to all super mutants, he's able to soothe minds and prevent conflicts between individuals, creating, at last, peaceful co-existence for all (at the cost of some individual thought and having your physical form corrupted into being a super mutant of course) So he never set out to destroy the world or humanity or exact revenge or any other villanous tropes. He's on a quest to help humanity and stop humanity from going extinct. Further evidence for his good intentions is the fact that he doesn't lash out or attack the Vault Dweller if confronted with the proof of FEV destroying reproductive capabilities in Super Mutants. Instead he becomes wracked with guilt as his sense of self-righteousness is shattered by the undeniable proof before him. So as a main villain he manages to be horrifying, but at the same time NOT evil, and that's pretty genius when a writer pulls it off in a story.
You'd like Aquinas. All evil comes from seeking the good, because it's impossible to be motivated by anything except what we perceive as good. Even if that perceived good is just a selfish desire for personal gain. Where evil arises is valuing a lesser good over a higher good, or misinterpreting something evil as good because it might have some beneficial effects.
I find it invredible how he and his old friend Harolds storry seem to have Mirrored each other. Think about it. One technology and the other nature One wanting a cult but needed help, the other didn't but gpt one anyways One seeking evolution in life the other stagnation and death Honestly pretty intresting if you ask me.
I feel like fallout tends to have extremely underrated villains. From the Master to the Enclave, to Caesars legion, and hell even the institute is a extremely cool concept
Mr. Tenpenny, The Brotherhood of Steel, All of the pre-war people that destroyed the world. The politicians and pre-war CEOs and scientists, and just tragic tales you often find are quite interesting as well.
In fallout, The Villain Characters tend to be the type to think they are saving the world with a solution and they are salvation but the practice makes them monsters instead or a Villain with an actual solution that's implying said solution in the worst way possible. Even in the cancelled Van Buren, A Scientist was trying to wipe out a disease terrorizing the Midwest by flying up to a space station and laser beaming the whole planet not before imprisoning a wastelander infected with said virus to try to cure it and if that prisoner escaped then he sends out a killer robot to chase them across the map to retain them and actively destroying towns in game to purge the Virus.
The best part about the master, as with all good villains, is that, if you scrape away our instinct to call something inhumane on the surface because we haven’t experienced the wasteland ourselves, the master’s ideas are very agreeable, to the point where I think it’s a bit of a detriment to the game that he is so well written, yet you can’t side with him. Yes, you can let him win, but it’s against your character, and the wasteland’s, will. The only way to unite the world after the bombs and feasibly survive, thrive and rebuild it in more harmony than we’ve ever achieved in real life, would be to have the master go through with his plan and see it to the end. Also, the only problem that can stop the plan other than a godlike, plot-armored player character is reproduction. However, with our new knowledge of how synths get made, I think it’s actually safe to assume they could become Super Mutants, entirely solving the repoduction problem.
I really wish they'd do a (respectable) remake of the first game. The story and setting are stellar. But even as someone who can appreciate old games, they are very hard to approach from a modern gameplay mechanic. The combat system is especially a drudge, almost nore a chore than an enjoyable aspect, and very hard to avoid.
Ive spent my life engaged in fantasy, i love this game but i never would have imagined id actually feel anything for it beyond the basic joy of entertainment. This was well thought out and beautifully put. Kudos
Thank you so much for this video. Fallout 1 is still probably my most played game ever. I also felt for the master when it came to the endings, it took a very long time to get there haha my first time making it to the master I realised I'd stuffed up when I fell victim to his charisma and joined the mutant army haha 1000s of hours and a story line that still resonates to this day. I actually still have the old windows 95 cd of the game still in awesome condition
Absolutely incredibly made video. Like wow. Better than watching a documentary. So beautifully edited with a well-written script, plus the pacing is perfect. Seriously, good job man. Impressed would be an understatement
Something I've always found interesting about the master. You don't defeat him in a moral victory. You never caught him in hypocrisy, or doing evil. He wasn't wrong morally, just scientifically. I don't agree with him at all, but it's hard to say that anything he did was inherently evil.
I recently started playing Fallout 2 and I can’t stop hearing enough of this guy. I’m so happy I get to learn about him from my one of my favorite content creators!
The diplomatic ending was by far the best one, still it is insane how you even have several ways to defeat him. Even diplomatic characters that chose violence or forgot the holo-disk somewhere were able to defeat it with EMP grenades. The master was half machine so he was vulnerable to EMP. Yet, the diplomatic ending was the true one. In no other game you defeat such a perfect villain completely. Yes you can kill villains, you can put them in prison and everything. But you break the master by revealing the flaw in his plan. All the time, sheming, gathering troops and followers... and in the end you crush his idea, his vision so hard he decides to nuke himself. That is by definition, the perfect defeat of the perfect villain.
The only recent villain I've seen that approaches the Master's goopiness was Ted Faro, and even then they only hinted at how fucked up he got...the cowards.
The master: *creates the perfect plan to dominate the world* Also the master: *doesn't even bother to check if his footsoldiers are actually making babies*
This was beautiful. The game designer in me is going into overdrive trying to think of how to make something that rivals a character like this as a Villain. Also, sorry to ask. But, what music do you play at 18:00? I know I've heard it before and it's going to drive me nuts trying to remember
@@foxhound2118 If you mean the song at 18:00 I finally remembered. It was Vangelis - La petite fille de la mer. As for how to make a villain as good as the Master, unfortunately the search continues. But one day I hope to crack it
I’m not necessarily saying I want the Master to comeback in future installments, but would honestly be so interesting to hear brief mentions or even flashbacks that involved his character to truly flesh out (pun intended) his overall effect on the Fallout universe. Bro honestly feels like the final boss of the entire franchise
I replayed this game so many times (Probaly 15 times? in 22 years)... and i never used the options to kill him / activate the bomb. I always talk to him... thats how good this villan is.
The game is such impressive that you could do all three endings all together... sneak to activate the bomb, then talk to master so he activate.. the already activated.. bomb. .then fight it full on while the time is ticking to nuclear explosion. Man, what a great first run of Fallout, never forget that :)
I wouldn't mind seeing one on the dark genie. Even though he doesn't have much presence in dark sould his design is just really cool. It'd probably be a short video
One of the most prominent voices actors of the 80's through today. His name is Jim Cummings and he's most likely the voice of your childhood. He's been Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, Pete from the Mickey Mouse group, Tigger, Cat from CatDog, and so many more. One of my heroes growing up, and an absolute legend.
A fun fact: If you don't run into Super Mutants in getting the water chip (there's another vault you can go to for the chip that isn't in the city with the super mutants)? You are instead kicked out of the vault because now you're "contaminated" and they don't want you possibly irradiating people, then you can run into the super mutants and whatnot while sandboxing.
@@efreitorsroul9332 My recounting is accurate to my playing through of the game multiple times. Didn't encounter super mutants but did get banned from the vault after giving the chip to the overseer. I wiki'd it and aparently you're right but thats my experience and I have no reason to lie.
The Master is such a great character, that even all these years later, Bethesda has to make mention of him whenever Super Mutants are involved, even though they really seem to want to have you forget that anything outside of Fallout 3, 4, and 76 exist.
A great video, I think the master is one of the main reasons why Fallout is still my favorite between 1 and 2. Anyone know what the song at 27:42 is? It sounds so familiar that its driving me crazy
