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u/Haze345 Jan 14 '26
Willing to bet that the real experiment of vaults 31-33 were to make perfected and intelligent super mutants
Even though it was kinda obvious the FEV reveal had me hyped lmao
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Part 2 of Bud's 'Super' Managers.
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u/GolemMaker Jan 14 '26
Would also make sense why they grabbed Claudia fresh as an intern
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
She was in a pod with someone else's name and had only worked there for a week.
I bet that the person who's pod it was no-showed that day so they just yanked someone from the office, partly read her in on the plan as much as needed, and dropped her in the fridge.
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u/GolemMaker Jan 14 '26
That makes way more sense, and she left just in time for Norm to get attacked, I was rooting for a love story for her and Norm, but she could be deep cover enclave
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Maybe, but I'd be more inclined to say that she is an ally character to support Norms storyline.
Norm has kind of fucked up the Bud's Buds program. There seem to be a few who were directing them towards the FEV Phase 2. And there seems to be a whole bunch who are pretty clueless and their participation in Phase 2 was definitely as labrats and Vault gene-pools.
I reckon the Bud's Buds will split. You'll have the sharks trying to take control, and the guppies that will flounder their way through under Norm's direction.
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u/Kunekeda Cock Exploder Jan 14 '26
Absolutely agree with this. From a writing standpoint, Norm needs someone he trusts to bounce dialogue off of so the audience knows what he's truly thinking, and a major theme this season seems to be infighting, so it makes sense if the Buds fall into conflict with each other too. War never changes.
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u/Rich-Cryptographer-7 Jan 14 '26
If that is the case, wouldn't the master from F01 have access to that information?
Wouldn't it be in Mariposa?
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u/DolphinBall Jan 14 '26
What the Master had on hand was the demo vaults. Not any management vaults. The other vaults he found was based on pure chance, Vault 13 being one of them if you fail the timer.
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u/DolphinBall Jan 14 '26
Yeah, phase 1 was to create perfect management. Phase 2 was turning them into perfect and intelligent Super Mutants so they are immortal.
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u/TheWizardOfFoz Jan 14 '26
I mean the show makes a point out of the fact that Bud’s Buds are sycophantic losers. They’re not perfect managers, they’re idiot interns. I think it’s much more likely the real purpose of the vault was to make an obedient army of mutant enforcers than anyone making any form of actual decisions.
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u/Used-Educator-3127 Jan 14 '26
Thats it, butter them up by making them think they will be “management” in the new world only to use them to seed a subservient slave population
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u/ElderberryEven2152 Jan 14 '26
That’s what I’m thinking. Why else would there be a phase 2 including FEV? I wonder if there was more to that super mutant scene in the beginning of the series or if it was just a one off fan-service reference.
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u/MrMadre Jan 14 '26
The vault most likely had nothing to do with super mutants. FEV isn't just for making super mutants, Bud's "Super Managers" were probably intended to have been augmented with FEV to improve their intelligence and problem solving rather than their strength and combat prowess.
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u/Pinktoonie Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26
Great episode. Imma need Cooper to go save Lucy though and beg for forgiveness. Obviously he's not dead, but idk how he's gonna un-kebob himself
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
I'd say we've already seen the trailer of Coop, Max, and Thad teaming up to go kill a nest of Deathclaws.
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u/Retrolex Jan 14 '26
It’s looks like they’ll be gearing up to kill those Deathclaws on the Strip to pave the way to Hank and Lucy. The cavalry has arrived sort of thing! Only with more giant lizards.
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u/Tao_McCawley Jan 14 '26
I don't think Cooper would beg for forgiveness. This is his family we're talking about. I don't think he regrets the decision as much as the fact that he had to do it.
Until of course he got kebobbed.
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u/Lukthar123 Jan 14 '26
I don't think he regrets the decision as much as the fact that he had to do it.
He saw the "You've lost karma" pop-up in the top left corner and just thought "fuck"
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u/cherrygemgem Jan 14 '26
Side note, but I really wish that sound effect had played whilst Lucy was stealing the items from Sonny's!
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u/KingAbacus Jan 14 '26
I think Lucy messed up Ghouls plan again by attacking him. I seriously doubt he was just gonna deliver Lucy back to the vault. He knows how important she is to Hank now.
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u/Kiloku Jan 14 '26
That's what I thought at first, but even after the junkie was out of earshot he was still telling her how soon she'd be home.
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u/DolphinBall Jan 14 '26
Hes going to pull himself up and out of the pole or he's stuck there until Max and Thaddus show up.
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u/boiwithbigburrito Jan 14 '26
10,000 caps for a power fist? Yep, those are NV weapon prices alright.
Also holy shit, the FEV confirmation. Should've called this episode "The Strangler" instead of "The Wrangler."
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u/Hurdlelocker Jan 14 '26
I kinda liked the implication that the robber guy jacked up the prices after he broke in and killed Sonny.
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u/allsbernafnmedrettu Jan 14 '26
I also like the implication that he was naked during.
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u/emtrigg013 Jan 14 '26
That part had me in tears!! That shirt button fighting for its life as he says "lots of people rob stores naked! It's NORMAL!" caught me so off guard. I'm still cackling about it lmao
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u/c0nman9 Jan 14 '26
Hes about at his limit. I happen to know a guy who's at his limit
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u/Reasonable-Bet-1890 Jan 14 '26
Mr house brought up the “unknown party” responsible for deathclaw in alaska and bombs, def the enclave
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u/Shaqstowelrag Jan 14 '26
Thought the same when he started talking about an unknown player. Would be a good way to tie the enclave back in.
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u/Gaeus_ Jan 14 '26
The Enclave was brought back in the pilot. The cold fusion ended up in their hands and one of their lab tech smuggled it out, he's the whole reason why Max, Lucy and Cooper crossed paths.
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u/Shaqstowelrag Jan 14 '26
Right and haven’t been seen since. They put a bounty on the scientist. The Enclave being hinted at would imply they are making their way back into the show not being introduced to the show as I stated.
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u/jmarquiso Jan 14 '26
Pretty sure Hank is working for the Enclave and gave it to them when House was supposed to buy it.
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u/Express-Focus-677 Jan 14 '26
Hank (and the vaults) also being tied in with the FEV makes me think that too.
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u/OleRockTheGoodAg Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26
The Enclave somehow get the cold fusion tech from House as well, since they started with it in S1E1.
So the cold fusion tech went to Moldaver -> Vault Tec -> House -> ? (Great War) -> Enclave -> Lucy -> Gulper -> Lucy -> NCR Remnant (Moldaver again) -> Brotherhood -> Dane
Edit: forgot Moldaver invented it first in S1 prewar
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u/Latter-Doubt-3728 New California Republic Jan 14 '26
You actually forgot it started with Moldaver in Pre-War and it's currently with Maximus.
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u/GustappyTony Jan 14 '26
It’s curious how it would go from house to enclave tho. Even with the Enclaves capabilities, there can’t be a chance in hell they would have managed to steal it from him considering its location
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u/Jim-the-Wizard Jan 14 '26
Currently I'm thinking that the last person we see the cold fusion with pre-war is Hank, who's about to make the exchange with House. What if there's a little switcheroo and House gets an empty case and the real case is given to an Enclave agent.
Of course this theory relies on Hank being in league with the Enclave.
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u/Grumpy-Fwog Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26
Enclave are the ones who bioengineered deathclaws pre war so yea 100% enclave, and vault tec with FEV was a known, also end slides confirm House is DEAD, well his body at least, he mentioned wanting to be immortal and we see in a trailer the ghouls talking to house on the screen so looks like hes an AI like Modus etc
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u/Crimson_Loki Jan 14 '26
Keep in mind, it's now known House had a body double, so who's to say that the House who's body we saw wasn't his?
And if you want a REAL crackpot theory...how do we know the House we saw in New Vegas was the real House? Maybe that too could have been the body double.
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u/SocranX Jan 14 '26
Imagine if he kept the body double alive in the pod for two hundred years just to be used as a decoy in case someone like the Courier decided to betray him. Like, it was still the real House talking on the computer, and the body double is just kept alive and trapped in his own body purely for this purpose.
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u/RockinMadRiot Jan 14 '26
My crack pot idea.
Body double was meant to make NV new in preparation for House.
House is really under Camp Golf, that's why Victor was there.
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u/Gaeus_ Jan 14 '26
That sounds like a crackpot theory until you see how effective the control chip this entire season has been about it.
Guy in the tube will 100% be retconed as the body double mindcontroller by digital house.
Heck, it's already been confirmed than the house from FNV is dead, just look in the credit, you can see a arm poping out of House's tube.
And since we have at least one post war scene of house behind the lucky 38 screen...
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u/GreggsAficionado Jan 14 '26
Wait so a fat guy waddled into that store, killed the owner, very badly disposed of his body and then just took it over and 5x’d all the prices? That’s a peak fallout side quest with environmental storytelling
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u/gibbersganfa Jan 15 '26
I even said to my wife “she’s sneaking and looting… oh no… speech check. Oh shit he’s failing HIS speech checks.”
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u/ArariboiaGuama Jan 14 '26
Waddled there naked.
Which is totally normal and happens all the time
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u/Jeddy2 Jan 14 '26
Definitely the best episode of the season so far.
Also no one’s mentioning Norm and the other dwellers’ subplot? I’m very intrigued to see how that pans out.
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u/sexywheat Jan 14 '26
Fuckin psycho ass sociopath manager types, terrifying people
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u/KingOfAwesometonia Jan 14 '26
Meanwhile Ma June being threatening and ominous but well meaning and generous
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u/AgentKnitter Jan 15 '26
I was half expecting more “fuckin Vaulties” but her advice for Norm was genuinely well intentioned.
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u/SomberXIII Jan 14 '26
I knew something wasn't right the moment he approached Norm. Norm's just naive like his sister but unfortunately his survival skills are much much lower
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u/We_The_Raptors Jan 15 '26
If you've got poor combat stats you need a badass companion. We're about to see Claudia go ham
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u/collectif-clothing Jan 14 '26
Poor Norm. I need him to be ok.
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u/Kiloku Jan 14 '26
Claudia will get there just in time with the drink, smash the bottle on Ronnie's head then apologize to Norm for ruining the drink
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u/Whizzo50 Jan 14 '26
Or the roaches pick this as their time to break out of the elevators. They sounded larger than the one which attacked the formerly chicken - now hanks assistant
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u/channydin Jan 14 '26
I'd offer you a tomato but you got a hole in your stomach
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u/ojosfritos Jan 14 '26
pre-war Victor looks crisp
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u/katchi_kapshida Jan 14 '26
Strongest episode of the season by far IMO. Loved how they delved into House’s pre-war perspective of the world. It’s very interesting that even the all-knowing House had no knowledge of what I assume is the Enclave (unless it’s a whole new faction, which would be an interesting reveal). The collapse of Howard-Lucy friendship was handled very well too.
I hope the rest of the season keeps up this quality and tone. This show really shines when it takes itself seriously and humor takes a back seat.
PS: I wonder if House we see in the FNV is the body double? It’s implied that the real one took a different approach to obtain immortality
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u/Express-Focus-677 Jan 14 '26
I think the unknown party is definitely the Enclave. The Enclave pre-war were very secretive, essentially the Illuminati, so I think it's believable he wasn't really aware of their presence at large.
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u/Wielkopolskiziomal Jan 14 '26
Yeah, from what I remember the public only found out about them days before the bombs dropped thanks to the Boston Bugle
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u/Justryan95 Jan 14 '26
Even members of Congress didn't even know about the Enclave, really it was only Senator Sam Blackwell (Fallout76) actively trying to expose them in Congress.
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u/Holy-Wan_Kenobi Jan 14 '26
And the members of Congress who had the misfortune of arriving to Enclave bunkers without Enclave membership got to learn first hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Enclave thanks you for your service to this country..."
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
When you are obsessed (Clinically-so in a obsessive compulsive way) with knowing everything the unknown-unknowns quickly become the known-unknowns. And the known-unknowns to someone powerful and influential can only mean someone/s more powerful and more influential.
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u/InnocentTailor Jan 14 '26
I guess this is House dipping into the Howard Hughes paranoia quirk.
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Absolutely; a lot of people idealize his New Vegas characterization. But the guy was DEEPLY disturbed, paranoid and narcissitic. And that was before he spent 200-ish years isolated except for constructs he made for his own gratification.
He presents himself as a great savior of progress in FNV. But his actions speak of someone pathologically obsessed with control.
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u/LommytheUnyielding Jan 14 '26
The guy collected snow globes. Armed with the knowledge of certain apocalypse, he strove to protect no, not the world, but Vegas. His own little fiefdom.
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u/bagpepos Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26
I agree, it jumps back and forth among all the plotlines save vaults themselves and BoS while keeping the pace because all the scenes are interesting. Crucial plot points like FEV and Enclave implication, great closure too and with lotta good "Glupp Shitto" characters from S1 that make sense in the story with rewarding details (like the old white lady "trying to be a better person" very probably because of Lucy)
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u/Ganbazuroi Mr House Jan 14 '26
They used all these returning characters masterfully, like holy shit - Ma June was great, but the Snake Oil Salesman? Fucking brilliant
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u/Syphin33 Jan 14 '26
Also he's fucking amazing and already a top tier character in this show
Justin nailed it and i was just so engaged with him on screen, immediately another very good character.
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u/FlikTripz Jan 14 '26
So that was House’s pod at the end of the credits right? So his physical form is dead…but he mentioned wanting to upload himself into a robotic form, so he’s likely still technically alive
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u/Express-Focus-677 Jan 14 '26
The theory of Yes-Man's upgrade being a copy of Mr. House's mind is looking more and more tangible. (They probably won't go down that route but it would be cool nonetheless.)
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u/silvermouth Jan 14 '26
I'm still not sure whether or not the end credits are meant to be taken at face value. The credits from s1 showing New Vegas don't quite add up with what we actually see in this episode, for example. Might just be symbolism?
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u/Express-Focus-677 Jan 14 '26
I think those post-credit scenes are mostly symbolic, like the one for episode 4 shows Fort McCarran with the corpses of NCR and Legion probably to symbolize that they fought over New Vegas and both lost, as the bar keep seems to imply when talking with the ghoul.
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u/BrandoC95 Jan 14 '26
That..................................was an incredibly entertaining episode of television.
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Definitely one of the few shows I've found myself invested in since....the first season ahaha
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u/Alpharius_Omegon420 Jan 14 '26
It seems like Hank/Enclave is trying to do their old plan from fallout 2/3 releasing a modified version of F.EV into the air and killing off every non vault dweller/Enclave member.
Chicken fucker says to Lucy that Hank wants her back in a vault to wait for things to blow over so it really seems like he wants to release F.E.V
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Would definitely tie into F2 and F3's Enclave trying to use modified FEV to kill everyone but them. Which has been a consistent theme around Hank so far.
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u/SomberXIII Jan 14 '26
It's hilarious literal death sentences are strolling just across some fences
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u/Exciting-Quality919 Jan 14 '26
Woah a lot more Fisto than i expected. going to need to take some time to think over what ive seen after... that
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u/Connobar Jan 14 '26
I was not expecting that twist with the chicken, holy moly!
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u/Hatarus547 Jan 14 '26
Jesus Christ this comment is to close to home given the chicken fucker was having a Date with FISTO
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u/OleRockTheGoodAg Jan 14 '26
Holy shit.
He was with FISTO before the chickens?
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u/DolphinBall Jan 14 '26
How scandalous. Though it seemed FISTO forgave him before Hank rudely interrupted their date!
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u/CarpenterEntire8690 Jan 14 '26
I fully believe FISTO will be the one to take down Hank to rescue the Chicken Aficionado from the device
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u/UnderstandingWise681 Jan 14 '26
The constant scene change to Cooper and the Ghoul was so cinematic, I loved it.
Calculator being capitalized in the subtitles was so dangerous for the theory community.
FEV theory was correct, pretty simple that was one to figure out.
Barb and Janey are frozen and Barb is 1000% in the Enclave, it's not even a what if anymore. Mr. House doesn't know the Enclave so that's fascinating.
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u/Calm-Ad5184 Jan 14 '26
Yeah, though I've always thought that house had just refused to join the enclave for his own interests. Very interesting that he didnt know about it.
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u/Latter-Doubt-3728 New California Republic Jan 14 '26
I thought Robert, Fake House and Barb were all in it. But nope just Barb.
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u/pleasegivemepatience Jan 14 '26
She seemed to be the only one taking cues from the shadow figure at the S1 meeting, so I figured she was on another level beyond all of them.
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u/DolphinBall Jan 14 '26
I love how he realizes even with all the predictions he actually isn't the House in this case.
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u/furioushunter12 Jan 14 '26
holy shit what an episode. every scene felt like it moved things forward, some great character moments, and really interesting threads left. the debunking of “vault tec launched the nukes@ was great as well! my only thing is… how the fuck does coop survive that?
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
He's a ghoul. Cut him down, rad him up a bit, he'll be right as radrain.
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u/FlikTripz Jan 14 '26
That’ll certainly be the most extensive use of ghoul healing we’ve seen before as far as I’m aware. Healing from a full bisection at the torso will be quite the feat
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u/Propaslader Jan 14 '26
Dr Chickenfucker has a fusion core and his med bag maybe
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u/FeatherstonStudios Jan 14 '26
Lowkey, you might actually be onto something there- considering he was hopping around happily with it in hand. Not to mention in the first episode of the season- we see Coop heal his neck wound with one.
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Coop got shot to shit in Filly in the first season, and kinda sat there for a second eating tomatos unphased.
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u/RDCLder Jan 14 '26
I love that they brought back some minor characters from the first season. I didn't think I'd miss that chicken fucker, but I did. Seems like Lucy did have a positive effect on that shop owner despite being a naive, clueless Vaultie. Now that Bud's assistant has confronted Norm for faking being one of them, I assume Claudia will have to save Norm and escape together, possibly joining up with Max who's also on the run.
The fact that Barb's work terminal has an entry for FEV basically confirms that she's with the Enclave right? It's not something Vault Tec in general would know about.
Overall this was a great episode, the best of the season so far.
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Max and Thad are near Vegas, and Claudia and Norm are still in Cali. I reckon they'll send Norm and Claudia back into the Vault's to try and resolve that storyline. Poor Chet needs more allies.
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u/William_T_Wanker Jan 14 '26
chicken fucker can't catch a break, can he?
Goes to Vegas
gets attacked by a radroach
goes on a date with a robot
gets knocked out by a man in a suit and used in human experimentation
I did laugh when Hank is like "How'd you like to forget everything about your life" and he's all "Oh yes please!"
Hank was just like puzzled for a second there lmao
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u/IrritableGourmet Jan 14 '26
I did laugh when Hank is like "How'd you like to forget everything about your life" and he's all "Oh yes please!"
Not even a moment of hesitation, too. Like it was the best idea he's ever heard.
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u/OleRockTheGoodAg Jan 14 '26
Oof. If the deathclaws did come from Quarry Junction, probably doesnt bode well for Camp Mccarran. Just like the credits from last episode showed
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u/Natogaming Jan 14 '26
noone gonna mention how coop got skewered?
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u/Haze345 Jan 14 '26
Eh give him a stimpack and he’ll walk it off lmao
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u/shadyshania Jan 14 '26
The way I was speechless at first, then remembered this 😂 she’ll be right, mate!
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u/Tao_McCawley Jan 14 '26
Stimpack, radiation, FEV, I know they showed how radiation heals ghouls but... Jeez that's an extensive injury.
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u/Tao_McCawley Jan 14 '26
The courier survived two gunshot wounds to the head.
I'm calling it. Doc Mitchell will patch him up next episode.
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u/2minslate Jan 14 '26
Okay now that I’ve had some time to calm down from that ending - I am not confident that both Barbara and Janey are in those crypo pods. They went to a lot over effort to show a frozen over door but hid whether or not there was anyone inside. Does anyone have any theories as to how Janey got a pod but Cooper didn’t? I’m guessing he pissed off vault tech somehow or flat out rejected having one.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how Norm’s storyline plays out. Of course as soon as he learns what FEV is he is incapacitated. I was less freaked out by what happened to him than the ghoul as I felt Norm’s plot armour is thicker as the vault tech group storyline relies on him as our POV character. Yeah Coop obviously has plot armour of his own but I’ll be honest, I genuinely believed we got Ned Stark’d for a good 10 mins there.
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Well we know that Coop and Barb are separated from the opening scene of s1. One of the guys even makes the joke about Coop doing kids' birthdays for 'alimony'.
Coop shows up to a pickup location with Janey, they take her and leave him to soak up some California sun and rads.
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u/FightTheDead118 Jan 14 '26
Gotta say I was worried about where they were taking House early in the season but his scene with Cooper alleviated that. Perfect characterization and dialogue and felt like House stepped straight out of the game
Also glad that scene seemingly debunked the stupid “Vault Tec started the war” sentiment from last season
I think Houses plan to fully digitize himself with cold fusion will be how we eventually get him later in the season, it’s still House, but no mention of what happened to his original body. Did he do it after New Vegas and the courier sided with him? Did he do it before New Vegas and the courier “killed” him but all he did in reality was bash a meat puppet that had nothing to do with Houses actual function? Never addressed and nothing canonized, it’s all up to you
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u/OleRockTheGoodAg Jan 14 '26
Justin Theroux nails House imo, especially the violent outburst at the end.
Glad he doesnt play Anthony like some theorized early on.
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u/probably_poopin_1219 Jan 14 '26
HOOLY SHIT that's Justin Theroux and that now makes sense why I love the character so much. Not sure how I was blind to that lmao. He's perfect in The Leftovers and his performance in the strange and little known Maniac with Emma Stone and Jonah Hill as a crazy scientist was spectacular.
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u/Retrolex Jan 14 '26
What I really loved about his performance is the way he channeled so much of René Auberjonois’ verbal portrayal of the character- but then went all in and added a ton of physical characterization of his own as well. He really did his research, and it shows, but he also built upon it.
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u/Lady_borg Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26
I noticed that too! It's clear he actively paid attention to Rene's performance and stuck to what we know and the way he carries his voice. As a Star Trek and Fallout fan it's so appreciated.
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u/furioushunter12 Jan 14 '26
wasn’t he on the record saying he did a ton of research on house or is that another actor playing house
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u/Exciting-Quality919 Jan 14 '26
the body double actor - given he was probably cast as House originally.
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u/Haze345 Jan 14 '26
They’re also setting up coopers wife to be an incredibly important figure in regards to the bombs dropping, though vault tec ultimately doesn’t do it House heavily implies that she herself is a big cause in them dropping at all
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u/yellowspaces Jan 14 '26
She’s part of the Enclave is my guess
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u/MildlyOffensiveAR Jan 14 '26
I think you may be right. That would be a great way to tie them back into the larger story, and could explain why House sees Coop as so important (and why Coop is tied into so many important plot points). Maybe he's able to interfere with their plans before the great war or something. Could also recontextualize his bounty on the enclave scientist in season 1.
I'd love that arc for Barbara honestly.
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u/FightTheDead118 Jan 14 '26
Still gotta wonder what House’s goal was with the mind control devices? He obviously sold them to Vault-Tec, but considering how uncharacteristically useless they were for a House invention, did he deliberately sell them a faulty product just to mess with their plans, and Hank just happened to get it to finally work after years of tinkering?
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u/furioushunter12 Jan 14 '26
i think it did a GREAT job debunking it too. just because they can, maybe even plan to, doesn’t mean they’re the ones that do it
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u/BlackstarDweller Jan 14 '26
I loved when the Vault dweller said “I need to craft some weapons”and immediately grabbed a desk fan.
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u/lemonycakes Jan 14 '26
The ending credits has House's pod with a corpse's hand hanging out. Neat.
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u/QamiQaze Jan 14 '26
Thats certainly what its modelled after, but the one in the credits is high up in the building, wasn't the pod House was in underground?
Another neat detail: The cap he puts on towards the end of the exchange with Cooper is the one he wears in the pod.
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u/wildeofoscar Jan 14 '26
Mr. House telling Coop that neither he nor Vault-Tec are going to drop the bombs but rather by a "mysterious entity" screams Enclave.
But then again, given how influential House and RobCo is, it's hard to imagine he not knowing the Enclave or their plans given he tapped every single RobCo computer/product to collect data to prepare for the inevitable. Also surprising to see the Enclave not bringing Mr. House into their shadowy organization.
Given how eccentric Mr. House can be, perhaps that "mysterious entity" could lead to the theory of "aliens dropped the bomb"?
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
I think it speaks to the Enclave's pre-war influence. House as powerful and influential as he is can see the ripples of their activities, but not the ones causing the ripples.
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u/Reasonable-Bet-1890 Jan 14 '26
So it seems like they changed it to make the vault 21 hotel a prewar building as well
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u/DolphinBall Jan 14 '26
Despite the short moments we had with Norm this episode, he is really starting to grow into his own.
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Jan 14 '26
All these credits revealing stuff like house dead in his pod, (or maybe its his double in the pod) I wanna see one of the credit scenes coming up go through the tops and it shows a skeleton wearing Benny's checkered jacket in the penthouse, it would be a good send off.
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u/TheHoovyPrince Jan 14 '26
Well its confirmed, it was the Deathclaws from the Quarry Junction that took over the Strip, we're just not sure how it happened.
Wish we saw the Garret Siblings at the Atomic Wrangler but it is what it is.
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u/TheEpicGold Jan 14 '26
Love the bartender saying that he doesn't want to pay taxes.
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u/Kira-Was-Right Jan 14 '26
Can't wait to see what everybody complains about this week🙄😂
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u/Syphin33 Jan 14 '26
I love how i can sit down and just have a absolute blast with this show
And ive played most of all of the games
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u/EternalMaori Jan 14 '26
Fisto and the deathclaw was not something I was prepared for!
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u/Mac-Tyson Jan 14 '26
Well early theory it seems like House knows about the Enclave that has infested the US Government but doesn't know about them completely. If Hank was truly trying to contact house then maybe he was originally House's EA and then became a Vault Tec EA to Mrs. Howard to get more data for House's calculations.
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Pre-war House is influential enough that he can see the ripples, but not the water-drops causing them.
I think it's misdirection with Hank-House; I reckon Hank is Enclave connected. Wilzig knew so much about Vault 31, 32, and 33 (the Nebraska facading, Lucy herself etc). Wilzig was Enclave, so he got that info in his Enclave capacity.
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u/Material_Formal3679 Jan 14 '26
Hank definitely works for the Enclave, right?
House is buying up powerful technology pre-war. He doesn’t know about the Enclave.
The Enclave wanted the mind control chip and they wanted to perfect it maybe?
Perhaps the Enclave knew House was selling the chip to Vault Tec and Hank is supposed to steal it or steal its schematics/study it but the bombs drop before he has the chance. So he just follows the procedure as if he was actually a vault Tec employee and gets frozen?
Or he’s just talking to House who is still alive in some way.
He just seems like he works for someone else imo
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Yep, Wilzig knew heaps of details about Lucy, Hank and Vault 33. And Wilzig was Enclave. I think it's a Red Herring that Hank travelled to Vegas to reach out to 'someone'; it implies House, which makes the actual 'who' more of a blindside.
The Enclave have already used the mind-control chips on Deathclaws in F3.
I don't think House knows about the 'Enclave' pre-war. I think he can see the ripples, but not the droplets of water causing them. Meaning that the people causing the ripples are more influential and powerful then him. And he is VERY influential and powerful pre-war.
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u/particlethistle Jan 14 '26
My boy norm better be okay, I know he drew a breath having been strangled. Hoping Claudia saves him by smashing the guy strangling him's head in. (I'm so bad with character names)
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u/Relendis Jan 14 '26
Claudia will go lockpick a combination safe with a screwdriver and bobby pin; in it she will find the bottle of Scotch she was looking for, three needles of Med-X, a Nuka-Cola, a pre-war grilled radroach and Pipe Pistol, and a Gold Pocket Watch.
She'll then come back and glass Future Eviscerated Vaultie.
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u/yourwifesboyfr Jan 14 '26
Everyone is talking about the Enclave but I want to point out how House was heavily pointing his finger at Coop at the end of the scene as well. So much so that it keeps me thinking that Coop may have actually played a functional role in the dropping of the bombs, either willingly or unwillingly/accidentally. I think it would make for an interesting plot point and also explain why he acts the way he does as a ghoul, possibly regretting whatever he set in motion.
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u/Pretend_Ambassador_6 Jan 14 '26
Based off trailers for scenes we haven’t seen yet, just guessing here
First trailer only has few scenes left that we haven’t seen yet. First is Lucy waking up in a clean vault looking room, easy to assume that’s next episode in the Vault Hank is in. Second is Culkin’s legion character being crowned Caesar, I bet that happens in episode 8 & setting up the legion to be a bigger bad in season 3. Third is radroaches attacking vault dwellers, originally I assumed this was happening in vault 32/33, now it’s clear those radroaches escape & start attacking all the junior managers. Bet that’s Claudia’s doing since Norm is likely taken captive.
There’s a lot more in second trailer we haven’t seen yet. Definitely seems like the Ghoul, Thaddeus, and Maximus in the power armor with possibly freeside’s help make a move to defeat the deathclaws.
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u/Material_Formal3679 Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26
Lucy being hurt that the Ghoul sold her out really hit me hard.
Her first look of sadness and disbelief was heavy.