‘Fallout’ Episode 6 Recap — Who Makes the Rules When the World Ends?

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Fallout Episode 6.

The Big Picture

• Flashback scenes in Episode 6 reveal pre-apocalyptic world intricacies and expand our knowledge of this universe.
• Lucy and Maximus undergo character shifts, setting up compelling story arcs.
• Moldaver emerges as a menacing figure, hinting at a potential major antagonist in the series.

One of the benefits of the Fallout series having a focused narrative, rather than the free-flowing, create-your-own-story nature of the games, is that we can learn far more about this universe than ever before. Instead of simply seeing the Wasteland after the bombs dropped, we can explore the build-up to before when the bomb dropped, or dive even further into the history of the communities that have built up in recent years—both in the Vaults and in the Wasteland. Maybe no episode of Fallout’s first season does that better than in this sixth installment. Despite all the wild things we’ve seen in the Wasteland, Episode 6 is one of the strangest and most surprising hours of the first season, and it almost entirely takes place in the Vaults and the past.

The End of the World Is a Product in ‘Fallout’ Episode 6

The episode begins with Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins) smoking in a dark void. It turns out that he’s filming a commercial for Vault-Tec, showing off a “vast and wonderful place made by the working man”: the Vaults. To be specific, Cooper is showing off Vault 4, which he says will keep out the “Rads and the Reds.” As he shows off the Vault, we’re told it has all the modern amenities for hundreds of people, and that Vault 4 is a community governed entirely by scientists. As Cooper talks to a Vault 4 family, they mention they’re doing a five-year trial to see how the Vaults work before the world needs them. Cooper ends the commercial by telling people to call the number 213-25-VAULT (Go ahead and try it. It works!).

After the commercial, Cooper is greeted by Bud Askins (Michael Esper), a man who used to work for the defense contractor West-Tek, the company that designed the T-45 armor (which seems to be the precursor to the Brotherhood of Steel’s T-60 armor), but now, Bud works at Vault-Tec. Cooper mentions that he wore the T-45 when he fought in a war that almost lost Alaska to the Reds, and the faulty equipment killed plenty of people. But Bud mostly ignores this and begins talking about how the ultimate weapon to destroy the competition will be time, and that the future of humanity comes down to management. Once Bud walks away, Cooper is told by his wife, Barb (Frances Turner), that the commercial is having a wrap party, and it’s going to be at their house.

As we look around the Howards’ house, we get a better look at who he is and what the world is like. We meet his dog, Roosevelt, and see a newspaper that reads “Reds Losing Territory! Troops Deployed to Far East.” We see a huge poster of a movie called A Man and His Dog, and Cooper remarks that he starred alongside his actual dog in it. Outside by the pool, we meet Sebastian Leslie (Matt Berry), an actor who is chatting and striking out with some waitresses.

As Cooper joins his friend, Sebastian calls Cooper a pitchman for the end of the world, to which Cooper mentions that he actually lost a movie role because he’s doing these ads. Sebastian says that radicalism is sweeping through Hollywood, and that their friend Charlie is having “meetings.” In this Vault-Tec world, Sebastian has even sold his voice rights to a robot (remember Snip-Snip from Episode 4?) Sebastian states that they should forget Hollywood, that the future is products, and that the end of the world is a product. They should embrace that, as they cheers to the future. We then jump back to the present, where The Ghoul is still at Super Duper Mart. He wakes up to hear the Matt Berry-voiced robot malfunctioning and is soon approached by a group that claims to be the “government.” They’re here because destroying a “legitimate” business like the Super Duper Mart is illegal.

Lucy and Maximus Discover Vault 4 in ‘Fallout’ Episode 6

When we last saw Lucy (Ella Purnell) and Maximus (Aaron Moten), they had found themselves in a Vault. Turns out they are actually in the aforementioned Vault 4. The people of the Vault get the bullet out of Maximus’ arm, which turns out to be a rotten human tooth that was used for ammunition. They both meet Birdie (Cherien Dabis), who says she was born on the surface in the failed community of Shady Sands, and that many of the people in the Vault are from there. Birdie ensures Maximus and Lucy that they should stay in quarantine for a few hours to make sure they aren’t contaminated. As they wait, Lucy asks Maximus if he wants to have sex. This is truly confusing to Maximus, as he says that “that weird thing could happen,” where it gets big and hard like a pimple, and then it pops. But Lucy assures him that that’s completely normal, and should ideally happen every time. Yet Maximus passes, as the Knights of the Brotherhood aren’t supposed to do that. As we zoom out of the room they’re in, we see that the room is labeled “Test Subjects.”

As they stick around, Maximus worries that the people of the Vault are actually a cult, since everyone is smiling. But they admit that they’re stuck here until Maximus is safe enough to travel. The overseer of the Vault, Benjamin (Chris Parnell) comes over to meet them during a meal, and Lucy is taken aback when it turns out he only has one eye right in the middle of his forehead. Benjamin warns them that Level 12 is off-limits, and as their conversation ends, Lucy starts to notice that many other people have strange malformations. One man has a nose on his forehead, while another woman has extremely blue eyes and chin tentacles.

As The Ghoul is taken away by the government, we go back to the past, where Cooper and his wife are relaxing in a hot tub drinking martinis. Life seems to be good, but Cooper mentions that maybe he’d like to work somewhere else. Barb maintains that for them, Vault-Tec is now the family business. Cooper says he’d like to get back to being a real cowboy again, and that he’s second-guessing city life. His wife pulls out a Pip-Boy, which she says is going to be integrated into Vault-Tec. With Cooper reconsidering where his life is going, Barb puts her foot down, saying that this job guarantees they get a spot in the Vaults. When Cooper says they have enough money to buy a spot, Barb says the job gets her a spot in the good Vaults. Cooper doesn’t know what that means, but Barb ends the conversation by telling him to trust her.

Later, Cooper heads to a bar where he meets Charles Whiteknife (Dallas Goldtooth), the actor who was in the military with Cooper and who’s been having Communist meetings. It doesn’t take long before Charlie says that Vault-Tec is the devil and that the U.S. government has outsourced the survival of the human race to Vault-Tec. While the government has been aiming for peace talks, he states that Vault-Tec has a fiduciary responsibility to make sure peace doesn’t work out. Hell, they can’t sell Vaults if there’s nothing to hide from. Charlie says that Vault-Tec owns half of everything and the U.S. is broke, which is a terrible position for the country to be in. Charlie tells Cooper that he should come to one of the meetings that’s being held at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Back at home, Cooper is at the kitchen table continuing to talk about the Vaults with Barb. She mentions that it’s going to be hard for their daughter once they go into the Vaults, since no dogs are allowed. That’s just the policy: dogs eat meat, so by not allowing them in, it’s an avoidable inefficiency. This is too much for Cooper. Who is the person making these decisions? Does he actually have to wear those blue jumpsuits when he’s in the Vault? He wants to know about his freedom. But Barb once again says that this is the best they can hope for, and that she’s making sure they go into a special Vault for management, where they can oversee the other Vaults.

‘Fallout’ Episode 6 Uncovers the Mystery on Level 12

In Vault 4, Lucy has a meeting with overseer Benjamin, who tells her that his family has been five generations of Vault-born dwellers. He also points out his disdain for the refugees that have come from the surface, with their smelly food, weird ideas, and not laughing at his offensive jokes. But when Lucy asks what’s on Level 12, he quickly sends her out of his office.

Meanwhile, Maximus goes into the Vault’s energy room, as he tries to get an energy core for his locked-up suit. He’s interrupted by Birdie, who asks how he’s adjusting to life here, even though Maximus believes he’s leaving soon. Since he has to wait a bit, she gives him his own Pip-Boy and tells him to relax in his own room and have a hot shower—but he doesn’t even know how that works. As he gets to his room, he’s greeted with a welcome basket, tries out the running water, attempts to eat soap, has a hot shower for the first time, and is amazed by the complimentary caviar. While Maximus gets used to luxurious living, Lucy explores a classroom where they’ve been learning about Shady Sands. She learns that the New California Republic was created in 2189, that it then became the largest economic and political power in California in 2241, and that the fall of Shady Sands came in 2277. As she checks out a New California Republic flag—which looks like the California flag, except the bear has two heads—she finds a bunch of Vault Dwellers coming to the common area for a surface dweller tradition.

On the surface, The Ghoul finds himself in the office of “The Governmint,” as the sign outside says. He finds Sorrel Booker (Glenn Fleshler) inside, and the newly-appointed President of the Governmint says that The Ghoul was the best bounty hunter. The Ghoul asks for some needle and thread and begins to sew his finger back on — the one that Lucy bit off back in Episode 4. Sorrel asks The Ghoul what’s been keeping him going for 200 years. Could it be that he’s still looking for « her »? Before we can find out who the “her” is, The Ghoul calls the President a dipshit, and this is the first he’s heard about this outfit, but he has been hearing a lot about Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury). Sorrel calls her “The Flame Mother” and mentions that she’s dangerous. After some expectedly smartass comments from The Ghoul, he shoots Sorrel’s two sheriffs, and as he leaves, grabs a photo from a wall full of Wanted posters. The Ghoul inquires about the person in the image, and Sorrel points out that that’s Moldaver. But The Ghoul says that’s not how he remembers her, and Sorrel replies: “How do you remember her?”

‘Fallout’ Episode 6 Reveals Moldaver, The Flame Mother

We then cut back and forth between Cooper in the past and Lucy during the dweller tradition. In the past, we see Cooper arriving at Hollywood Forever Cemetery for the meeting, and as he runs into Charles, we also see Moldaver, who comes up to Cooper and says she’s a “big fan.” Back at Vault 4, the ceremony involves the surface dwellers taking their Pip-Boys off and standing towards an altar full of candles, as the lights are turned off. As they all go “shhhhhhh” and raise and lower their arms, they soon take off their suits and strip naked, except for Lucy, who has no idea what’s going on. Birdie takes to the altar reciting, “Flame Mother, we remember, bring back the past as we remember. We bring back Shady Sands as we remember.” As Lucy goes along with it, putting a gray substance on her forehead, Birdie recites, “We bring back those taken from us by covering ourselves in their ashes,” and “to bring it back, blood must spill.” We see one woman drinking blood, and then, a giant poster of the Flame Mother, Moldaver, unfurls in a horrifying reveal for Lucy.

Lucy seeks out Maximus, but he’s embraced the good life. These two have swapped places since the beginning of the episode: Lucy sees that this is a cult of some sort, whereas Maximus is happy with the comfort of the Vault. How could they be bad if they gave him a robe and slippers? Lucy says that the Vault is hiding something from them and that she’s not going to leave without him, as she heads off to Level 12.

Once on Level 12, Lucy enters a lab and sees a gulper in the tank. There are odd things in jars in the lab, and a strange chair in a tank. Lucy watches a video of a woman who had previously sat in that tank chair and looks to have been attacked by fish that were put into the tank with her. Lucy finds other tanks that seem to contain pregnant women in tanks. As the man with the nose in his forehead comes into the lab, Lucy hides, but she’s soon caught and tries to fight off the Vault Dwellers. When Birdie comes in, Lucy says they’re crazy and that their culture is insane. Birdie retorts that if they came to her home, they’d probably say the same thing. As the Vault 4 inhabitants take hold of Lucy, we cut back to Maximus, who is just having a ball, watching TV, and eating popcorn with a giant smile on his face.

Episode 6 is certainly one of the best hours of Fallout. Some of the finest moments in this show have been centered around the period before the bombs fell, and this episode’s intro is a fascinating look at the intricacies of Vault-Tec and where the world was before everything went to hell.

But as we’ve seen the Vaults solely through the triangle of Vaults 31-33, it’s great that the show expands beyond that, providing us with a glimpse at how nuts some of these other bunkers can be. Each Vault has its own story to tell, and it’s great to learn that with Lucy and Maximus. As we start to learn more about the world’s infrastructure and get some answers, even more questions come up, yet not in a way that’s frustrating or confusing. Instead, we simply want to engage with this universe even more to learn and understand. Episode 6 is an example of Fallout at its best, through its experiences before the bombs and what’s going underground now.

Fallout‘s first episode is now available on Prime Video.

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