Fallout has a wealth of source material to draw from. Here’s every Easter egg and reference to the video games we’ve found in the Fallout TV series. Spoilers lurk below!
The Fallout TV series has received positive reviews from fans and critics with a lot of attention being given to its faithfulness to the games as source material. Of course, there was some panic that the series had made the beloved Fallout: New Vegas uncanon, but this was ultimately shown not to be the case.
Instead, the Fallout TV show is a love letter to the game series and goes out of its way to reference it often and drop lots of Easter eggs designed to delight fans of the post-apocalyptic RPG. Here’s a breakdown of all the Easter eggs and references we’ve spotted in Amazon Prime’s Fallout so far.
Dogmeat
Most mainline Fallout games feature a K9 companion known as Dogmeat. While this is a different dog in every game (with even the breed changing over the years), Dogmeat is always the loyal companion of a Fallout protagonist, aiding them in battle and generally being the best boy/girl.
In the TV show, Dr. Wilzig takes in Dogmeat, only revealing the pooche’s name later in the series. This is a direct reference to the games and something that many fans will be happy to see included.
The Commonwealth
The Commonwealth is a region of the Wasteland that covers the city of Boston and the rest of Massachusetts. It was also where Fallout 4 took place and saw several factions feuding with an underground organization known as the Institute. The region is mostly controlled by a group called the Minutemen who are trying to set up supply lines across the Wasteland to aid the people, but it also has a large Brotherhood of Steel presence.
In episode one of the Fallout TV series, a cleric mentions they have been in communication with their chapter in the Commonwealth, suggesting that the Brotherhood of Steel is still active there and likely prevailed over the Institute in Fallout 4. Or it could mean that the Minutemen did and are co-existing with the Brotherhood, which was one of Fallout 4’s endings.
The Brotherhood of Steel
The Brotherhood of Steel features very prominently in the Fallout TV show. This makes sense as the faction is often front and center in the game’s marketing, and plays a role in nearly every game. They were founded by remnants of the US Military and have essentially become a quasi-religious group who are obsessed with technology. They’re usually keen on pursuing their own agenda but can often be convinced to aid the heroes in various Fallout games.
The group was instrumental in defeating the Enclave, and depending on player choice, may also have played a role in defeating Caesar’s Legion and the shadowy Institute in later games. The series does a good job of displaying their best and worst characteristics, such as their desire to help others often being overshadowed by their zealotry. It also faithfully recreates their power armor, Vertibirds, Airships, and even reveals that their armor is fueled by power cores, just like in the game.
The Enclave
The old enemies of the Brotherhood of Steel, and pretty much everyone else, the Enclave are referenced in the Fallout TV show by their former scientist Dr. Siggi Wilzig. As the TV show takes place several years after Fallout 3, it can be assumed that the faction is mostly defeated and disbanded.
In Fallout: New Vegas, a group of Enclave Remnants can be convinced to aid the player in fighting Caesar’s Legion – which means potentially working alongside the Brotherhood of Steel and NCR. If this turned out to be the canon ending, then the former Enclave members may have found a new purpose in the wasteland.
However, there could also be a group of villainous Enclave members still out there, plotting a comeback.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L
Our introduction to Lucy sees her taking part in Vault-Tec’s S.P.E.C.I.A.L program, something designed to help vault-dwellers determine their skills and how they can best serve the community. This is also the game’s character creation system, allowing players to decide what sort of wasteland wanderer they want to be.
Vault-Tec
One of the biggest and most obvious things the TV show borrows from the games is the existence of Vault-Tec, the rather creepy, ethically dubious organization that makes the vaults to “protect humanity” from nuclear war – while profiting from it.
Vault-Tec’s shady nature is also referenced in the TV show and is something that has been alluded to in the games many times without yet being paid off. The TV series also gives us a look at the origins of the famous Vault-Tec jumpsuit and how the colors of this garment became established.
Pip-Boy
All vault-dwellers are given one of these nifty little devices that’s attached to their arms. In the games, it serves as a HUD and has various other uses. The Pip-Boy is featured many times in the TV series and some characters are even seen playing its built-in retro game, Atomic Command! It’s almost as if Vault-Tec wanted there to be a nuclear war.
Vault-Boy bobbleheads and lunchboxes
Vault-Boy is Vault-Tec’s mascot and is a frequent sight in the games as he’s featured in the various logos and Pip-Boy animations. His bobbleheads can also be collected in most games to unlock certain features while Vault-Tec lunchboxes are another such collectable. These are also real-life items Fallout fans can collect, with a lunchbox and bobblehead being given away with the special edition of Fallout 3.
In the TV show, Vault-Boy bobbleheads can be spotted in most episodes, some hiding in plain sight while others are featured heavily. A Vault-Tec lunchbox can be spotted when Lucy visits Ma’s Sundries. The item is open on the table and looks a lot like the ones you can get in real life.
Robots
There are a ton of robots from the games in the Fallout TV series, the most obvious being the creepy Mr. Handy who cheerfully tells Lucy it’s going to harvest her organs. However, the show goes even deeper than this, revealing the real-life Codsworth, a human who lent his voice to the robots in the games, TV show, and within the Fallout universe. We also spotted a dead and rusted Assultron in the desert and something that looked like a modified Robobrain.
Chems (drugs)
Chems and stims are items players can take in the games to recover their health and boost their stats. Players can also become addicted to these drugs and are advised to use them sparingly. In the TV show, Raiders can be seen taking the drug Jet before going into combat, and Lucy even uses a stimpack to heal herself after she scuffles with a Raider.
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Red Rocket
Red Rocket is a garage that features heavily in Fallout 4 and can be used as an early base of operations for the player, as well as somewhere to store and modify their power armor. One such garage is also visited in the TV show and looks a lot like the one from Fallout 4. However, it’s likely to be a different one, with Fallout 4 being set in Boston rather than California.
Thumbs-up
Vault-Boy’s signature thumbs-up pose has always been a dark reference to nuclear war. It essentially means putting up your thumb to see if you’re in a nuke’s blast radius or not. However, as many people found out when the bombs dropped in the Fallout universe, this is duff information.
The TV show also explains the origins of this pose, and how Vault-Tec took advantage of such propaganda to manipulate the population into either certain death or life in one of their vaults. Seeing it explained to a child makes this lie even more creepy.
Please Stand By
When things go south for Vault 33, as tends to happen to all vaults eventually, the projector screen goes haywire and a “Please Stand By” message appears. This is a nod to many Fallout loading screens. It also appears in many of Vault-Tec’s falsely upbeat propaganda videos.
The FEV
The Forced Evolution Virus (or FEV) is something the Enclave developed to try and help humanity survive the Wasteland. Instead, it gave rise to the Super Mutants, who under direction from The Master, served as the main antagonists of the first Fallout game.
The Enclave would try to reverse their mistake in Fallout 2 and 3 with a nefarious plan to wipe out all mutation in the Wasteland, meaning nearly everything would die. Fortunately, they were stopped, by the combined efforts of the Fallout 3’s protagonist and the Brotherhood of Steel.
In the TV series, a hulking green arm can be seen by Dr. Wilzig, with the implication being that this is a Super Mutant. It’s the only one we see in the show, but perhaps Season 2 will show more of these creatures. Some are even friendly and serve as companions to the various Fallout protagonists.
Mutated animals
While there are too many to list, the Fallout TV series does a great job of including some of the Wasteland fauna from the Fallout games such as Rad Roaches, the two-headed Brahmin, a Yao Guai, Gulpers, and even some Deathclaw skulls at the end.
Fans of the games will be very familiar with these critters and it was fun to see them adapted to the show. The Deathclaw tease was especially creepy, so we look forward to seeing if these monstrous beasts make an appearance in the flesh in Season 2.
In-universe product placement
Those who’ve played any of the Fallout games will be familiar with the various products, brands, and references that have popped up over the years. Some of these are comic book characters that have become mythologized by the survivors of the wasteland, such as Grognak the Barbarian.
Others are household items such as Abraxo cleaner, Nuka-Cola, and Sugar Bombs, while some are general everyday locations like the Super-Duper Mart or items like Radaway. This is something that brings down radiation levels in the game, but also exists in the TV show, likely in a similar capacity.
The Fiends
The Fiends are a small but deadly group of Raiders in the Fallout games who serve as minor antagonists but still manage to make their presence felt. This is also reflected in the TV series when the main characters are unfortunate enough to come across the Fiends, leading to a battle between the two groups.
Shady Sands (The NCR)
Shady Sands is well known to players of the Fallout games as it’s the main base of operations for the New California Republic (NCR). Located outside of Los Angeles, Shady Sands is a key location in Fallout: New Vegas and somewhere the player can spend a lot of time.
By the time the TV series rolls around several years have passed since the events of New Vegas and Shady Sands has been nuked and destroyed by an unknown force. While the NCR likely still exists and will most probably be included in Season 2, it’ll be interesting to see what new threat they’re now up against.
New Vegas
New Vegas is, of course, the post-apocalyptic version of Las Vegas which even after the bombs dropped, remains the playground of the Wasteland. It’s also the titular location in Fallout: New Vegas, a game set between Fallout 3 and 4. In the games, the city is of key strategic importance to the forces of the NCR who are fighting against the vicious Caesar’s Legion for control of the Mojave Wasteland. However, the city is controlled by the tyrannical Mr. House, who has no intention of giving the city to either faction.New Vegas is alluded to several times throughout the TV series and is likely to serve as the main backdrop to Season 2. Various elements of Fallout: New Vegas are referenced in the show, so it will be interesting to see if the TV series gives us any concrete information on which ending of the game was canon, such as who won the battle of Hoover Dam? The final conflict between the NCR and the Legion.
Mr. House
Mr. House is the leader of New Vegas in the games and rules the city with an iron fist, supported by his army of goons and robots. House is attempting to create an even more powerful army of robots to secure his dictatorship and to take out his rivals, the NCR, Caesar’s Legion, and the Brotherhood of Steel. However, he loses the means to control the army through the Platinum Chip, the McGuffin of Fallout: New Vegas that kicks off the adventure.
The player can side with Mr. House in the game, helping him achieve his ambitions, or they can betray him, killing him, or dooming him to a state of living death if they’re feeling particularly cruel. The player can also work against him from the start, he is, after all, an obvious villain.
Mr. Robert House appears in the final episode of the TV series and is revealed to be the founder of Rob-Co. Will he return in Season 2, or will he have met his fate in Fallout: New Vegas?
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