Opening scene was one of my favorite scenes from the show so far.

My predictions...we will see a mind controlled death claw vs power armor and the the vault 31 escapees will somehow become super mutants and the villains for season 3. The trailer and previews seem to suggest this.

Finally got a chance to see episode 2. Really liked it but wish they would have advanced the plotlines a little more. It seemed very short, though that may have been all the ads (felt like a couple after every scene and really liked the experience) and my kids interrupting.

HalifaxAg said:

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My predictions...we will see a mind controlled death claw vs power armor and the the vault 31 escapees will somehow become super mutants and the villains for season 3. The trailer and previews seem to suggest this.

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I like these predictions. Them stumbling into some forgotten FEV from the Master would be an interesting development.

Lathspell said:

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His friend is a b****, though. I can't stand that look she gave before walking away, after Maximus literally killed a man trying to kill him. There was NOTHING wrong with Maximus dropping him.

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I don't interpret that look as disappointment in Max for killing the guy. I interpreted as a "Dude, doesn't it suck that you just had to kill a 'brother' who tried to murder you in a ring of cheering soldiers? And everyone is celebrating that you killed him? Nobody is mourning his death and nobody would have mourned your death. Didn't I tell you this place is so ****ed up? Can't you see it?" Look

Spot on! So far the show has continued to get better

Are we certain Paladin Xander is dead? It sure looks like it, but kind of sucks we don't get more with him.

My only complaint is Lucy seems to have regressed from her character growth from last season. I felt we saw her finally adapt to life in the wasteland, but then we see her make the same mistakes she did in Season 1, by going off on her own in an unfamiliar place, leaving behind her only ally and certified badass. I didn't like that decision from a character perspective.

It's funny, but I'm actually preferring Maximus' character arc, this season, compared to Lucy's. In Season 1, it was the opposite.

Dwight Yoakum's drummer on the Nashville NYE broadcast is a ghoul, I'm convinced.

Lathspell said:

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Are we certain Paladin Xander is dead? It sure looks like it, but kind of sucks we don't get more with him.

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Best theory I've seen is that he's a synth since he's from the Commonwealth. That would make his interaction with the kids being abominations much more interesting (similar to the Paladin Danse storyline).

BenTheGoodAg said:

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Lathspell said:

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Are we certain Paladin Xander is dead? It sure looks like it, but kind of sucks we don't get more with him.

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Best theory I've seen is that he's a synth since he's from the Commonwealth. That would make his interaction with the kids being abominations much more interesting (similar to the Paladin Danse storyline).

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FO4 Spoilers
That's an interesting theory. After we first heard the Commonwealth mentioned, I was wondering if we would get synths and the Institute. Granted, that all comes down to what ending they chose as canon for the world.

That almost noped me out of the game in the very first few clips when I started

Was thinking about episode 2 earlier, and it occurred to me that a) Maximus's dad getting was pumping the vault's water and had just found it, and b) when we see Hank getting the notification that the nuke went off and going to read a story with Lucy, they go sit with his wife on the couch. I thought season 1 established that he nuked Shady Sands while his wife was there and that she'd seen it/spent time there. That doesn't seem to jive with everything in that first scene.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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Was thinking about episode 2 earlier, and it occurred to me that a) Maximus's dad getting was pumping the vault's water and had just found it, and b) when we see Hank getting the notification that the nuke went off and going to read a story with Lucy, they go sit with his wife on the couch. I thought season 1 established that he nuked Shady Sands while his wife was there and that she'd seen it/spent time there. That doesn't seem to jive with everything in that first scene.

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Wasn't it just the kids on the couch?

That is what I saw.

I too only saw Lucy on the couch

Maybe I mistake Norm for being their mom on the other side. I did have to watch on my phone over Christmas.

Loved seeing Victor! That was unexpected.

Another great episode. I'm enjoying all the plot lines we've got going and am very curious where this season all ends up.

They keep teasing the El Diablo Roller coaster and Bison Steve Casino in the background of several shots. Wonder if that's where they are headed next or it's just to bring some extra ambiance to the show.

Really well done show, I am having so much fun watching it.

Aggie_Journalist said:

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Spoilers from this week's episode in this post.

They are doing such a good job with this season. I love how they are working more moral quandaries into the episodes, like this week's "do you save the ghoul children if doing so will cause a massive civil war?" and last week's "who gets the last stimpac?" I sense the lesson we'll keep seeing from these decisions is "no good deed goes unpunished" in the fallout universe.

The legion civil war was a very fitting evolution for what the future held for that faction after New Vegas.

Camp Golf was perfect. Victor was great. Seeing the securitrons is great. The fan service has all been fantastic.

I wonder if Thaddeus was knowingly or unknowingly working for House…

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Dont forget The Ghoul seeking out the the NCR outpost to get some help and, finding they are weak and couldn't help him, shrugging it off to offer to betray them to save Lucy, but in the end you find out he was going to ignite the civil war with the Legion instead.

I felt like that was straight from the kinds of choices you make in the game. And the narration from Pre-War with the man who gave Cooper the lighter, well done.

Jonathan Nolan sure is hitting this out of the park.

I love how they are adding little mechanics from the game, every episode. Lucy getting addicted to Buffout? Fantastic! And then we see her go off on, what I assume are the former Kings, while loaded on Buffout? ****ING FANTASTIC!

For those who don't play the games, Buffout is one of many drugs you can collect and take to boost stats for a while. The downside is that taking them has a chance to lead to your character becoming addicted, thereby affecting your stats negatively. Buffout increases you strength, endurance, and agility. So she was aces while on it.

The Deathclaw in the cold open?! WTF?! Did we know Deathclaws were created before the bombs? Finally seeing one in the show did NOT disappoint. FO4 had it's flaws, for sure, but the scripted Deathclaw attack was so perfect. That ending sure played that similar situation so well.

And I have to agree with the other game fans: The choices they keep putting in front of our characters are absolutely perfect. That and the fight scenes we have seen have been peak Fallout, for me.

Possible spoiler? Game mechanic not yet in the show, so i'll spoiler tag:
Seeing as how lucky Lucy is, I'm still waiting for a Mysterious Stranger appearance. That is bound to make it in either this season or next. When it does, i'm going to lose my ***** You know they have to save that for a critical moment in the show.

Quote:

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The Deathclaw in the cold open?! WTF?! Did we know Deathclaws were created before the bombs? Finally seeing one in the show did NOT disappoint. FO4 had it's flaws, for sure, but the scripted Deathclaw attack was so perfect. That ending sure played that similar situation so well.

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I agree - it was super awesome to see one. The origin is following canon (Fallout 2 I think?), but actually seeing one in Alaska like that sure was unexpected.

Ahh.... never played FO1 or FO2. I'll have to go look that up.

Amazing episode. The death claw open, Cocaine Blues scene where Lucy goes ham on BuffOut, Thaddeus and the Brotherhood of Steel war (the cafeteria scene!) Followed by another death claw scene and cut to credits.

Even the intervault politics scenes are interesting.

I want to know how Steph knows that Hank brought a keepsake box and how she knows what's in it. Also, why can't she get it? She seems to be closer to Hank than Betty, and there seems to be some enmity between them. I also (for some reason) find it a little interesting that she's Canadian and kept her wallet.

Also wondering if Phase 2 is FEV for Bud's Buds.

Yes

Great episode.

And even better got non video game player bc I have no idea what's going on with the new creature.

Deathclaws are considered the apex predator of the Fallout universe. Pre-Fallout 4, running into one is a death sentence until late game and even then its not a guarantee you'll survive.