Fallout season 2: the ending explained (and what it means for season 3)

What should we understand from the last episode? And this post-credits scene? We tell you everything.

The explosive ending of Fallout season 2 on Prime Video is online. And she doesn’t just line up the shocking revelations: she completely redraws the map of the series. Between family secrets, imminent war and a new playground, the finale sets a clear course for the future. Spoiler alert!

Colorado: the new destination for season 3

In the last minutes, the Ghoul finally thinks he has his answer. After locating the Vault-Tec Management bunker, he imagines finding his wife and daughter, kept in cryogenics. Except that when he arrives there: their capsules are empty. Instead, a single clue: a postcard from Colorado, a nod to a pre-war dream, that of leaving everything to take refuge in this state. A tiny trace… but enough to restart Cooper Howard’s quest, who is now heading towards the mountains of the Midwest. Result: Colorado will become the major destination for season 3. Showrunner Geneva Robertson-Dworet confirms in ScreenRant that this shift is completely voluntary. The idea? Keeping the western DNA of the series while offering a unique setting. She explains that this change is “in part” motivated by the desire to preserve this aesthetic… and to give the public “a good reason to be excited about going into fresh snow”. And so Colorado is just a starting point. Geneva Robertson-Dworet specifies that the Ghoul is faced with a simple problem: “What he is looking for at the moment is a needle in a haystack. For the moment, he only has Colorado to find the people he is looking for. He must therefore specify his destination, and that could take him time and make him take detours…” For his part, Todd Howard, producer and creator of the games, insists on a key principle: in Fallout, geography is never a neutral setting. It’s an identity, an atmosphere. He teases that Season 2 “sows clues about what’s to come,” and reminds: “Just imagine: if we look at each season as a chapter of Fallout, how far can we go? What new things can we offer, things that the games maybe haven’t covered yet?”

What’s Hank’s plan?

Meanwhile, Lucy (Ella Purnell) and Maximus remain in New Vegas, as several factions prepare to swoop in like vultures. The threat materializes as the Legion and NCR march towards the city. “I could have prevented this. There’s going to be a war, and it’s all my fault,” she said.

But the finale also confirmed a larger threat. Hank reveals that he has already released people carrying the Black Box onto the surface, and they are obeying orders “written centuries ago.” Orders to do what? He doesn’t say it. But it’s hard not to see this as preparation for a planned conflict. “I hope fans start to wonder more and more who Hank is working for,” comments the showrunner in EW. “And if not, what is this presence hovering above? And how many of our storylines are affected? How many of them tie into this big bad story that we’re slowly starting to sketch out in the show?” In a word: The Enclave!

What is “Phase 2”?

This finale also releases a major keyword: Phase 2.

For the moment, it is still unclear, but this Phase 2 (launched by Stephanie?) could involve the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV). In games, this virus serves as a biological weapon, capable of mutating exposed people. In other words: if the FEV really enters the series, season 3 could shift into an even more monstrous, even bloodier Fallout.

What does the post-credits scene show?

And obviously, Fallout saves its best teaser for the very end. In the post-credits scene, we find the Brotherhood of Steel, which goes into civil war. Explosions rock the HQ. Elder Cleric Quintus (Michael Cristofer) receives plans and lets out a line that sounds like a declaration of war:

“I tried to unify the Brotherhood, and look where that got me. Quintus the Unifier is dead. Quintus the Destroyer is born.”

Then the camera reveals the diagrams: Liberty Prime Alpha. In the games (Fallout 3 and Fallout 4), Liberty Prime is a giant robot of approximately 12 meters, from American anti-communist propaganda, recovered by the Brotherhood. A war machine capable of launching nuclear warheads. This promises an explosive season 3!