To begin, I’ll start with the iconic Vault Boy’s thumbs-up gesture. This gesture has actually been present in the games since the early days. (I even have ceramic coasters with this gesture at home.) Back then, players didn’t realize its significance. About 10-12 years ago, a former nuclear, biological, and chemical defense specialist in the Marine Corps posted on Reddit, explaining that this was a method taught during the Cold War era for informational purposes and praised the Fallout game developers for using this knowledge. I think the show’s team referenced that post by having a ghoul character say, “I learned this method when I was a Marine.”
The concept of inter-Vault marriage or Vaults being connected in communication didn’t sit well with me. In the games and sources, Vaults are depicted as being in different locations with no communication between them. Only Vault 8, through its Control Vault and overseer, can communicate with other Vaults. (Additionally, the Enclave can view all logs, as we learn in Fallout 2.) However, the idea of not disclosing all the experiments conducted in the Vaults leaves room for future games (or now, the series). It’s possible that the mentioned Vaults were established close to each other with limited communication as a test to see the outcome of different governance styles.
In the segment reminiscent of a marriage program, when Lucy gets approved, her Pip-Boy makes the level-up sound from the game. It’s as if they’re saying, “You’ve successfully passed a Speech skill check and leveled up.”
When the Vault 32 door opened, I immediately felt something was off. Later, when minor injuries on characters were shown during the wedding (especially on one guy’s bald head), I thought, “These must be raiders.” I was glad to be right because it’s unlikely for someone living in a Vault to have such injuries.
When Lucy uses a Stimpak after getting hurt, and we hear the Stimpak sound from the game, it’s another small but sweet nod.
One of the raiders uses Jet (an inhaler-like device) during the attack. Jet is a commonly used drug in the Fallout universe.
During the Brotherhood of Steel’s lecture, they talk about searching for lost relics. Those who played Fallout 4 will remember doing many missions related to this.
Seeing “The Prydwen” (the giant zeppelin) in the background during the lecture, the T-60 armors, and the Vertibirds (helicopters) excited me. Visually, the T-60 armor looked a bit like a model, but I liked it.
Now, about the outside world. When I first watched the trailer and saw the colorful outside world, I was disappointed. I hoped the series would be set post-Fallout 4 because only then would it make sense. And they did exactly that. (The father mentions during the wedding speech that in the future, their grandchildren might live outside because radiation levels are decreasing.) Fallout 1, 2, 3, and New Vegas have incredibly dark universes. The timeline fits this logic:
- Fallout 76 – 2102
- Fallout 1 – 2161
- Fallout 2 – 2241
- Fallout 3 – 2277
- Fallout: New Vegas – 2281
- Fallout 4 – 2287
- Fallout Series – 2296
In the scene where the three characters head to the graveyard to eliminate ghouls, we see them kill a man with what looks like a doll’s leg. This weapon is called the “junk jet” (also known as the rock-it launcher). It appears in Fallout 3, 4, and 76. When it fires at a ghoul, we see it shoot different items because it uses trash (tin cans, toys, metal, nails, empty syringes, etc.) as ammunition. Including this weapon in the series was a nice touch (hopefully, we’ll see the shishkebab next).
As for how this ghoul has survived so long, in the Fallout universe, ghouls who mutate this way have significantly extended lifespans despite their physical deformities (and infertility) and sometimes mental deterioration. They are immune to the Wasteland’s radiation and nuclear fallout. In some cases, they even heal from it (some even tried becoming ghouls pre-war to achieve immortality).
Published with permission from Ekşi Sözlük user "take me under." -https://eksisozluk.com/entry/163496743