Fallout: Does [SPOILER] Really Die In Episode 2? (It's Complicated)
Contains spoilers for "Fallout"
No one wants to see the dog die in any piece of media. Hordes of people can meet violent ends, but if man's best friend meets any kind of terrible fate, people lose their minds. There are entire websites and online forums dedicated to informing people of whether a dog lives or dies in a movie or TV show so audiences can plan accordingly. Despite things looking hairy for CX404 on "Fallout" Episode 2, the good girl ultimately lives.
During the big shootout, The Ghoul, played by an unrecognizable Walton Goggins, mows down plenty of people in spectacular fashion. But the tone shifts when CX404 attacks him, with The Ghoul stabbing the pooch. It'd be easy to assume the dog dies right then and there, but when he goes back to the battlefield, the dog can be seen breathing. The Ghoul then brings the pup inside and injects her with a Stimpak. The dog whimpers, showing how she never died but merely suffered a serious injury. The Stimpak works wonders, with the dog back in good shape and now a faithful companion to The Ghoul.
It may seem weird for CX404 to be loyal to The Ghoul after he stabbed her, but healing her seems to have won her over. She then follows The Ghoul around The Wasteland as they try to find Siggi Wilzig (Michael Emerson) ... or what's left of him, at least.
Fallout 4 may have influenced CX404's fate
Everyone said the same thing about Walton Goggins' Ghoul when the full "Fallout" trailer came out: He was already the show's standout. The fact that he gets an adorable canine companion in the series only makes his character better. Understandably, audiences would be concerned over the dog's fate, seeing as dogs tend to die throughout the "Fallout" video games. Dogmeat is introduced in the first "Fallout" game, and there's the option of the pooch becoming a companion to the player. That dog dies throughout gameplay, but there may have been a hint all along that CX404 wouldn't meet the same fate.
In the first "Fallout" game, Dogmeat is modeled after an Australian Blue Heeler. However, the Dogmeat in "Fallout 4" is a German Shepherd, which is what CX404 is in the "Fallout" Prime Video series. "Fallout 4" also just so happens to be the game that made the Dogmeat companion unkillable. Even in the most extreme circumstances in the game, Dogmeat isn't going anywhere.
Viewers may also have had concerns that The Ghoul turned CX404 into a Ghoul to save her. In the games, animals and humans can undergo the process of ghoulification, but that doesn't appear to be what happened in "Fallout" Episode 2. The "Fallout" cast spoke with Looper about the good, the bad, and the ugly inspirations for the new show, but of course, the "goodest" thing of all is CX404, even when she does have a severed hand in her mouth.
All eight episodes of "Fallout" are now available on Amazon Prime video.