The Fallout Finale's Huge Season 2 Tease, Explained

Contains spoilers for "Fallout" Season 1, Episode 8

Viewers who have paid careful attention to the show's credits may have suspected it, but the Season 1 finale confirms it: Amazon Prime Video's "Fallout" is heading toward New Vegas. After a quick cameo by a Deathclaw skull, the final shot of "Fallout" Season 1, Episode 8 reveals Hank MacLean (Kyle McLachlan) looking at the majestic skyline of the franchise's post-apocalyptic take on Las Vegas, made instantly recognizable by the towering Lucky 38 Resort and Casino. This all but guarantees that the potential "Fallout" Season 2 intends to take things to the iconic central location of "Fallout: New Vegas." 

Even before the New Vegas tease, the season finale features enough action, twists, and turns to compete with some of the best post-apocalyptic movies of all time. There's a massive showdown between the Brothers of Steel and Moldaver's (Sarita Choudhury) group of survivors. Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins), Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), and CX404 the dog join forces. The ominous Vault 32 is repopulated, Norm (Moises Arias) finds out the truth about Vault 31, and of course, Hank flies away in a set of power armor, his true nature as a mass-murdering villain revealed. 

It remains to be seen whether the revelation that the likable Hank is a ruthless Vault-Tec stooge who survived the nuclear apocalypse in deep freeze will be remembered as one of the greatest bad guy twists of all time. Still, even if it doesn't, the former Vault 33 overseer's New Vegas reveal should more than make up for that loss. 

Given how faithful the live-action show is to the games' design, lore, and character archetypes, a New Vegas-centric "Fallout" Season 2 would likely introduce some fascinating new characters and factions. While it's likely that the potential sophomore season will continue to avoid using characters from the games, it's equally possible that the series' fondness for exploring the franchise's various factions remains. As such, expect to see some version of President Kimball's New California Republic and the Roman-themed Caesar's Legion if "Fallout" the show makes its way to New Vegas. If any actual characters from the game get a live-action treatment, the most likely name to make an appearance is arguably the peculiar and largely unseen Mr. House, who controls the settlement.

Whenever "Fallout" games are ranked, "New Vegas" tends to be near the top. Its narrative is fairly short but captivating, and the setting is just about as memorable as one can get in post-apocalyptic titles. Since Prime Video's "Fallout" essentially pledges to feature New Vegas, fans of the game may very well be eager to hear news of the show's future. After all, when you consider the eight epic episodes the adaptation already has under its belt, another season or more would go a long way toward solidifying its place among the best shows on Amazon Prime Video.