Now, before I get into this article, I do want to mention that I like the fact that the TV show is kind of separate from the games, allowing them to shine. However, despite the world being referenced, I think more direct Easter Eggs will do more for the show.
A callback doesn’t need to be a character physically appearing on screen, a name-drop, terminal entry, or even a single line of dialogue would be more than enough.
Finales are where long-running worlds earn their history, not avoid it. More importantly, The Courier. Now, for anyone who has played the Fallout: New Vegas video game, they know The Courier. They’re you. The main character. By completing the game, chaos has happened. Factions are in disarray or doing better than ever with them by their side.
It’s been roughly 15 years from the New Vegas game to the show. That’s recent enough for those events to still be remembered, but distant enough for them to have become legend.
This does mean it’s likely the events of the New Vegas game would still be remembered. I’d be extremely surprised if they’re not at least name-dropped in the finale. Mr. House’s computer is alive again, as we saw at the end of episode 7, so perhaps a shout-out from him would do wonders. It would be nice to truly tie the show together with the games, as they’re meant to be canon after all.
After all, what we do have to consider here is that The Courier becomes the main reason behind any factions survival. It’s because of them why whichever faction you choose comes out on top.
Next up is the Institute. There’s a much smaller gap between Fallout 4 and the show, which is only 9 years.
The Institute has Synths all over the Commonwealth. The Institute is massive when you think about what they’ve been doing underground all of those years. Of course, this does purely depend on what ending they choose for 4.
I still believe the technology used to hold the Cold Fusion is Institute technology. It seems way too preserved for it to be anything other than them. They’d be a fantastic introduction to the series, providing a huge avenue into a hyper advanced faction for its time.
I literally chose the Institute as my chosen faction in my first playthrough of Fallout 4 just because they have toilet roll. This is how advanced they are in this post-apocalyptic world.
The TV show has done an incredible job of portraying the Fallout world in an amazing light. We’ve had the vaults, the outfits, the chems, weapons, enemy types, familiar factions, food, and more. It’s all felt like how it is when we boot the games up. I just hope we get a fully fledged callback to the games themselves. Leaving everything open forever risks making the games feel disconnected from the show’s future.
I know the show has done a roundabout so far. Some fans prefer Fallout endings to remain ambiguous, and that’s always been part of the series’ DNA. They haven’t actually fully said; “this is the canon ending for New Vegas”. It’s actually still open. We don’t know how The Courier left it. I just think now the developers should say; “this is the canon ending”.
I know a lot of RPG games like to leave the endings open to interpretation but it’s been over 15 years since that game came out now. I’m fine with them choosing an ending, regardless of what is.
