Fallout Season 1 episodes 3-4 recap: This is the New America

Now that Fallout’s stage has been set on Prime Video, Season 1 episodes 3 and 4 do a lot to amp up the drama and storytelling. There are so many things going on at once - however, unlike the games, we can see these things happening back-to-back.

In the third and fourth episodes of Prime Video’s new series, we see more flashbacks to the past, as we slowly patch together what life was like for Cooper Howard before he became “The Ghoul”.

Some of the themes and scenes of episodes 3 and 4 of Fallout will be uncomfortable for some Prime Viewers. Regardless, they do fit the overall narrative of the world that has been in existence for decades now.

Before you dive into the recap, you can check out our Fallout Season 1 review if you are waiting to make up your mind about watching it. You can also catch up on what's been happening with our Episodes 1-2 recap.

Note: This article features major spoilers for episodes 3 and 4 of Fallout Season 1.

Highlights of Fallout Season 1 on Prime Video’s episodes 3-4

Episode 3

Pre-war life for Cooper Howard
Maximus begins life as “Knight Titus”
The Brotherhood has a new directive
Lucy and The Ghoul interact again
Battle of The Gulper
Cooper Howard “sells out”

Episode 4

The Ghoul drags Lucy along
Vault 33 begins its vote for a new Overseer
The Ghoul sells Lucy at the Super Duper Mart
Mysteries at Vault 32
Freedom from the Super Duper Mart
The Man from Deadhorse

Episode 3-4 recap of Fallout on Prime Video

Episode 3

The times, they are a'changin' (Image via Amazon MGM Studios)

The purpose of the episode 3 intro to Fallout is to show just how much Cooper Howard/The Ghoul has changed. While his film career was still popular, he wasn’t a fan of killing his foes as a cowboy. There was a talk of his former writer being brought up on charges of being a Communist - another reference to McCarthyism.

There was a lot of talk about a “New America”, and how people wanted to see their heroes do “what needs to be done” - in this case, it means killing the bad guy in the film. There’s also a bit of time spent with Cooper and his family, which was nice. When they flash forward again, The Ghoul was seen having a serious coughing fit.

This might be the part that sets Fallout fans on edge - as fans might not recall a drug existing that prevents or at least, slows down ghouls going feral. Unless it’s some kind of radiation treatment. The Ghoul inhaled a yellow chemical that stopped the coughing fits and kept him normal.

Popped like a pimple (Image via Amazon MGM Studios)

Maximus spent some of his time trying to fool the Brotherhood of Steel and convince the Fallout faction they didn’t need to come to help him - but it was too late as they had already sent someone to be his new Squire.

There was a pretty comical scene after this, where Maximus learns how harsh the Fallout wasteland is - he had to sell a tooth to get a part fixed for his power armor. Turns out the fix was incredibly easy, and he was essentially ripped off. Then, to make his day worse, some men tried to steal his power armor, but after being beaten pretty badly, he turned the tables on them.

In a gruesome way, Maximus claimed victory and then met his squire, Thaddeus - one of the guys who beat him up earlier in the series. Maximus put this kid through hell, though he did bring new orders: Whoever had the relic, must die, and it must come back to the Brotherhood.

In a way, what happened next was incredibly comical: A huge Axolotl mutant stole the head, and swam off with it, only to be met by The Ghoul. Their time together here was very rough before things shifted back to Vault 33.

This kid really gets put through the ringer - but he kind of deserved it (Image via Amazon MGM Studio)

Chet was reassigned (formerly Gatekeeper), and Norm was as well: he tried to tell the potential Overseers that he had no joy in any type of work. His new role: delivering food to the prisoners.

As Maximus continued to put his new Squire through pure hell, The Ghoul tortured Lucy - or so it seemed. They discussed the merits of torture, but then it was clear what the goal was: Lucy was bait for the huge monster, known as the Gulper.

“Thou shalt be sidetracked by bulls**t every time” - The Ghoul

In the scuffle with The Gulper, his drugs were smashed, and in response, The Ghoul tied a rope around Lucy’s neck and took her with him. He was determined to get more of that drug, so he could avoid going feral. Maximus also learned, around this time, about the cycle of violence in the Brotherhood of Steel.

The reason Thaddeus abused him was because he too was abused once. The hope was that Maximus would find someone else to humiliate and beat up, thus, perpetuating the cycle in the Fallout universe.

Something is definitely afoot in Vaults 31-33 (Image via Amazon MGM Studios)

Back at Vault 33, the group tried to figure out what to do with the prisoners. Norm wanted to get rid of them, but this was shot down. We also learned that the Vault is in serious jeopardy. Its water chip broke, and there are only a few more months of water left, in the best-case scenario. Before this scene ended, Stephanie (the woman who had her eye stabbed) said that the former Overseer would have done the right thing.

Back at the waterfront, Maximus and Thaddeus dealt with the Gulper. It was incredibly gross, and we got to see inside its mouth - those tentacle things hanging down? Those were human fingers. At least, some of them were. That’s going to come back in a later Fallout episode.

With the head in their possession, the Brotherhood of Steel was in the lead during this part of the Fallout Prime Video series. The Ghoul and Lucy took a different route, back onto the wastelands, before it cut back to pre-war footage.

Cooper Howard was seen doing some commercials for Vault-Tec at the end of episode 3 of the Prime Video Fallout series. He seemed to appreciate their work and the company doing their part to save humanity. Cooper even did the thumbs-up.

Ending Theme: Act Naturally - Buck Owens

Episode 4

“Sometimes, a fella’s gotta eat another fella” - The Ghoul

Poor Rodger ... (Image via Amazon MGM Studios)

As episode 4 of the Fallout series began, The Ghoul was seen seeking drugs from another Ghoul, Rodger. He survived 28 years without going feral - nothing compared to The Ghoul’s 200 years.

He was turning though, which led to The Ghoul killing him and stripping off some of his flesh to eat later. The line “Come on Vaultie, Ass-jerky don’t make itself” might be one of the funniest bits of dialogue yet.

There was a brief interlude back at Vault 33, where Betty, one of the former Overseers, warned Norm about how dangerous “clever boys like him can be” when angry. It was a very interesting scene and showed that not everyone in the Vault is an idiot. She’s one of the few that seems like she understands the world.

Lucy looked haggard and miserable in the next Fallout scene, where she inevitably gave up, and drank radiated water, despite the danger it possessed. While she tried to get away, the protagonist got lassoed and struggled with The Ghoul. She bit a finger off, but in retaliation, he cut one of hers off too.

It's a perfectly legitimate business (Image via Amazon MGM Studios)

The two then reached the Super Duper Mart, and when The Ghoul used the intercom, the familiar voice of Matt Berry rang out - he voices the Codsworth robots - an easter egg and reference to the robots in previous games in this series. The Ghoul was willing to sell her to the Super Duper Mart, in exchange for some drugs.

When inside, Lucy was relieved that she received a new finger, and grateful she wasn’t being sold as a sex slave. However, the relief was short-lived as she soon got to know that the plan was to sell her internal organs. Meanwhile, back at the Vault, Norm learned from one of the raiders that Vault 32 was like that when they got there.

This led to some exploration with Norm and Chet. A video was playing in one of the rooms that discussed the dangers of cannibalism - likely what happened in the Vault. Painted in blood on the wall was “We know the truth”.

Whatever could this mean? (Image via Amazon MGM Studios)

Lucy was having a worse time, though. She was being dragged along to have her organs removed, and as the camera panned, there were many ghouls stuck behind the doors of the frozen food section. The two buffoons that ran this outfit agreed to 60 vials for the girl, but she’d get free thanks to a defibrillator.

The former Vault dweller loaded the robot, who was named Snip-Snip, with dangerous chemicals, and said that they had to let the ghouls free, or she’d shoot them with them. A few of the ghouls were very feral and murdered their captors.

From one set of violence to another, the Vault explorers in the Fallout TV series saw corpses strung up by rope in Vault 32, as the former Overseer’s dead body, withered away, tied to a chair. On the wall, painted in blood was “Death to management.”

The plot thickens (Image via Amazon MGM Studios)

One mystery was also uncovered but it led to another one entirely: You need a Pip-Boy to get into the Vaults. According to the terminal, the one used was Rose MacLean - Lucy’s dead mother. But how did that happen?

“Golden Rule, motherf**ker.” - Lucy MacLean

Meanwhile, Lucy left after dropping the drugs at The Ghoul’s feet before leaving. It seemed like she contemplated killing him, too. Instead of going along with her, The Ghoul went inside, ate and drank the food found there, and collected more of those yellow vials. Then, upon seeing the film “The Man from Deadhorse” - one of his films - The Ghoul sat down and watched.

Ending Theme: Unknown. The Man from Deadhorse theme?

Final Thoughts

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The theme of episodes 3 and 4 of Fallout felt like showing just how cruel and unforgiving this world can really be. From organ harvesting to a never-ending cycle of violence, there’s so much going on. So far, Lucy is keeping true to her morals and values that she learned in Vault 33. However, things in the Vault aren’t what they appear to be. More and more mysteries are starting to pile up.

It’s very much a race for the Magical MacGuffin since nobody knows what it even does. All anyone knows is that it’s incredibly powerful. Well, that’s not true - one person knows, but they haven’t spoken up yet. The three protagonists haven’t exactly come together yet - but perhaps that will change soon.

Prime Video’s Fallout Season 1 was aired on April 10, 2024. You can check out other episodes' recaps here: