The Big Picture
- The
Fallout
finale underwent changes to show Lucy’s transformation from grief to hardened survivor. - Lucy learns from the Ghoul’s mercy kill, mirroring his actions and becoming more like him.
- The bond between Lucy and the Ghoul evolves, showcasing their survival instincts in a cruel world.
The startling reveal in the Fallout season finale was a culmination of eight impressive episodes, but it wasn’t so easy to get it onscreen. Star of the series, Ella Purnell, told GQ that the scene of Lucy’s realization of her father Hank’s (Kyle MacLachlan) duplicity went through a metamorphosis of sorts. When first filming the scene, Lucy’s reaction to seeing her mother as a ghoul didn’t end up being what the production intended.
“We reshot [the scene], because originally we all had a different idea of how that ending was going to go. We originally shot me killing my mum as a really emotional moment; there were a lot of tears and wailing. And it just didn’t feel right. We felt like, if she’s gonna get up and go into the wasteland, she needs to be a changed woman, and maybe her grief needs to give way to something harder.”
Coming to terms with the fact that her father isn’t the benevolent overseer she thought he was is a large emotional leap. Hank’s decision to destroy Shady Sands with her mother inside is a cross no child should have to bear. Ultimately, the production chose to portray Lucy’s experience in silence. For most of the scene, the trauma overwhelms Lucy as she witnesses what her family has become. Her act of shooting her ghoul mother cements her fate as a citizen of the Wasteland. While she may still hold tight to optimism, she has become more hardened by her brief time outside the Vault.
The ‘Fallout’ Finale Shows Lucy’s Transformation Into Coop
Walton Goggin’sGhoul has long since dispensed with his identity as Cooper Howard, Television Cowboy, and his actions in the desert make that clear. In his fight to find his family, he has become a shell of his former self, quite literally. However, he still retains the dregs of his humanity. Unlike Hank, who has always been an insidious representation of humanity, the Ghoul shows love towards Dogmeat and mercy towards his friends. Even after all this time. At first, Lucy sees nothing but a monster. But by the end of Season 1, she is closer to him than ever.
“By killing her mum in a mercy kill, she’s doing exactly what the Ghoul did to Roger [in episode four],” Purnell continued. “She’s learnt from him. She has turned into him. When she said, ‘I’ll never be you,’ maybe that’s not true.”
Much of the finale is up for interpretation as viewers wait for the upcoming Season 2. But there is no doubt about the camaraderie surrounding Lucy and the best character in the series. While both characters are tougher than their original counterparts, it helps them survive in a cruel world. Both are driven by family, even if in different ways. The changes that the final scene underwent were for the betterment of the show, as it demonstrates Lucy can still change, even while keeping a sliver of her humanity. Fans will have to wait to see how the relationship between the Ghoul and Lucy continues in Fallout Season 2. But until then, they can watch all episodes of the first season on Amazon Prime.
Fallout
In a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear decimation, citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect themselves from radiation, mutants and bandits.
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
- Creator(s)
- Graham Wagner , Geneva Robertson-Dworet
- Producer
- Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan
- Streaming Service(s)
- Prime Video
