Major spoilers for Fallout Season 2’s third episode, “The Profilgate” lie ahead, so be prepared if you haven’t seen it yet.
As the 2025 TV schedule winds down, the second season of Fallout is just shifting into high gear. There have been some major developments over just the first couple of installments. As part of that, Maximus (Aaron Moten) has been begrudgingly performing his duties as a knight for the Brotherhood of Steel. Max’s journey took a serious turn during the latest episode of the show, as he made a fateful decision that contributed to a tense final scene. Cast member Johnny Pemberton spoke to CinemaBlend about filming that as well.
“The Profilgate” reintroduces Thaddeus (Pemberton), Maximus’ fellow squire who was transformed into a ghoul near the end of Season 1. Now managing a bottle factory and overseeing the human and ghoul children who operate it, Thaddeus gets on the radar of Max and Paladin Xander Harkness (Kumail Nanjiani). When the two armored Brotherhood members confront the group, a stand-off ensues, and Harkness prepares to kill the ghouls. Yet, before he can do so, Max kills Harkness by smashing his head.
I was honestly a bit stressed out while watching all of that play out, especially since I was incredibly concerned for the well-being of those innocent children. My reaction to the moment was seemingly a far cry from the vibe on set, though. When I spoke with Johnny Pemberton, he explained what the atmosphere was like while the cameras were rolling on that gamechanging scene:
Well, I don't think it was as intense on set. A lot of times that's the case, just because when you have a score behind something, it really just changes it significantly. But that moment, I recall, I mean, I don't know — it's enjoyable. It's obviously something that we love working [on], and it's something where it felt right on the day. It definitely didn't feel as heavy as it came across.
The Superstore alum makes a great point in that music can do a lot to amp up a scene, and that was a big reason why my heart was pounding a bit during that confrontation scene. Don’t think that there aren’t moments in which actors can feel the emotional stakes, though. Pemberton went on to discuss how such material can weigh on a performer if they’re not able to relax:
It's something where it's just how it has to be. Otherwise, you can't get through the day. If that stuff is like, living in you really heavy and hard, then it's just… I think sometimes what happens is afterwards, maybe you feel it and you're exhausted for two to three days because you just had to process all this stuff.
Thankfully, for Johnny Pemberton, there was another on-set force that helped lighten any kind of tension – the child actors. Pemberton shared some humorously sweet thoughts on working with the young performers:
…. it's just those kids being on set. It makes everything so light because they're not — they don't experience stuff the same way. They're just having a ball. One kid's like, playing with a glove in a weird way between takes, you know, just like, ‘What's this guy doing? It's so funny.’ So they're not living in it. So we, by proxy, also tend to feel pretty good about what we're doing.
Filming, in that respect, may have been fun, but the scene itself now puts Maximus in a position that’s not so fun. He dryly says to Thaddeus, “I think I just started a war” and, given that Harkness was a liaison to the Commonwealth, a war could indeed ensue. This looming possibility is nerve-wracking, considering this post-apocalyptic universe is already in bad shape.
Still, from a storytelling perspective, Episode 3’s ending is a credit to the writers’ ability to drop some major twists and turns, and there’s been a lot going on in Season 2. Lucy MacLean and the ever-violent Ghoul are still making their way across the wasteland in order to reach Las Vegas, and Norm MacLean made a very big move of his own. Fans will just have to wait and see what lies ahead for those three – as well as Maximus and Thaddeus – as the show continues.
So check out new episodes of Fallout, which drop for Prime Video subscription holders on Wednesdays at 3 a.m. ET/21 a.m. PT.
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