It’s a little early to be wanting to open holiday presents on the 2025 TV Schedule, but some signposts ahead make that statement irrelevant. That's my way of saying that I’m absolutely hyped for Fallout Season 2’s December premiere, and whatever the future may hold after its conclusion. For the most part, I’ve been able to keep this excitement in check.
At least, that was until one of the series’ major stars, Walton “The Ghoul” Goggins, shared his praises for the show’s return. While there are no concrete details or spoilers present, I have a theory on why Fallout Season 2 is about to outdo its predecessor.
Walton Goggins’ Fallout Season 2 Praise Just Made Waiting For The Season Premiere Even Harder
During a red carpet event for his part in The White Lotus, Goggins talked with Deadline about why he’s so hyped to go back to the retro-future apocalypse, brought to us by Vault-Tec! But what really perked my ears up is this section of what he told the publication:
I can tell you that I thought Season 1 was extraordinary, personally, I was very pleased with it. This blows it out of the water. What these writers have done and the artisans that have come together to tell this story, it's really going to be something. I can't wait for people to see it.
I need to put my love for Fallout Season 1 firmly on the table at this point. The attention to detail and references to game lore, without being a full-on adaptation of any of the games, are a perfect balance of the new and the familiar. But those of you who need to sign up for a Prime Video subscription to catch up on Fallout Season 1 should be warned.
My theory for Season 2 will require talking about some spoilers from this shocking streaming story so far. Trust me, if you have a chance to go in as cold as possible, you’ll be thankful. But for those of you who are caught up on Fallout, let’s head into the vault and talk shop.
Fallout Season 2 Seems Set Up To Tie Bethesda’s Standalone Universe Together Tightly
In Fallout Season 1’s finale, we learn that Vault-Tec actually triggered the nuclear apocalypse. The TL;DR version of why is because they simply wanted to create a new society where the company would be firmly in control, Vault Dwellers at the ready to repopulate the world in its image.
That decision, paired with the continued investment in the fate of Lucy McLean (Ella Purnell), Maximus (Aaron Moten), and the ghoulified Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins), the earliest expectation for Fallout Season 2 is a cohesive story. Which, admittedly, flies in the face of the fact that the gaming franchise has always been a series of traditionally stand-alone stories.
That's now changed on the TV side, as Vault-Tec is the power broker that's pulling some pretty huge strings. With an established cast of recurring characters, and other locations of Fallout fame being introduced, it’s exciting to see which elements from New Vegas will be cherry-picked to move things along. And I’m not sure if many people realized this, but Walton Goggins’ decaying outlaw could serve an even greater purpose.
Cooper Howard Could Be “The Glue” Of Fallout’s Television Universe
Yes, Walton Goggins’ status as a radiation-tainted heartthrob is certainly part of the reason why Fallout would want to keep his Cooper Howard character around for as long as possible. However, the character’s backstory and ties to Vault-Tec seem to have inadvertently made him even more of a breakout star on the Prime Video series.
Kind of like how Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow eventually became the functional lead of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Mr. Howard could very well be the hinge point for Fallout’s future. That doesn’t seem to be the plan at the moment, as seen in how Aaron Moten’s comments on Fallout’s planned time-frame have a 5-6 season run in mind.
But should the trajectory of the series’ plot change, or if a potent spinoff idea somehow inspires Amazon-MGM Studios to want to start a televised universe, Walton Goggins’ actor-turned-undead revenge seeker would be the key to making it all happen. I mean, surely someone of Cooper Howard's star power knows all the movers and shakers in New Vegas; and who knows what stories that could lead to?
A man of high society’s past and the wasteland’s present, Fallout looks like it’s more dependent on this TV veteran than some may have thought. We’ll have to see if any of this makes sense when Fallout Season 2 debuts this December, only on Prime Video! But don’t forget about Fallout’s Halloween Horror Nights debut, which will give guests the chance to relive some of Season 1’s plot beats in the flesh, towards the end of August.
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