This article contains spoilers for Fallout episode 6, "The Trap". If you're not caught up with the series yet, check out our article explaining how to watch the Fallout TV show instead.
Prime Video's Fallout TV show brings Bethesda's post-apocalyptic video game franchise to life in a new story that takes place within the Wasteland. The series tells an original story involving three core survivors whose quests take place in a version of Los Angeles more than 200 years after the world was ravaged by nuclear war.
Fallout episode 6 hints at Vault-Tec harboring some deeply sinister secrets. Pre-war, we see Cooper Howard has been losing connections because of his association with the company, and one of his co-stars even offers to help him learn "the truth". Meanwhile, Lucy and Maximus settle into their new home, but Lucy soon finds that things are anything but ordinary within Vault 4. Here's a full recap of Fallout episode 6.
Joining Vault 4
The episode opens in the past, with a Galaxy News broadcast of Cooper Howard's ad selling spaces in one of the Vaults, wherein he lavishes praise on the facilities and encourages viewers to buy up a slot for them and theirs soon. Afterwards, he has a run-in with a Vault-Tec rep, Bud Askins who explains that, in his eyes, the future of the human race is one thing only: "Management". Following the awkward exchange, Cooper's wife Barb informs him that they're hosting a wrap party for the Vault-Tec ads at their home, much to Cooper Howard's chagrin.
We cut to the party in full swing; Cooper sits down with Sebastian Leslie (seemingly the only person from Hollywood who still heeds Howard's invites). Howard is annoyed that he's lost a movie deal and friendships because of his association with Vault-Tec, but Leslie — who lent his voice to the Bartholomew Cogsworth robots — encourages him to pursue more brand deals as he sees the future as "products".
We cut to The Ghoul in the present, on the floor of the Super Duper Mart. Men dressed as sheriffs arrive and blast him for destroying a business, which is illegal to "The Government", and they take him in for questioning. Then, we cut to Vault 4. Maximus is being treated by doctors whilst Birdie, a resident, explains the rules of Vault 4 to them.
The two wanderers are welcome to join their community, which is comprised of many survivors from Shady Sands along with born-and-bred Vault Dwellers. The pair will be kept in quarantine for a while, and Maximus is told scavengers have gone out to retrieve his Power Armor. Maximus is skeptical of his new home, but Lucy encourages him to enjoy his stay. They're kept in a side room... which the camera reveals is labelled "Test Subjects".
Once their quarantine's over, the pair sit down for a meal, and then Overseer Benjamin (a cyclops) wanders over to formally welcome them, offering a stern warning that they are to stay out of level 12, for some reason. As Maximus and Lucy look around, they note that many denizens of Vault 4 are mutated in all manner of ways.
Then, we cut back to Cooper Howard and his wife relaxing in a hot tub, where Cooper lets slip he's been considering giving up the Hollywood life and moving out a to a ranch. Barb does not take this news well. She says her job guarantees the family a spot in a Vault; Cooper counters that he could afford to buy Vault space, but she says her role guarantees them space in 'one of the good vaults. He asks her to elaborate on what she means, but she refuses.
Later, he meets Charlie Whiteknife, a fellow actor who refused to come to his party. Charlie believes that Vault-Tec is 'the devil', because of "fiduciary responsibility". As he explains, the government has outsourced survival of the human race to the company. Vault-Tec's source of income is selling places in its vault, and it needs to make profits for its investors.
Pre-War peace talks could jeopardize that income, and Charlie (and the group he's been attending) suspects Vault-Tec would be willing to derail talks to try and make that money. He leaves Cooper Howard with a business card for the Hollywood Forever cemetery, inviting him to come along and learn the truth about the company his wife works for.
A gathering crowd
The following day, the Howard residence receives a business call from a Vault-Tec representative asking for Barb. Cooper puts the phone down and sits down for dinner. Talk turns to their daughter, who is currently reading to their beloved dog. When Barb lets slip that dogs won't be allowed in the Vaults, Cooper goes on the offensive; he wants to know what freedoms he will have in the Vault.
Barb grows frustrated here: she says she's worked hard to get into one of the "special" vaults and thinks his questions are pretty facetious. Cooper's retirement plan to hide out on a ranch doesn't have much weight, in her eyes. Through work, Barb has secured a place in a vault that is reserved for management, where they'll oversee the other Vaults, and that's quite possibly the best they can hope for.
We cut back to Vault 4, with Lucy and Benjamin sitting down in the Vault's Overseer office. Benjamin is a 5th-generation Vault Dweller (news which surprises Lucy, given his mutation). During their chat, the Overseer reveals he harbors disdain for the surface-dwellers they've taken in over the years, and he's delighted she's a Vault native, as he thinks the new folk don't know how to behave properly. She assures Ben that she thinks they're doing a good thing by saving folk from Shady Sands, but puts a foot wrong when she asks after Level 12; at that, Benjamin immediately ushers her out.
Meanwhile, Maximus has been exploring the Vault. He finds his Power Armor has been securely stored away and pays a visit to the Fusion Core that powers the entire home. Birdie seeks him out; recognizing that he's still confused by the entire arrangement, she offers him a Pip-Boy, and the chance to stay in one of the Vault's homes. He heads to Room 432 and is delighted by the gift basket that's been left there, and relishes the creature comforts like hot showers and running, clean water.
Lucy finds her way to the Vault's classroom, home to mementos and a timeline of Shady Sands, showing when it was bombed. Outside, she sees surface dwellers gathering in a room and is invited to tag along.
A Presidential appointment
We rejoin The Ghoul at this point. He's tied up and brought into a building home to "The Government", a faction of bounty hunters, it seems. His captors present him to Sorrel Booker, a man they refer to as the President. Sorrel asks the Sheriffs if they know who they've brought in; The Ghoul was at one point the best bounty hunter going. He has him untied and allows him to stitch on a replacement finger.
The President asks why The Ghoul's still kicking, and asks whether he is still looking "for her". The Ghoul's not familiar with this outfit, but he has heard an awful lot of chatter about Moldaver and wants to know why. President Booker reveals she goes by the name "Flamemother", and she is seriously bad news.
Booker further explains that he won't be able to just let The Ghoul go free; he's destroyed an organ dealership, and that would damage his reputation. The Ghoul uses this opportunity to antagonize one of his captors and doesn't even try to defend himself. As Booker orders he be taken out and fed to the hogs, The Ghoul effortlessly offs the two sheriffs. Then, he asks why The Ghoul has a woman's picture on the wall. Booker says that's Moldaver, and The Ghoul says that isn't how he remembered her looking.
We cut back to Pre-War time again. Cooper Howard arriving at Hollywood Forever, for his meeting. Charlie greets him and introduces him to a woman he wants Cooper to meet: Moldaver. After that, we watch as Lucy attends the assembly... one which quickly descends into cult behavior. The lights go out, candles are lit, and the Dwellers gathered there proceed to start chanting and waving their arms.
Initially, Lucy joins in, but not beyond this stage: soon, the other citizens are unzipping their suits till they're half-naked, Birdie has walked in and invited them to call out to the Flamemother and to remember Shady Sands by covering themselves in the ashes of those who didn't survive, and says that they must 'spill blood' to bring the past back. Worse, the ceremony ends with them all bowing to a banner bearing Moldaver's (aka the woman who kidnapped Lucy's father) face.
After the ceremony, Lucy rushes to Maximus' Vault home, finding him in a pristine robe and loving life. She tries to explain that he is right, and they have to leave ASAP... but now the tables have turned, and Maximus is the one encouraging Lucy to stay and enjoy their new home. She's determined to prove something is going on but won't leave Maximus behind. So, Lucy heads straight for the forbidden floor.
The episode then ends with Lucy being discovered by members of the Vault 4 community who find her snooping around, shortly after Lucy finds evidence of unsettling genetic experiments being conducted in the Vault. Whilst she's captured, Maximus settles into a chair, blissfully unaware his new ally is in danger.
All eight episodes of the Fallout TV show are now streaming on Prime Video.
