Kyle MacLachlan and Annabel O’Hagan Discuss Character Depth in Fallout Season 2 Finale: “What Are We Growing Here?”

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In Fallout season 2, stars Kyle MacLachlan and Annabel O’Hagan were just as taken aback as viewers by the unexpected twist in Hank and Steph’s relationship.

Warning: Major spoilers for Fallout season 2 episode 8 ahead!

“That’s pretty much our approach with the characters for both seasons,” MacLachlan shares, reflecting on how they play with audience expectations regarding Steph and Hank. “There are always surprises, and the layers keep getting peeled back. The writers provide us with intriguing developments that align with the characters. We didn’t even know about this twist until we read the script that day. It was during the airport scene where we suddenly decide to elope, and then we run into Coop, and the story unfolds.”

“Looking back, it makes sense that they might end up together. But what happens next? We haven’t explored that yet, but it’s a seed that’s been planted. We’re curious to see what grows from it.”

In episode 7, Cooper Howard calls for a hotel maid to help bring a passed-out Hank MacLean back to his room. The maid turns out to be Steph, the morally complex overseer of Vault 32. The season finale escalates the drama as we see Steph and Hank heading to the airport to elope. Episode 7 reveals that Steph is 200 years old (though the Vault dwellers are more shocked by her Canadian roots) and that she’s a fierce survivor who isn’t afraid of a little violence, making her quite similar to the Ghouls.

If Hank and Steph were married before the Great War, did they part ways before or after entering their cryo-chambers? Was Steph involved in the downfall of Shady Sands? Did she always suspect Hank’s darker side? These questions remain unanswered, but O’Hagan hints, “Time will tell.”

“It makes me want to rewatch season one, especially that first episode where we have a few brief interactions,” O’Hagan notes. “Watching you give the wedding speech, I wonder what Steph was thinking at that moment. Discovering new layers to your character after the fact adds so much depth and makes our roles even more enjoyable when we have a secret to hold onto.”

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Towards the end of episode 8, Steph contacts Vault-Tec and introduces herself as Hank MacLean’s wife (indicating they never legally divorced before the bombs fell) and calls to activate phase 2. In the game, phase 2 is what transforms the Vault dwellers into super mutants. This action positions Steph as one of the show’s major antagonists, suggesting she learned from the best.

O’Hagan adds, “I had a fantastic acting teacher who once said, ‘Always act as if you have a secret to share or something to withhold,’ and in this case, we literally did, even if we weren’t aware of it.”

Fallout season 2 airs weekly on Prime Video. For more, check out the Fallout season 2 release schedule.

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