Fallout’s Newest Chapter Features a Hilarious New Vegas Meme

Spoilers for this week’s episode of Fallout ahead. Another week brings us another episode of Fallout, and this time we dive deep into Lucy’s (Ella Purnell) “Golden Rule” while exploring the intricate politics of the Brotherhood of Steel. This episode feels like a pivotal moment for the series, yet it takes the time to pay homage to Fallout’s rich history. With plenty of iconic locations and lore references, there are callbacks galore. Let’s break down what “The Golden Rule” has in store for us.

A Familiar and Friendly Place
This week, we were treated to a flashback of Shady Sands during its heyday. While the bombed remnants were showcased in the first season, this episode gives us a glimpse of life in the New California Republic settlement before its downfall. Longtime fans will recognize Shady Sands as one of the first locations players could explore in the original 1997 Fallout game. Given that the series is canon to the video games, we know the city’s eventual fate is destruction.

Monotony Builds Character
Shady Sands meets its tragic end when a mind-controlled stranger enters the city carrying an armed atom bomb. When confronted by Maximus’ father, the stranger repeatedly mutters, “Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter.” Fans of Fallout: New Vegas will instantly recognize this line, often spoken by New California Republic NPCs lacking meaningful dialogue. It captures their mundane duties and boring patrols, leading to the phrase becoming a popular meme online.

Area 51
Maximus (Aaron Moten) and his Brotherhood of Steel chapter establish a new base of operations at Area 51 this week. This hidden base is filled with old-world artifacts for the Brotherhood, including an icebox containing an alien corpse. Specifically, it’s a Zetan, known for its appearance in the Fallout 3 DLC “Mothership Zeta.” Did you know you can also encounter them in the Mojave Wasteland in Fallout: New Vegas? If you have the Wild Wasteland trait, there’s a chance a spacecraft with two Zetans will spawn. If not, you’re left with just the desire to believe.

Reclamation Day
When Norm (Moisés Arias) wakes up all the Vault-Tec Junior Executives in Vault 31, he convinces them it’s Reclamation Day to rally them behind him. In Fallout lore, Reclamation Day is the day when the Vaults open, allowing their inhabitants to return to the surface and rebuild society. This concept is most prominently featured in Fallout 76, where players create a character from Vault 76, the first vault to open after The Great War, whose residents ventured into Appalachia.

Power Leads to Madness
Throughout the episode, various Brotherhood of Steel chapters plot to unite against the Commonwealth chapter, even at the risk of civil war. Fallout 4 fans will recognize The Commonwealth as the Boston-inspired setting of that game. The Brotherhood of Steel chapter there was led by Elder Arthur Maxson, who became consumed by power and sought to unleash chaos in The Commonwealth using the Brotherhood’s enforcer robot, Liberty Prime.