A new Fallout theory would change Thaddeus’ fate at the end of the show, and it could even hint at a huge conspiracy that would change the entire franchise. The cast of Fallout is filled with important and prominent characters, but there are also several people who took a more minor role in the first season, like Thaddeus. Thaddeus was a squire of the Brotherhood of Steel, one of Fallout‘s factions, who was given a transformative drug to heal an injury to his foot. While that may have been the gist of his role in Fallout season 1, a new theory suggests he’s much more important than he seems.

Thaddeus’ fate at the end of Fallout season 1 was decidedly dark, but it was also left rather open-ended. Maximus claimed he was becoming a ghoul, but there have also been other Fallout theories about Thaddeus’ fate that suggest he could be transforming into another type of monster, a super mutant. While there are several ways his story could include an unexpected twist like that, there is also a chance that Thaddeus really is becoming a ghoul. There’s even support for this theory in the form of a Fallout 4 character.

Theory: Thaddeus Is Turning Into A Ghoul After Drinking A Mysterious Liquid (Just Like Hancock In Fallout 4)

Both Thaddeus & Hancock Became Ghouls In An Unusual Way

If Thaddeus does become a ghoul in Fallout, his story would closely align with another character from the Fallout games. In Fallout 4, players can meet and recruit a character who became a ghoul in a very similar way to Thaddeus: Hancock. Shortly after meeting the player, Hancock will tell them that he became a ghoul by way of an experimental radiation drug. Like Hancock, Thaddeus would have also become a ghoul by drinking a small amount of liquid. They would be the only two characters known in the Fallout franchise to become ghouls in this way, which could suggest they’re more connected than they seem.

Thaddeus & Hancock’s Fallout Ghoul Serums May Be Connected

Thaddeus & Hancock Could Both Be The Result Of A Pre-War Bioweapon Program

While it wasn’t outright stated in the Fallout show, the Snake Oil Salesman’s serum that Thaddeus drank could very well be the same liquid as Hancock’s radiation drug. That would connect the Fallout show and Fallout 4 in a very overt way, but it could also have major implications on the entire franchise. Hancock said that the drug was supposedly the last of its kind, which is a detail that could have some big implications for Thaddeus’ story.

If it turns out that Thaddeus and Hancock did drink the same serum, that could be an indication of a much larger plot being at play. Hancock supposedly got the last vial of his drug years prior to Fallout 4, which in turn takes place years before the Fallout show, in a facility on the East coast, all the way across the country. That would make it very difficult for the Snake OIl Salesman to get the same drug, unless Hancock didn’t have the last dose.

Fallout’s Main Installments
Year (In-Universe)

Fallout 76
2102

Fallout

2161

Fallout 2
2241

Fallout 3
2277

Fallout: New Vegas
2281

Fallout 4
2287

Fallout season 1
2296

The Fallout theory suggests that the reason Hancock didn’t actually have the last dose of the ghoul serum is because a pre-war company may have created the ghoul serum so it could be used as a bioweapon. Companies like West Tek already have an established history with bioweapons, as they created the Forced Evolutionary Virus, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume they’d be invested in researching even more methods. If the ghoul serum was created by one of the pre-war companies, they could easily have been studying it in several labs, which would explain how it was also in California years after Fallout 4.

Exploring The Ghoul Serum More Would Work Perfectly For Fallout Season 2

The Ghoul Serum Adds To Fallout’s Apocalyptic Themes & Opens Up Several Story Possibilities

If that revelation proves true, Fallout season 2 would have to explore the ghoul serum even further, which could actually work perfectly. If West Tek or a similar company really is responsible for it, that would speak perfectly to both the show’s and the franchise’s anti-capitalist themes by highlighting yet another devastating effect pre-war companies had on the world. The ghoul serum could also be the perfect reason to begin exploring companies beyond Vault-Tec, as Thaddeus would likely have a bone to pick with them. Thaddeus would then have the opportunity to become a much more important and well-developed character.

Revealing that the ghoul serum was actually a bioweapon would open up so many possibilities for the show’s characters and systems. Whatever company was responsible for the ghoul serum likely made a cure for it as well, which could connect to and help explain the origins of the yellow vials that keep ghouls from going feral. A potential cure for being a ghoul would also give Walton Goggins’ the Ghoul a new goal alongside his search for his family. There are tons of ways Fallout season 2 could use the concept of a ghoul-creating bioweapon, and any of them could revolutionize the entire franchise.