Ella Purnell considers how Lucy will react to The Ghoul’s past identity in Fallout season 2. Set in the same universe as the Bethesda video game franchise, Prime Video’s series follows three strangers on separate quests who cross paths in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of a ruined Los Angeles. Other than Purnell as the young Vault Dweller Lucy, the Fallout show’s cast and characters include Walton Goggins as The Ghoul/Cooper Howard and Aaron Moten as the Brotherhood of Steel member Maximus.

During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Purnell considered how Lucy will react to learning The Ghoul’s past identity as Cooper Howard in Fallout season 2. The star says the showrunners typically don’t reveal future plot points to actors, though she speculated about how Lucy learning that Cooper Howard was the original Vault-Tec mascot will impact her character in the future. Read her full comments below:

One of the things I love about TV is that you don’t know what’s going to happen — unless you’ve got lovely showrunners who tell you everything, which has never been my experience. In my experience, showrunners never tell you anything, and then you just read the script until you have to completely recalibrate what you were doing. It’s challenging, but it’s also fun. So I spent most of my time as Lucy just hating the Ghoul, and then, in the last episode, stupidly, it occurred to me far too late that the story that they were really trying to tell was how similar Lucy and the Ghoul are. It lined up with Lucy’s realization that her statement, “I may look like you, but I’ll never be like you,” may not be 100 percent true. So that realization came at a great time, but I don’t know what’s going to happen in season two and I’m very excited to find out. But, if and when Lucy does learn about [Cooper’s Vault-Tec history], it’s only going to further reinforce her understanding that people change on the wasteland. And if he was that once upon a time, then what’s she in for?

How Will Lucy React To The Ghoul’s Past Identity In Fallout Season 2?

Lucy Should Have Mixed Feelings About The Ghoul’s Past

In the Fallout show, Cooper Howard was a Hollywood actor and Vault-Tec spokesperson before The Great War who was mutated into a ghoul after the bombs fell, and now earns his living as a gunslinger and a bounty hunter. Lucy, on the other hand, is a Vault Dweller and during the Fallout season 1 ending, she discovers that her father and the Overseer of Vault 33, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), is not who he seems. Hank, also known as Henry, is a Vault-Tec employee who worked with Cooper’s wife Barb before the bombs were dropped.

During the season 1 ending, the show interweaves Lucy’s present discoveries with Cooper’s past ones. This, as Purnell mentions, made her realize the show was drawing parallels between Lucy and The Ghoul. While she spends most of her time feeling antagonistic towards him, Lucy realizes she and The Ghoul are more alike than she initially believed, which is why she decides to follow him during the season 1 ending. In Fallout season 2, the Ghoul will search for his family, while Lucy is also searching for answers regarding her family.

It remains to be seen how Lucy reacts to learning about The Ghoul’s past as a Vault-Tec spokesperson, which is inevitable in season 2. While Lucy will likely initially feel betrayed, her personality suggests the discovery could deepen her understanding of how people change in the Wasteland, and prompt her to reflect on her own potential for change. Overall, Lucy and The Ghoul will both be searching for the same answers in Fallout season 2, which should make them allies for the foreseeable future.