Lucy has one specific line in Fallout episode 4 that means a lot more to her character, and the show’s Wasteland environment, than first thought.

Fallout episode 4 features a quote from Lucy – “Golden rule, motherfu–” – which is a bigger deal to her character than first thought. Not only does this quote tie into Lucy’s character arc, but it is also important to the world of Fallout. Fallout season 1 takes place within the same continuity as the video game series, set in a world ravaged by nuclear warfare. Fallout‘s post-apocalyptic United States is now called the Wasteland, with Fallout season 1 detailing Lucy’s journey through this environment and thus her major character arc.

Lucy MacLean is portrayed by Ella Purnell in the Fallout show’s cast, and her journey primarily centers around finding her father who was taken from one of Fallout‘s many secretive Vaults. This adventure brings Lucy face-to-face with the Wasteland’s biggest dangers and its equally dangerous characters, including Walton Goggins’ The Ghoul in Fallout. Through encountering these dangers, Lucy underwent an arc in Fallout season 1 that is summed up by one line which has more meaning than it seems.

Lucy’s “Golden Rule” Quote Proved She Started To Understand The Real World In Fallout

Lucy begins to lose her innocence in Fallout season 1, episode 4.

In Fallout season 1, episode 4, Lucy is taken to a place called the Super Duper Mart by The Ghoul. The latter takes the former there to trade her for life-saving drugs, with Lucy managing to escape the dangers present inside. Despite The Ghoul being willing to kill her, Lucy escapes with the drugs and gives them to the dying Ghoul, saying the words “Golden rule, motherfu–” as she leaves. This line links back to Lucy talking about the Golden Rule with The Ghoul, that being that one should do unto others as they would have done to themselves.

The changing of her line to include the curse word proves that Lucy is starting to understand what the Wasteland is like in Fallout. The line is the first time Lucy curses in the show, proving that she is slowly losing the innocence she possessed when she left Vault 33. While Lucy’s actions and reference to the Golden Rule still show she has a good heart, the curse word indicates that the brutality and dangers of the Wasteland are slowly changing her.

How Lucy’s “Golden Rule” Line Called Back To The Ghoul’s Fallout Game Reference

While Lucy’s Golden Rule in Fallout episode 4 links to her earlier mention of such, it also links to a Golden Rule that The Ghoul himself has. After Lucy mentions her own version of this rule in episode 3, The Ghoul replies in fitting Fallout fashion. The Ghoul tells Lucy that “The Wasteland has its own Golden Rule. Thou shalt get sidetracked by bullsh– every goddamn time.”

Many players of the Fallout game series will know how easy it is to become distracted by the various characters, locations, main quests, side quests, or monsters in the Wasteland.

Not only does this line have a thematic link to Lucy’s later reiteration of her Golden Rule in Fallout episode 4, but it perfectly sums up the Fallout games. Many players of the Fallout game series will know how easy it is to become distracted by the various characters, locations, main quests, side quests, or monsters in the Wasteland. The Ghoul’s line is a meta-reference to this aspect of the Fallout universe, all while connecting to the later Golden Rule which proves Lucy’s Vault-dweller innocence is slowly being stripped away by the harsh post-apocalyptic landscape of the show.