Fallout showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet explain why Lucy follows The Ghoul in season 1’s ending and what it means for season 2.

Fallout showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet explain why Lucy follows The Ghoul and what it means for season 2. Created by Wagner and Robertson-Dworet, based on Bethesda’s video game franchise of the same name, Prime Video’s post-apocalyptic series follows three strangers who cross paths in the harsh and hazardous wasteland of a ruined Los Angeles, each with their own mysterious pasts and personal quests. Fallout‘s cast and characters include Ella Purnell as the young Vault Dweller Lucy, Walton Goggins as The Ghoul/Cooper Howard, and Aaron Moten as the Brotherhood of Steel member Maximus.

During a recent interview with GQ, Wagner and Robertson-Dworet explained why Lucy follows The Ghoul during season 1’s ending and what it means for Fallout season 2. The showrunners say that Lucy’s curiosity and desire to understand the world is what drives her actions, mirroring the very moment she left Vault 33 to find her father. However, the creators would like to explore her precise motive more in season 2. Read their full comments below:

Robertson-Dworet: I would hope the audiences would have different interpretations of why. It’s almost like I don’t want to answer that.

Wagner: We hope that the story unfolds in a way that is interesting and explains it, and guides us through it. I think people’s intentions are — especially on the wasteland, but also in the pre-war world — are all worth second-guessing, is what I’d say about that.

Robertson-Dworet: What exactly her precise motive is is something we’re very excited to dive into more in season two, but I wouldn’t ever underestimate Lucy’s curiosity as something that’s motivating her deep down. As much as she leaves to find her father in the pilot, she also wants to fuckin’ know what’s out that door. Similarly, over the course of the season, she’s learned that everything she thought about the world, in her vault, was wrong, right? She was misled. And she’s just learned that in a deeply emotional way in the final moments of the finale.

The Ghoul seems to know a hell of a lot more about this world than she does. There’s a certain amount of ‘I want to understand, I want to leave the cave again.’ In a way, it’s a mirror image to the pilot.

Wagner: I wouldn’t underestimate Lucy’s curiosity as a driver, nor The Ghoul’s cynicism for the decisions he makes.

Robertson-Dworet: “War never changes” was always like that ultimate symbol of cynicism for him in the finale. Back when he hears Barb say it, when he was Cooper Howard, it’s not a philosophical idea he agrees with. But by the time he’s The Ghoul, and he looks out at that wasteland, he does, so he has changed tremendously. We’re excited to track that change even more in season two. 

Why Lucy Follows The Ghoul & What It Means For Fallout Season 2

During the Fallout season 1 ending, Lucy leaves with The Ghoul instead of staying behind with Maximus, killing their chances of living happily ever after in Vault 33. When Maximus becomes unconscious, and Lucy’s attempts to revive him are unsuccessful, The Ghoul offers Lucy the chance to travel with him, and she accepts. Her main motivation, as Wagner and Robertson-Dworet mention, is her quest for answers. Despite gaining some insights into her father, Hank, Lucy remains largely uninformed, and The Ghoul’s plans promise answers to her lingering questions.

In season 2, Lucy should seek answers surrounding her mother, Rose. During the season 1 ending, it is revealed that Rose discovered people were living on the surface, so she left Vault 33 with Lucy and her brother Norm to settle in Shady Sands with Moldaver. Rose was turned into a Ghoul when the city was bombed and Hank, under Vault-Tec’s influence, is the one who destroyed Shady Sands, believing in the ideology that surface life is too violent and unfit for children. These revelations add layers to Hank’s motivations and the tragic events surrounding Rose’s fate.

As for The Ghoul’s plans, he will be searching for family in season 2, accompanied by Lucy. Cooper’s wife, Barb, was employed at Vault-Tec alongside Hank, and during the season 1 ending, The Ghoul confronts him about the whereabouts of his family, including his daughter Janey. When he doesn’t receive answers, The Ghoul continues his search by shifting focus to Hank’s superior, forming the basis of his quest for Fallout season 2, which should also address some of Lucy’s lingering questions.