Prime Video’s first live-action adaptation of the Fallout video game series introduced a new storyline created by Jonathan Nolan, which fits into the game’s timeline.
The series follows Lucy, a Vault resident, portrayed by Ella Purnell, as she embarks on a mission to rescue her father, Hank (played by Kyle MacLachlan), with the help of Brotherhood initiates Maximus (Aaron Moten) and the mysterious Ghoul (Walton Goggins).
However, in the season 1 finale, Lucy’s world is turned upside down when it’s revealed that her father Hank was involved in the destruction of Shady Sands, a community linked to the New California Republic.
With the New California Republic facing turmoil, fans are expressing their dissatisfaction, fearing that this development contradicts the events of Fallout: New Vegas.
However, Bethesda Game Studios design director Emil Pagliarulo recently reassured fans that New Vegas remains part of the game’s timeline in a recent X post.
Despite the confusion, various in-game hints confirm that Fallout: New Vegas did indeed occur. For example, players can encounter a New California Republic squatter in Freeside who questions the faction’s first capital.
This is addressed in episode 5 of Fallout, where Lucy and Maximus discover a welcome sign in Shady Sands indicating that it was the first capital, but not the only one.
As a result, other cities established or governed by the New California Republic, such as the Boneyard, Dayglow, and the Hub, likely became more important than Shady Sands and could have become new capitals.
Furthermore, the Brotherhood of Steel maintained its presence in Lost Hills, a key location claimed by the Brotherhood’s founder, Roger Maxson, in the original Fallout game.
Since the New California Republic never incorporated the bunker into its territory, the Brotherhood continued to operate from it for its Western operations.
This likely explains why the Brotherhood was able to return to the West in the show’s flashbacks and why Maximus’ chapter exists near Los Angeles.
However, there’s also a significant ambiguity in one episode that many have pointed to in support of this argument.
In Fallout episode 6, Lucy finds a board in Vault 4 showing the timeline of events leading to the fall of the New California Republic (NCR).
The timeline indicates that the NCR collapsed in 2277, the same year it defeated Caesar’s Legion in the first Hoover Dam battle. This has caused confusion among fans about the status of New Vegas in the series’ canon.
However, there’s no clear date for Hank’s destruction of Shady Sands, leaving its timing uncertain. Some suggest that the city was destroyed after the NCR’s victory, as seen with the Brotherhood’s return before its fall.
With the Brotherhood’s resurgence and the NCR’s focus on expansion outside Los Angeles, such as in the Mojave, it suggests a decline in the Republic’s power.
This aligns with the Republic’s pre-Great War values of expansionism, which may have left Moldaver’s colony thinly stretched.
Given the evidence from Bethesda’s designers and the success of Fallout’s first season, it’s likely that Fallout: New Vegas did happen, despite some uncertainties.
Fans can look forward to potential explanations for these gaps as Lucy and the Ghoul venture into new adventures in the wastelands.
All episodes of Fallout season 1 are now streaming on Prime Video.
