Published Feb 8, 2026, 7:00 AM EST
Therese Lacson is a Senior TV Editor who has been with Collider since 2021. She got started in this business over ten years ago working primarily as an interviewer and critic. At Collider, she works closely with the features team to support the writers and also ideates and develops content daily. She has covered major industry events including Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, Toronto International Film Festival, and San Diego Comic-Con. Although she reviews and covers both film and television, her focus is in television and her expertise is in fantasy and sci-fi genre shows. Her favorite shows to cover include House of the Dragon, Bridgerton, Fallout, 9-1-1, and Rivals.
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Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Fallout Season 2 finale.Fallout Season 2 has finally wrapped, and we've been left with more questions than answers. In the finale, we finally see the NCR arrive at New Vegas, just in time to meet the oncoming Legion with their new leader. However, there's more drama in the desert beyond these two factions finally coming into town as we see Hank (Kyle MacLachlan) turn on the brain-computer interface chip after nearly chipping Lucy (Ella Purnell). Lucy has also been reunited with Maximus (Aaron Moten) after spending a whole season apart. The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) realizes that the cryo-pods where Barb (Frances Turner) and Janey are meant to be are empty, leading him in the direction of Colorado, unwittingly toward the Enclave. Meanwhile, in the flashback, we watch as Cooper gets arrested by the police after he and Barb deliver the diode to the president.
We spoke exclusively with Frances Turner and co-creator Geneva Robertson-Dworet about that momentous end of the season to break down some of the most surprising moments. Turner weighs in on Barb's character growth and teases what her relationship with Cooper might be like after that arrest. Robertson-Dworet gives insight not only into the Steph (Annabel O'Hagan) and Hank marriage reveal, but also in how the factions arriving in New Vegas will affect the series. Teasing the involvement of the Enclave and also the path that Thaddeus (Johnny Pemberton) is heading on, Robertson-Dworet paints a new picture of what Season 3 might look like.
Frances Turner & Geneva Robertson-Dworet Break Down Relationship Dynamics of 'Fallout' Season 2
"...that means that Lucy's best friend is her dad's wife."
Image via Prime VideoI'm going to start with you, Frances, because, for this whole season, I think at the end of it, there's a really redeeming moment for Barb in the last episodes where she and Cooper come up with this idea to give the diode to the president, but it ends in a not-so-great way when he gets arrested. That makes me wonder, I don't know if you'll have answered this for this, or Geneva, if you have answers for this, but is Cooper and Barb's divorce all a front? Because it kind of feels like they're closer than ever at the end of this, and that relationship has been reaffirmed if anything.
FRANCES TURNER: I think there's a lot of ground to cover, from that moment in the airport to the birthday party that he's playing out bombs drop. So there's still a lot to learn.
GENEVA ROBERTSON-DWORET: There's a lot of territory to cover. I couldn't have said it better.
Geneva, one of the things that surprised me the most in these last two episodes is that Steph and Hank were/are married. That was wild. When was the decision made for that reveal, or for that relationship to exist? And what are the ramifications of it moving forward?
ROBERTSON-DWORET: Well, we were always excited to play with that, because Season 1, as we developed the pathology of Vault 31, we realized that Hank and Steph would have actually gone into cryo when the bombs dropped as young people, roughly the same age, in their 20s or early 30s. And wouldn't that maybe be interesting if they'd had some sort of past together? So, it's something we've long wanted to explore. And the weirdness, of course, that means that Lucy's best friend is her dad's wife.
Oh, god, yeah!
ROBERTSON-DWORET: That's something for her to grapple with another day, right?
Related
Robertson-Dworet Teases More Creatures for 'Fallout' Season 3
"There are so many creatures that exist in the Fallout lore that we're excited to get to as a show."
Image via Prime VideoOne of the funniest scenes for me in the finale was seeing Thaddeus' arm just fall off. And that, coupled with the mouth situation that he's got growing on him, it doesn't seem like he's a ghoul, per se. Can you talk a little bit about that, and whether it's the FEV that's affecting him or what's going on in that situation?
ROBERTSON-DWORET: Right, exactly. What is it that's making him mutate? What did that Snake Oil Salesman give him? And where is he ultimately going, I hope, is the question that people are curious about. We're having a lot of fun with it. There are so many creatures that exist in the Fallout lore that we're excited to get to as a show. We always want to do more and more, but we always want to do them justice when we do do them, and if we do build them... So, we're not doing every creature every season, but there are many we want to get to. And I hope fans are curious where he's heading.
Robertson-Dworet Reveals the Direction of New Vegas' Progress for Season 3 With the Factions
"Civilization was blossoming there."
I love seeing Macaulay [Culkin] back as well, sitting on the throne as Caesar. Is it safe to assume that there will be some of the main conflicts in Season 3 will stay in New Vegas, as opposed to completely moving everything to Colorado? Because this new location was teased, but it just seems like the Ghoul is the only one headed in that direction right now.
ROBERTSON-DWORET: Exactly. And as you know, it's very difficult to achieve your goal in the Wasteland. So even if you're headed to Colorado, where are you going to have to go to first? And he doesn't know where in Colorado he's going, so you've got to figure that out as well. So, he has some things to do on the journey and the question. So, where exactly we are heading next season, we are, of course, hinting at, but not trying to give solid answers to yet. But, of course, you're right that Lucy and Max are not headed to Colorado. Where are they going next, we hope is a question people are asked themselves.
But something that we're really excited to delve into as a show next season is Vegas, historically, in the games, was a real hub of civilization. Civilization was blossoming there. The deathclaws came and toppled the structure that was in place there of who had power and who didn't. And now we're seeing the deathclaws are gone, the NCR is back in a really meaningful way, the Legion is coming in, a version of Robert House, you could argue whether or not he is alive, of course, depending on whether you think that a non-biological entity is capable of being alive. But, we have these three major players in the region now back, looking to take Vegas and restart civilization there, so something we're very excited to delve into as a show is, what does that mean for civilization to blossom again, and whose version of civilization will it be? Will it be House's, the Legion's, or the NCR's?
'Fallout' Co-Creator Hints at Enclave Remnants and Competition for New Vegas
"Anytime someone becomes a serious threat to their power, they try to go after them."
Image via Prime VideoSo I'm curious about that, because knowing that area is such a hub of civilization, how is the Enclave's involvement going to affect that? Because I feel like they always want to control everything. And knowing that there's a group of people out there who can govern themselves, maybe not in the most harmonious way, but they can govern themselves. And obviously, you tease the end where we see the Enclave's involvement more strongly in Season 3. What's their involvement going to look like?
ROBERTSON-DWORET: Right? Of course, in the game, you meet the remnants who are roughly in this region. And we have also established that the Enclave, as you say, topples competitors. Anytime someone becomes a serious threat to their power, they try to go after them. So it's a very dangerous situation for the NCR or the Legion, and of course, Robert House, if they get too much power and civilization blossoms in too clear a way, they will actually draw the attention of the group that will just come out to try to destroy them, that has incredible firepower, as we've seen in the game. So I think those are things that we're very excited to explore, but I'm rooting for civilization to blossom again in some form on the surface in this area, I think that's been canonically important, and it's something we're excited to show again.
Turner Dives Deep Into Barb's Journey in Season 2
"...we've had so many twists and turns so far, so I'm excited for more of that, and I trust that."
Image via Prime VideoFrances, I love Barb's journey throughout the season. I loved seeing her realization that she's so replaceable, that everything is not as it seems. What was it like going on that journey for this character, and where do you want to see her going moving forward?
TURNER: It was a beautiful ride to go on the journey, and finally show Barb's point of view, and what she's going through, what's weighing on her, and how she's navigating her position at Vault-Tec and her family and protecting her family, and that line moving while she's at Vault-Tec. I mean, we see it. I would never say that she was like, super gung-ho, she was always there for a purpose, right? And then that line starts to move when she realizes that there's other things happening above what I'm even aware of, and this doesn't feel right.
So she does try to take a step to do something, even if the first step is just to gain more information and then get stopped at that. So, just to show her point of view, her humanity, that she is trying to do the right thing, but it's not a straight line. So, where I hope she goes... I mean, we've had so many twists and turns so far, so I'm excited for more of that, and I trust that. I trust wherever it's going to go, because she's been so delicious to play thus far.
All episodes of Fallout Season 2 are now available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
Release Date April 10, 2024
Network Amazon Prime Video
Showrunner Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan
Directors Frederick E. O. Toye, Wayne Che Yip, Stephen Williams, Liz Friedlander, Jonathan Nolan, Daniel Gray Longino, Clare Kilner
Writers Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan
English (US) ·