Fallout Season Two, Episode 5 “The Handoff” review

Here is where the threads merge. The first season’s seventh episode was my least favorite, in that it was more or less filler. Season Two's Episode 7 not only starts strong, but lays several revelations on you that are so mind-blowing it will leave you mouth agape. Bring an extra pair of socks; you'll need them once the others are knocked off. Read more of our Season 2 reviews here.

To begin, we get a bit more information on just how Stephanie arrived in the management program, as it's a bit different than your usual Bud's Buds recruitment path. Shown is a flashback scene from her escape over the Canadian border, along with a gruesome moment that shows just how far she'll go to survive. While I won't delve into much due to spoilers, her arc gets more clarity, at least in terms of her intentions, and she's left with choices to make in Episode 8. I'll leave off of Steph with one little tidbit – I seriously guffawed when she was exposed as Canadian to horrified gasps.

Lucy is similarly conflicted, even if the Lucy we all know and love eventually prevails. She's still with Hank, who is still in handcuffs from the last episode, and he's being rather forthcoming about the state of affairs in this Vault-Tec facility. It's almost an oddity until you remember Hank would go to the ends of the Earth for his daughter; she's his one weakness.

Hank reveals how these brain interface computers work, inducing amnesia that wipes their memory clear and rewrites it with happier ones. The subject unfortunately will never recover, and that's where Lucy's hangup on the entire thing is. She wants people to be happy, but not at the cost of their humanity. Hank even tells her about the mainframe, and though she initially doesn't try to take it out, after a dinner where her conscience is stirred, she slyly cuffs Hank to the oven handle in his apartment and absconds to said mainframe. What she finds there... let's just leave that for you to watch.

Maximus, Thaddeus, and The Ghoul (and Cooper Howard) are the other part of this episode's equation – with a slight nod to Norm to wrap things up. The Ghoul and company head into an abandoned NCR camp for some gear to take on the Deathclaws as it's truly the only way to get to Lucy (and in The Ghoul's case, Barb and Janey). In return for his help finding them weaponry, The Ghoul simply wants the cold fusion vial as a bargaining chip. Maximus thinks it over, as he similarly figures it's his bargaining chip for Lucy, but in the end gives it over.

Their next segment of Episode 7 is some of the most glorious Fallout you'll see. The fight with the Deathclaw is amazing, with Maximus in an NCR variant of power armor with blades on his wrists for hand to hand combat. The Ghoul is also carrying a Gauss rifle, which is beefy and packs a punch – even if it doesn't do a lot of damage to the Deathclaws. It's a bloody mess of a struggle, but The Ghoul makes it back into the Lucky 38, while Maximus unfortunately gets chucked through the Freeside barricade, opening up the town to the Deathclaws inside and leaving Maximus in a bind. Oh, and let's just say the way this ends for The Ghoul left me squealing with glee.

In the middle of all of this fracas continues our flashback narrative, with Cooper and Barb figuring out what to do with the cold fusion. We even get a peek at Stephanie in the opening scenes, adding to her backstory. Cooper wants to get this powerful construct into the right hands, as he worries an exchange between Vault-Tec and RobCo will provide the wrong people with the right things to start nuclear war. Stopping at a bar – seemingly the exact same one The Ghoul drank at before betraying Lucy in Episode 5 – Cooper meets up with the Congresswoman we saw fighting for the people's rights.

This conversation is interesting because Cooper believes her to be a good person; similar to how Maximus feels about Lucy. He's at least considering giving her the cold fusion, assuming certain guarantees are in order that will help his family for betraying these corporations. A lot is at stake, and the actions taken by the end of the episode yet again lead us into intriguing territory. You'll just have to take my word and watch it for yourself, especially as a new thread emerges between this and Lucy's discoveries.

Norm's part to play in all of this is a lot smaller, but is still coming to a head. Waking up from being strangled by one of the Vault 31 cadets, he hears them discussing what to do with him. One even suggests impersonating management is punishable by death (which seems to me is more an excuse than a rule). After being found awake and knocked out again, he fights through unconsciousness to find Claudia (his one friend from the Vault 31 people) who ultimately unties his bonds, trying to help him escape. He agrees, but calls out on a radio beforehand. First, to try and contact Lucy, and secondly, to attempt to reach Hank and learn why he hasn't told the truth and what experiments are going to occur in the Vault 31, 32, and 33 block. Norm's sections to Season Two have been brief, but they've been nevertheless impactful.

As obvious as it may be, this episode yet again showcases incredible set, costume design, editing, and music choice by the team. Not only have the callbacks been wonderful, but the way in which they place each of these items or locations in front of the viewer is masterful. It's rare an adaptation gets so much right, but Fallout succeeds in making me keep my eyes on the screen at all times.

I'm also impressed by an episode that treads so much ground between characters feeling so focused. I've spoken before about how jumbled the start of this season was. It makes sense: there were a lot of characters to follow and introduce, along with establishing themes and stakes for them. Kudos to both the writers and directors; it takes a lot of attention to pull each plot line together without making a mess of it all.

I only have two nitpicks in this episode, and they're honestly quite minor. One would be the sheer amount of setup we've had this season, yet with a single episode left for it all to pay off. Sure, Episode 7 of this season has been 100x more rewarding than Season 1, but it just feels like something is going to be left unanswered due to the quantity of threads left to tie up.

The other is my disappointment in the lack of McCaulay Culkin. Yet again, we go through an episode without him or The Legion. Unless the trailers are just lying to us, there is at least a scene or two left of him, which apparently will reside in the finale. Will the outcome of his character be worthy of the hyped inclusion? I hope so. Otherwise, it's a dud of a casting.