"WHO...?" Fallout Season 2 addresses the biggest question in fandom

FalloutThe Great War began and ended on October 23, 2077, and as the franchise's name suggests, everything from then followed what came after. Each Fallout the game follows the events of the Great War up to 200+ years later Fallout 76 is the first full timeline game. Set in 2012, just 25 years after the Great War Fallout the show is at the other end of the timeline. Fallout season 1 and season 2 are set in 2296, 219 years after the Great War, with no flashbacks.

In particular, the flashbacks take place before the Great War. This gives the show a chance to answer one of the biggest questions in fandom: who dropped the first bomb? Who initiated the end of the world? yet Fallout season 1 seemingly hinted that Vault-Tec itself might be involved, and while they're not cleared of suspicion, one scene in Fallout season 2 potentially shifts the blame.

Fallout Season 2 Episode 1 SPOILERS AHEAD

Who is Hank calling? They're not Ghostbusters

How will the audience find out Fallout season 1, Hank MacLean is not the good guy Vault Overseer he seems to be. This leads to Lucy and the Ghoul chasing Hank, which leads them all the way from California to the Badlands around New Vegas. Fans haven't seen it in all its glory yet, but Hank is ahead. In Season 2, Episode 1, Hank appears to be in some sort of Vault-Tec facility studying a somewhat creepy control chip.

Vault 24, earlier in the episode, gives fans a look at the capabilities of this control chip.

While there, he makes a little covert call where it's clear Hank MacLean reports in and does someone else's bidding. The first thought would be Vault-Tec, but his tone and attitude wouldn't make sense if he was a full-on Vault-Tec. Fallout fans know to expect Mr. House to appear in flashbacks (and maybe later), and maybe there will be a connection. However, this seems rather unlikely. Instead, there seems to be some shadowy figure pulling the strings in the background, not only in the pre-Great War Fallout timeline, but also after. The Fallout the show's two timelines make the most sense if the true antagonist is the same before and after, and the tone of Episode 1 feels like we're dealing with whoever started the Great War in earnest.

Who started the Great War?

While there are a few details about that fateful day, the exact cause and the first bomb are largely unknown. After all, the Great War involved not only most of the world, but also Fallout the series largely focused on the United States. in this respect Fallout lore says that in the early hours of October 23, 2077, there appeared to be some conflict between the US and China. A few hours later, a nuclear exchange occurred and devastated both China and the United States.

9:13 AM EST – The United States went to DEFCON 2 after IONDS detected four incoming missiles.
9:26am EST – US President orders retaliatory strike against China
The West Coast, Pennsylvania, and New York were all hit by nuclear bombs before 9:42 AM EST.
9:47am EST – Washington, DC has been hit and most US facilities have been shut down.
China and the United States would continue this nuclear exchange for two hours, showering the entire world with strikes and bringing about its end.

There is no doubt that China and the United States are responsible for the destruction of the world, but the exchange of views in the early hours of the morning, nuclear attacks and retaliation, and the involvement of others in the Great War who actually caused it remains one of the franchise's biggest mysteries. One could even argue that this mystery should remain as such, but playing with the idea of who started the Great War, as well as this shadowy figure in the background of Episode 1, adds a lot of interesting plot threads. Fallout season 2. For now, fans will have to wait and see who Hank called.