The Fallout TV series' showrunner and Todd Howard disagree with fans that season 2 messes with Fallout: New Vegas' canon: 'Sometimes you're gonna get conflicting accounts'

(Image credit: Prime Video)

That's a wrap on Amazon's Fallout season 2, folks. The final episode has now aired, tying up some loose ends. But not everything has an answer—there is a third season after all—and many fans of the series are still left wondering what exactly the events of the second season mean for the game's canon.

Major spoilers ahead for Fallout season 2 episode 8 and Fallout: New Vegas

A deathclaw — (Image credit: Prime Video)

One big complaint Fallout fans have levied against the second season is that it kind of messes with the lore and canon of Fallout: New Vegas. You see, in the game, there are four endings depending on which party you side with:

Caesar's Legion: The Legion drives the NCR out of The Strip back to the Mojave Outpost, bringing a brutal civilisation to the Wasteland.
New California Republic: The NCR celebrates a second victory at Hoover Dam and establishes control over the Mojave Wasteland and The Strip.
Yes Man: The Courier drives the NCR and the Legion out of Hoover Dam and secures an independent New Vegas with the help of Yes Man and the securitrons.
Mr. House: House takes control of the Hoover Dam and drives the NCR and Legion out of New Vegas, regaining control of the city he once ruled.

There's never been any confirmation as to which one of these endings is canon or even the right choice, although every fan holds their own answer in their hearts. But as the Fallout TV show is indeed canon to the wider game series, some believe they've been able to decipher what the true ending is.

At first, it appeared that Mr. House's ending must've been what happened on account of him still being present at the end of the season on his famous TV screen. But now I'm not so sure.

At the start of episode 8, he tells Cooper, "It's good to be alive again. Over the years, my body became something of a target for wandering travellers with something to prove. I've been poisoned, shot, and bludgeoned with a crowbar." Does this mean the Courier did end up putting a bullet in House's head, but he just had a failsafe in case that very thing happened? Perhaps, it certainly seems like something House would take into account and prep for.

Robert House on a monitor — (Image credit: Prime Video)

The TV series showrunner, Geneva Roberson-Dworet, even mentions in the interview that she "doesn't see it that way" and instead of trying to confirm a single canon ending, they tried to "open the question up of whether they did and also introduce [the Enclave] as one of the most powerful entities in this universe."

"Oftentimes, it's intentional that things are up for interpretation, and we have our own view of things that, you know, this series is gonna go on for a while yet," Howard adds. "But I think it's good to open up those conversations, and you may get history, you may get conflicting reports on how some things went."

I'm sure everyone will come out of the last episode of season 2 with their own opinion as to what it all meant for New Vegas' canon. But in my eyes, I feel as if this confirms the Yes Man ending. Both NCR and the Legion are in a weakened state; neither seems to have control over the dam (although the Legion could've won and then lost strength when the civil war broke out), and The Strip seems to have descended into chaos as a family of Deathclaws has moved in, potentially meaning that the Courier didn't upgrade the securitrons, meaning they couldn't keep the order.

Who knows. It certainly seems that any canonisation of a single ending wasn't intentional. Anywho, we're about to see another fight for New Vegas, as the NCR, and the Legion are both seen converging on the city in the finale, and House is still alive, so I guess we'll figure out who the real winner is sometime next year when season 3 airs.

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Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path.

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