'Fallout' Season 3 Theories & Predictions: Will Cooper Find Janey And Barb In Colorado?

Season 2 of Fallout not only managed to avoid the sophomore slump, it also stuck the landing after consistently entertaining us over the course of 8 episodes. The finale left all the plot threads quite open-ended, thereby sending the audience’s excitement and anticipation for a third season into the stratosphere. And I am happy to report that it was greenlit for a third season way before the first episode of the second season even aired, which means we can be more or less sure that all these character arcs and subplots will get some form of resolution… a few years down the line. How the narrative will unfold is totally up to the showrunners, and all I can do is predict what story beats they might play with. So, without any further ado, allow me to share my speculations about Season 3.

Spoiler Alert

Knights Of San Fernando vs. The Commonwealth

In the post-credits scene of Season 2, we saw Quintus revealing the blueprint for Liberty Prime Alpha and claiming that he’d begin his “destroyer arc.” That could mean two things. Quintus wanted to unite the Brotherhood of Steel under one banner and go up against the Commonwealth. With all the chapters of the Brotherhood warring against each other, it seems like, in Season 3, Quintus is going to use that Jaeger-like war machine to kill everyone in the Brotherhood that’s trying to destroy the Knights of San Fernando and then proceed to take over the Commonwealth and its resources. Or he’s going to use the Liberty Prime Alpha to bring an end to the civil war that’s going on in Area 51, track down Xander’s power armor, locate Maximus, and then unleash his wrath upon him. Once Maximus is dead, then Quintus will go after the Commonwealth. Will Quintus get to kill Maximus, though? No, I don’t think Dane will allow that to happen. I suppose Dane is only waiting for the opportune moment to isolate Quintus and finish him off. Even if Dane kills Quintus in front of everyone, that’ll make them public enemy number one. But let’s say if the Liberty Prime Alpha malfunctions and explodes while Quintus is in it, that won’t raise any suspicions, and Dane will seamlessly save Maximus from Quintus’ wrath.

House And The NCR Vs. The Legion

In Season 3, New Vegas is set to turn into a battleground, because the Legion, led by Caesar, is on its way to turn it into their new home. But that’s not going to be as easy as winning that civil war, because they’ll be up against the NCR, House, Lucy, and Maximus. The NCR and Legion have a lot of bad blood between them, and since the NCR has just revived some of their former glory, they’ll be looking forward to making the most of it to finish off the Legion. If the NCR fails to put a stop to the Legion, House will probably take matters into his digital hands. He told Cooper that everything in New Vegas is under his control. He wasn’t able to use any of it because he didn’t have the power source to do so. Now, thanks to Cooper, he has the Cold Fusion diode in his possession, and maybe he’s going to use that to turn the Legion to dust. By some miracle, if the Legion makes its way through the NCR and House’s defenses, they’ll be up against Lucy and Maximus. That power couple is as good as a full-fledged army all on their own. I know that Lucy doesn’t like the slaves that her father has created, but if push comes to shove, she might just unleash Hank’s human-robots on the Legion; that would certainly do the trick.

Janey and Barb Are Probably Dead or Worse

Alright, I am going to be straight with everyone: I don’t think Janey and Barb are alive. I know that after two seasons of dangling a carrot in front of Cooper and the audience’s faces, the revelation that Janey and Barb are dead is going to be extremely infuriating. But this is Fallout we are talking about, not Disneyland. There are no optimistic, happy endings around here. Everywhere you look, there’s death, destruction, and carnage. So, how can I expect Janey and Barb of all people to be alive, and that too in the Enclave?! It is one of the most evil organizations out there. Let’s be honest, it’s the most evil organization in the Wasteland. And I am supposed to sit here and pretend that they have been taking care of Janey and Barb for the past 2 centuries so that Cooper can reunite with them and be a family again? That sounds delusional. No, I’m pretty sure that the Enclave has performed some kind of hideous experiment on those two, which has turned them into monsters, and Cooper will be faced with the choice of either letting them kill him, which’d free him from his life of misery, or killing them to bring their misery to an end. The Enclave has been a big question mark, at least it has if you have only watched the shows and not played the games. Therefore, in Season 3, maybe Cooper’s journey into the Enclave’s headquarters will give us an idea of why they are so evil and why they allegedly nuked the planet.

Hank And The Fate Of The Sleeper Agents

Before Hank used the brain-computer interface device planted in his neck to wipe his own memories, he told Lucy that he had already released his R&D experiments out into the Wasteland and they were silently fulfilling their mission. After that, since Hank’s mind went blank, Lucy just left him on the steps of the Lucky 38 and went off to House’s office with Maximus. What’s the R&D experiment? Does it have something to do with that Phase 2 that Steph was talking about? Is Hank truly gone, or was he faking his memory wipe so that he could give Lucy the slip and avoid answering any of her questions about the Enclave? I think Season 3 will answer all of these questions. Although it seems like Hank’s story is over, I think he is going to start from scratch and eventually find his way to the Enclave or Steph. We also get to see who or what his sleeper agents are, and what their ultimate objective is. Maybe they are about to invade all the other colonies on the surface and fit them with those brain-computer interfaces, thereby turning every surface-dweller into a servant of the Vault-dwellers. Reclamation Day has already been ruined. So, maybe these sleeper cells of the Enclave and Hank are going to work towards Reclamation Day 2.0. This’ll be another opportunity for Season 3 to delve deeper into the Enclave, how it was formed, how it roped in Hank, what they want to do for the Vaulties, and why they are taking so much time to achieve their goals.

Norm Will Reunite With Steph In The Vaults

During the closing moments of Season 2, we saw Norm coming out of that Vault-Tec office with Claudia and heading… somewhere. Where’s he going? I don’t think Norm is as adventurous as his sister. Lucy and Norm’s first trips to the surface were almost the same, and while Lucy decided to persevere, I think, in Season 3, Norm is going to say “enough is enough” and return to the Vault. The only issue here is that by the time he returns to either Vault 32 or 33, it’s going to be in a state of disarray that might be worse than whatever’s happening on the surface. For starters, there’s the water issue going on, which’ll lead to a civil war in Vault 33. Secondly, Steph has initiated Phase 2, which is obviously to subdue the Vault 32ers, possibly with the help of the FEV. And thirdly, there’s the revelation of Steph being Hank’s wife that’s bound to come into play sooner or later. Norm and Claudia are in bad shape, and he’ll have to choose one of these Vaults to recuperate. If they step into Vault 33, they’ll die of dehydration. If they go into Vault 32, they’ll either be hit by the FEV or Steph’s manipulative tactics (I mean, Steph might just claim that she is Norm and Lucy’s mother to win him over). Ironically enough, going back to Vault 31, climbing into those cryopods, and waiting out the next few centuries seems like the best option. Anyway, those are just my expectations from the third season of the show. If you have any theories that you want to share with us, please let us know through the comments section below.

...