Fallout Season 2 Episode 5 Review: The Wrangler

Fallout Season 2 is gradually giving fans the answers they’ve been looking for regarding what really went down in Season 1’s finale. With Season 2 Episode 5 “The Wrangler”, not only does it confirm some suspicions, but also brings up new ones.

Ever since Season 1 ended, one scene left a great impact on what fans know about the cause behind Fallout‘s Great War. Particularly, the meeting between Cooper Howard’s wife, Barb, and the corporate leaders seemingly confirmed that Vault-Tec was behind the bombs.

However, “The Wrangler” suggests otherwise in some exciting and interesting ways that confidently ties into Cooper’s two-sided personality and his strong bond with Lucy.

The relationship that Lucy and the Ghoul have been developing has been quite the unusual one. Although their worrisome encounter with Caesar’s Legion back on “The Profligate” put a damper on things, the eventual “peace” they find in Freeside gives them time to fully explore the choices they’ve made along the way.

In Lucy’s case, her time with the Ghoul in the Mojave has been weird, in a fun way. Even though she’s still clinging onto those old Vault-Tec ways, her body is physically changing in ways that create that need to adjust. We’ve seen this prominently when she got addicted to jet to fight back against the ghoul-ified Kings.

On a broader scale, Lucy’s arc has been about how good-natured, if naive, individuals can adapt to the harsh reality the world places upon them. The emotional part of that journey has been closely explored through Lucy’s belief in her golden rule, but this episode handles that emotional aspect differently.

At this point, Lucy’s attitude has been influenced by the Ghoul’s “every person for themself” ideology. When she heads into a supply shop, whose owner was mutilated by a freeloader, Lucy tries to reason with the man before inevitably killing him in a short standoff.

This not only permeates that change, but also puts who Lucy is becoming, intentionally or not, into question. The Ghoul has, without a doubt, rubbed off on Lucy through the help he’s given, despite its detriments, and it shows that doubt through her confusion after the fact.

Although the question of who Lucy is becoming is explored in a brief, yet understandable, way, it’s through the Ghoul’s backstory that drives in this episode’s theme of self-understanding in the larger world home.

With the flashbacks that we’ve seen through Cooper’s parts in Fallout Season 2, they make his role in the present moment feel ever more impactful. Whereas in Season 1 he was only the front-facing icon of Vault-Tec, Season 2 goes to show that Cooper is quite literally at the center of everything.

This feels extremely apparent when Cooper decides to join Barb at RobCo’s summit at the Lucky 38, where Barb was supposed to be the only one to do the dealings. Unsurprisingly, Hank’s also there to join Cooper and Barb to keep whatever cargo Barb brought safely.

Beforehand, Cooper was given this mission by Moldaver to find out what tech Mr. House has and kill him before he can drop the bombs. This brief conversation between Cooper and Moldaver actually relates back to Cooper and Mr. House’s conversation about multiple solutions to the same problem.

Moldaver, and the network that would become the New California Republic, only believe in that singular path of execution. However, this Cooper still sees the good in people, which is shown when he helps out the congresswoman from the previous episode when she’s kicked out.

Of course, Cooper thinks that Mr. House is another corporate dinghy that’s only out for himself. Although this thought is mostly true, his full encounter with Mr. House proves to be an interesting philosophical talk of morals and ethics that carries this episode.

When Cooper and Mr. House finally have their formal meeting, it has this incredible intensity that’s not just satisfying to watch, but also nerve-wracking. Their previous encounters have been very cryptic, but this meeting reveals new shades to both Cooper and Mr. House that reflect their future selves nicely.

Here, it’s revealed that Mr. House has been keeping an eye on Cooper because of how he impacts his math of the end of the world. Additionally, it’s also revealed that House is also looking to use cold fusion for his experiment, which will likely be the replacement for how he powers the Lucky 38.

The way that Mr. House goes about presenting his opinion to Cooper is on par as to how fans saw the character in Fallout: New Vegas. He’s still meticulously fashionable, if cold and cynical, about being on top and protecting Vegas. Yet, his keen interest in Cooper’s role bears this unique undertone.

It genuinely feels like House wants to understand Cooper on a deeper level (though not romantically, as many fans have hilariously put it.) His fear of not knowing how Cooper fits into the bigger picture creates that innate, almost primal attitude fans saw when they went against House in the game.

House wants to do right through his own means, but he doesn’t even know if he’s the one who can see everything. When House mentions that he believes there’s someone else controlling the house of power, it makes the moment feel all the more heavier.

We know that House thinks one step ahead and him showing that fear captures his hidden humanity in a resonating way. The emotional and narrative weight of this moment as a viewer is also captured perfectly when Cooper decides to drink his existential worries away on a wild ride.

When everything collides in the ending, it feels emotionally painful to watch. You know you want to root for Lucy and the Ghoul to continue their journey together, but with Hank perfecting the tech he’s sought and using it on the Snake Oil Salesman, it’s cut short.

That hard-hitting (pun intended) climax with Lucy giving in after punting the Ghoul out of their room is satisfyingly devastating. It almost felt like Cooper was finally coming out of the Ghoul, but he was ultimately looking out for himself.

It goes to show that the Ghoul has chosen who he wants to be, but maybe there’s still hope that this is all just part of his plan. With only three episodes left, I’m crossing my fingers that good will eventually win and this pain will slowly pass.

Fallout Season 2 Episode 5 perfectly presents the idea of who a person decides they should be through Cooper and Mr. House’s formal meeting, Lucy’s in-town visitations, and more. This episode not only leaves the right amount of emotional baggage to carry forward, but also puts more narrative suspicion on what’s really going on.

Additional Thoughts:

• The fact that Victor was built pre-War makes me wonder when did Mr. House decided to store the rest of his Securitron army.
• I’m very happy Season 2 was able to use the old House actor from Season 1 as a front-man for the actual Mr. House.
• Mr. House says that the date of the world’s end is sometime in 2065 when, in the games, it’s 2077. Is this detail intentional or an error?
• I definitely believe the other “player at the table” House mentions has something to do with the Enclave.
• Watching Norm and Claudia relate to one another is still sweet, but Norm’s whole leader venture did feel shorter than anticipated.
• I’m also happy there’s some confirmation that FEV still exists in the Fallout universe. It’s about time it makes a return!

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New episodes of Fallout Season 2 release Wednesdays on Prime Video.

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