Shooting towards its Season 2 premiere on December 17, 2025, Prime Video's hit video game TV series adaptation, Fallout, is headed out West for an expansive New Vegas destination. As loyal gamers know, the popular RPG Fallout: New Vegas is the fourth overall franchise entry and the first spin-off, set 204 years after a devastating nuclear war.
With Season 2 of the hit TV show taking cues from Fallout: New Vegas' story, Lucy McLean (Ella Purnell) and Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins) will make a pilgrimage from her home in Vault 33 to the Mojave Desert, where a new villain named Mr. House (Justin Theroux) controls New Vegas with an iron fist. Along their journey, Lucy and The Ghoul could encounter at least six new Vaults, with each conducting their own sick and twisted experiments. In preparation for what's to come, it's worth analyzing the six Vaults featured in New Vegas and the sadistic directives inside each.
'Fallout's Season 2 Plot, Explained
Prime Video
Inspired by the 2010 RPG Fallout: New Vegas, Season 2 of Fallout takes place in 2281, 204 years after a catastrophic nuclear war between the U.S. and China. Continuing from Season 1, Lucy and Cooper will go on a lengthy road trip together across the Mojave Wasteland to reach their New Vegas destination. In New Vegas, Mr. House runs the city as the CEO of RobCo Industries and the sole owner of the New Vegas Strip. His mission: to create a new world order by rebuilding human civilization that he can rule unilaterally.
With Lucy's father, Hank McLean (Kyle MacLachlan), headed towards New Vegas at the end of Season 1, Lucy and Cooper will search for his whereabouts and serve swift justice to him for his role in the war. In addition to Theroux, new cast members include Macaulay Culkin as a "crazy-genius type" and Kumail Nanjiani as a high-ranking air pilot. With the fate of Lucy's brother, Norm (Moses Arias), up in the air, family will be at the heart of Fallout Season 2's primary plotline. Along the way, Lucy and Cooper will encounter up to six new vaults featured in the Fallout: New Vegas video game.
Vault 3
Bethesda Softworks
Located in South New Vegas, Vault 3 is one of five Vault-Tec Corporation Vaults built for civilian residence, along with Vaults 11, 19, 21, and 34. As one of several "control" areas, Vault 3 was not mandated for social experiments like the others. Vault 3 functioned peacefully for generations after the nuclear war between China and the U.S., until an unexpected water leak occurred in the 23rd century. Once the Vault's seal was compromised, it had to be opened to fix the water leak, which attracted the unsavory Fiends, a lawless gang of drug-addled marauders.
After finagling their way into Vault 3, the Fiends ran roughshod over the inhabitants, killed them all, and claimed the storage unit for themselves. Growing stronger in the years since, the Fiends pose a legitimate threat to the New Vegas populace near the New Vegas Strip, as well as the New California Republic Army (NCR) base at Camp McCarran.
Vault 11
Bethesda Softworks
Located west of Boulder City in the Mojave Wasteland, Vault 11 is another residential vault built for civilian living. However, unlike Vault 3, Vault 11 has been designed with a social experiment meant to test the occupants' moral compass. Once the vault door is sealed, the inhabitants of Vault 11 are ordered to choose one person per year to sacrifice to ensure survival for the others. If the social experiment fails, everyone living in the vault will be swiftly killed. However, this is a psychological con meant to test the resolve and moral fiber of the Vault 11 Dwellers.
To determine who will be sacrificed, democratic elections are held to name an overseer. At the end of the overseer's term, they must enter a chamber for execution. If any member of Vault 11 refuses to complete the experiment, rather than dying for their disobedience, they receive a computer message commending them for valuing and sparing human life. More rewarding yet, those who pass the "real test" are told that the vault door will be opened and that they can go free as long as the overseer permits it.
Vault 19
Bethesda Softworks
In a politically charged atmosphere, Vault 19 divides its inhabitants into two distinct, color-coded groups. With one overseer assigned to the Red Sector and another to the Blue Sector, Vault 19's social experiment involves instilling fear and paranoia among its constituents to sow discord and drive the two factions apart. With non-violent, nonmedical methods, the paranoia is often conveyed through subliminal messaging, political dog-whistles, strange noises, distracting lights, and mysterious voices meant to amplify the mistrust between both sides.
Given the current polarizing political climate in the U.S., Prime Video's acclaimed Fallout has an opportunity to make its most urgent sociopolitical statement with Vault 19. In Fallout: New Vegas, the experiment fails when a nearby sulfur mine begins leaking into Vault 19. With the exposure to sulfur causing massive migraines, the inhabitants become even more confused, panicked, paranoid, and begin to blame the other side for the outbreak.
Vault 21
Bethesda Softworks
Perhaps the most on-brand social experiment for New Vegas, Vault 21 relies on the efficacy of gambling to sustain an egalitarian society. The social experiment puts every dweller of Vault 21 on equal footing through its perfectly symmetrical layout, providing everyone with the same living quarters and access to amenities. No superior overseers are monitoring Vault 21. Instead, the residents resolve their own internal problems by gambling. Those who win a game of chance inside Vault 21 are awarded by representing their constituents.
After 200 years of running the experiment, a game of Blackjack between the Vault 21 reps decided its fate. With those opting to open the vault winning the gamble, Mr. House offered to rebuild New Vegas for the residents. Once Vault 21's door was opened, the inhabitants slowly assimilated into society in New Vegas. Afterward, Mr. House deactivated the Vault's technological capabilities, sold off its assets, and filled the empty area with concrete.
Vault 22
Bethesda Softworks
Also known as The Green Vault, Vault 22 was not built for civilian residence like the others. Instead, Vault 22 is inhabited by a group of scientists tasked with conducting a social experiment to grow plants and create a massive food supply to prevent the population from starving after The Great War. Reverting to the agricultural age, the idea is to create a self-sustaining food source without access to traditional water sources and sunlight.
Yet, in the admirable quest to grow enough food and sustenance to feed an entire city, the experiment went horribly awry due to a deadly fungal pesticide infection used to produce the healthiest crops. After being exposed to the toxic fungal pesticides, several of Vault 22's inhabitants died, while others mutated into plant-like zombie ghouls called Spore Carriers. The social experiment designed to succeed as an isolated, self-sustaining greenhouse backfired with horrific results, and the Vault was eventually abandoned.
Vault 34
Bethesda Softworks
In a social experiment seemingly tied to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Vault 34 is outfitted with too many people and too many firearms. The idea is to see if an over-armed, overpopulated community with access to luxurious living spaces and recreational facilities could police itself peacefully. The Vault is outfitted with a large armory and fun areas such as swimming pools, forcing its inhabitants to handle their own disputes through violence or to avoid one another through leisurely activities.
As one of the most glaringly irresponsible experiments in the upcoming video game adaptation, Vault 34 crumbled when its vast overpopulation led to violent riots, high fatality rates, anarchy, and all-out war. Heavily armed factions fought for control of the Vault, including a group known as the Boomers, who fled the Vault and headed for Nellis Air Force Base. The inhabitants left behind in Vault 34 were exposed to deadly radiation when its generator malfunctioned, causing a population of "feral ghouls" and "glowing ones." With the Vault sinking into the ground, radiation has also contaminated the farms.
