IR TV Review: FALLOUT - EPISODE 8 (“The Strip”) [Prime-S2]

"Fallout" in Season 2 moved in certain ways for its characters to assume some way of worldliness but also to achieve a sense of accomplishment or closure. And while there is some closure, the meaning becomes even more elusive. With Episode 8/Season Finale [S2] entitled "The Strip", both Cooper/The Ghoul and Lucy are getting closer to exactly what they think they want (in terms of resolution) but it always seems to reveal more questions (as it should). Each is keyed into a certain character and yet both speak to a bigger problem. Lucy is trying to understand what her dad is doing. The revelation of why a certain person is running the computer makes a lot of sense (though its execution is a bit morbid). Lucy's father Hank (played by Kyle MacLachlan) seems lost in an idea of what his daughter is and could be (and yet takes his eyes off the prize on purpose). His reasoning, even as we look back to the time of Cooper and his original interaction 200 years before, has a certain altruism but with a sociopathic follow though.

Cooper (as played by Walton Goggins) really has become more human as The Ghoul because one sees what has been lost in his journey from Cooper. His ultimate goal stays the same though the ultimate outcome still is elusive despite the path that Robert (Justin Theroux), the supposed mastermind lays out. It is still a mystery where everyone exists in the heirarchy but it likely lies still within the mythology of the games. Maximus (as the least of the trio) is still trying to be the best that he can be and finds that there is still good karma in the world (though for some reason he still sees Lucy as pure). Lucy herself now is more worldly and tainted though she likely doesn't quite understand what is coming (and neither do we). The reasoning though is that the door that had just been opened simply leads to another. Plus there is another army on the way to Vegas, but who knows what will be found when they get there. B

By Tim Wassberg