Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 5 of Fallout.Fallout Season 2 has just hit a big moment. Not only have Lucy (Ella Purnell) and Hank (Kyle MacLachlan) finally reunited in New Vegas, but Cooper’s (Walton Goggins) met Robert House (Justin Theroux), the vaults are in utter chaos, and Norm’s (Moisés Arias) secret has been found out by the worst of the Vault 31ers. The season has had a slow build-up to these major moments, and with just three more episodes left in the season, the hit Prime Video show is setting itself up for another top-tier season. Collider spoke exclusively with Kyle MacLachlan and Moisés Arias about the events leading up to this point. MacLachlan teases the potential problems to come now that Hank is finally with Lucy and how she’ll respond to his new mind control project that he’s working on. MacLachlan also breaks down Hank’s psyche and what it’s like playing the two versions of Hank in the past and present timelines. Arias talks about finally getting Norm out in the real world and his difficult task of leading the Vault 31ers while also deceiving them at the same time. He talks about that big twist in Episode 5 and Norm’s burgeoning romance with Claudia (Rachel Marsh).
Kyle MacLachlan Considers Hank’s Choices Since Season 1

“You know, he’s probably always been this way.”

Kyle MacLachlan in FalloutImage via Prime Video

COLLIDER: Kyle, I’m gonna start with you. So, Hank in Season 1, I was kind of back and fort, like is this a good guy? Is this a bad guy? But in this season, we’re seeing a much darker side of his character. KYLE MACLACHLAN: Yes, but it’s still fun. Hank is still a fun character. I mean, has he lost his humanity after everything that’s happened to him in the first season, or is this just the person he’s always has been? MACLACHLAN: You know, he’s probably always been this way. But no, I mean, his intentions, from his point of view, are good and justified. He’s trying to help the world, make the world a better place. It’s a razor-thin line that he’s walking. But I think he believes he’s actually doing the right thing. And his challenge, of course, is to try to convince his daughter, who we will see later on, and they have a couple of wonderful scenes together, that it’s all for the best, and she’s a tougher sell.

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Moisés Arias Talks About Finally Going to the Wasteland and Leading the People of Vault 31

“He was expecting chaos, but once it’s in front of your face, it’s a different story.”

Moises Arias and Rachel Marsh in FalloutImage via Prime Video

And Moisés, Norm ventures out of the Vaults this season. And what was it like exploring his character now that he’s out in the real world, so to speak? MOISÉS ARIAS: It was great. I mean, getting the idea to defrost a bunch of Vault Dwellers, to then not realizing that you have to manage their fear. He not only has to take care of himself, but now a community of people. So I think, chaos, he was expecting chaos, but once it’s in front of your face, it’s a different story. And they were able to at least come up with an idea altogether to get out of the vaults. And once they’re on the surface, he’s only read about it, maybe seen renditions of it. The first season was pure vaults, and then the second, it was sand dunes and dilapidated buildings, and a bunch of creatures that I’m excited that I got to play with something physical because of our team. With the people in Vault 31 that he released, they’re kind of a different breed than the people he’s used to, because they know a little bit more about Vault-Tec, but I think I’m actually the most interested in his relationship with Claudia, because there’s this cute little romance. What was it like exploring that? ARIAS: That was great. First of all, just doing scenes with human beings, instead of a brain on a Roomba. But then, Claudia, and everyone else, too, were exceptional actors that are a part of the community, so to speak. But with Claudia, at least, it was a very real moment for Norm, a person, to see instantly that she’s different than everyone else, and maybe can confide in her things that he himself is questioning, and hopefully she can help him find answers.
MacLachlan Teases a Rocky Reunion Between Hank and Lucy

“… she’s still very resistant to all of that, and it makes sense, but I get through to her a little bit.”

Ella Purnell in Fallout Season 2 Episode 4Image via Prime Video

Kyle, I just watched Episode 5, which is this big moment where Hank is finally reunited with his daughter. And obviously it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be the smoothest of rides moving forward. What can you tease about their reunion? MACLACHLAN: Well, it involves food, which is always nice. Hank has thought about how he wants the first meeting to go when they see each other after the end of Season 1. He’s created as homey an environment as possible, and he’s really trying to make her miss the family elements that we had, reminding her that those were the important things. And then he gets a little bit into the rationale as to why certain things were done, but she’s still very resistant to all of that, and it makes sense, but I get through to her a little bit. I think, for a moment, I do sort of get her back for a bit, and then the House of Cards turns into shambles.

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Arias Reveals What Happens to Norm After Ronnie Discovers the Truth

“Well, he’s passed out again.”

Moisés Arias as Norm in Fallout Season 2Image via Prime Video

Moises, in that same episode, they got to Vault-Tec and Norm’s finding out a lot of new information from Barb’s computer, things like FEV and other little references. What can you tease about the predicament that he gets himself into? Because, at that point, Ronnie finds out, “Oh, this guy literally doesn’t know what’s going on,” and he attacks him. What can you tell us about that moving forward?

ARIAS: Well, he’s passed out again. Once he comes back to his senses, he’s tied up, he’s in another difficult situation that he has to figure out how to get out of. The whole time, he’s been trying to balance the role of leader, while, at the same time, deceiving when necessary to be able to get to wherever it is that they need to get to to survive. And it just so happens that one of the vault players has found out about those deceptions.
MacLachlan Talks About the Two Different Versions of Hank and How They’re Similar

“…you can imagine the growth between that to someone who’s a little more solid, a little more dangerous.”

Kyle MacLachlan as Hank in Fallout Season 2Image via Prime Video

Kyle, one of my favorite parts of the show is when we jump back and forth in timelines. I love seeing this other version of Hank in the past. He’s a much smaller cog in the wheel; he’s like this bumbling guy. What is it like playing those two versions of the character? MACLACHLAN: It’s really fun. It’s really fun to imagine that the Hank that I started with, and that we know that I play and spend most of my time in that world, came from that very young, very enthusiastic, somewhat childlike character, and so you can imagine the growth between that to someone who’s a little more solid, a little more dangerous. Not that the young Hank isn’t dangerous. You can see moments of it, but I think the writers have done a great job in bridging those two characters and the amount of time that’s gone from one we see in the flashback to the current one. New Fallout Season 2 episodes premiere every Wednesday on Prime Video.

Release Date

April 10, 2024

Network

Amazon Prime Video

Showrunner

Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan

Directors

Frederick E. O. Toye, Wayne Che Yip, Stephen Williams, Liz Friedlander, Jonathan Nolan, Daniel Gray Longino, Clare Kilner

Writers

Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan