The man behind the Fallout TV show's game-accurate look reveals an explosive Easter egg you may have missed
Exclusive: Howard Cummings talks that shootout scene with Walton Goggins' Ghoul
Fallout TV show production designer Howard Cummings says there's one combat-related Easter egg you might have missed.
"Jonathan Nolan never does things small and he said, 'Oh yeah, we're gonna go to distant locations and we're gonna shoot it on film to give it a technical feel," Cummings tells GamesRadar+. "And the action sequences, you know, he wanted every crazy [effect], like when The Ghoul’s shooting people – those bullets are freaking huge and they’re blowing holes through people and stuff. That’s part of the game, too. But the detail in all the vaults, the crazy props, the weaponry – I sort of fell in love with it all and I didn't really know it very well and I didn't know the history and I didn't know how interconnected it was. "
In episode 2, there's an epic shoot-out between the Ghoul and the residents of Filly. Cooper Howard shoots comically large bullets through each of his targets with deadly accuracy, which actually caused some fans to wonder if Cooper was, in fact, using V.A.T.S. V.A.T.S., or the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, is a stat-based combat system used in Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout '76.
One Fallout fan edited the episode 2 shoot-out to include what the VATS would look like over that scene – furthering the fan theory that Cooper Howard is indeed using Vault-Tec's advanced combat technology. Other franchise fans were quick to point out that, within the games, a Pip-Boy is needed in order to use VATS and that the Ghoul does not wear a Pip-Boy.
It's also possible that Cummings was simply referring to mirroring those same gory effects from the game – and that the Ghoul has simply had 200 years to perfect his combat skills.
Fallout is streaming now on Prime Video. For more, check out the rest of our coverage on:
- The Fallout TV show went the extra mile – by creating a real-life Pip-Boy for its cast to use
- Fallout TV show stars and creators on working with Todd Howard: "It means a lot to get his approval"
- Fallout TV show star Walton Goggins intentionally chose not to play Fallout, even after getting the job
- Fallout cast watched Twitch and YouTube streams of the games before filming: "Watching people play was vital"
- Kyle MacLachlan immediately sells us on Fallout – by comparing it to two of his greatest works: Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet
- Is the Fallout TV show canon? Here’s what Bethesda’s Todd Howard and the showrunners have to say
- When does the Fallout TV show take place on the series timeline?
- The Fallout TV show just revealed the canon origins of Vault Boy's signature thumbs up
- All of the Fallout Easter eggs we spotted in the TV show
- Fallout’s finale may have just answered the centuries-old mystery behind who started the nuclear apocalypse
- Fallout TV show stars break down the big season finale mysteries and how they might set up Fallout season 2: "We need it to be revealed"
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Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.