#the profligate

• in the next scene, lucy and the wounded woman are being shoved and forced by a gang of legionaries as we are welcome to an enchanting spread of the debauchery solely contained within the caesar's legion encampment: women being flogged, somebody being forced to either dig a hole or be in one, a man getting his teeth? extracted? a wheel mounted g un that looks like it's from world war i being presented--- lucy cannot believe her eyes. she probably thought she was in hell lmao • so they get to this uh “caesar” tent, a legate, wearing lanius' armour, is there [but it's like, not him]. this man in lanius' armour speaks to the wounded woman “you lost your legionary”, the wounded woman simply responds “please. please. please.” and before she can say another word, this man in lanius' armour orders her execution by slitting her throat. she is subsequently beheaded. • idk the hierarchy of caesar's legion well but another soldier turned around and did it with a sword right in front of lucy, to her obvious shock and horror. i guess cooper was right. • on rewatch, i am noticing there's military discussion going on here as an advisor to caesar goes “the enemy horde has been relocating their artillery farther north. so, to counterbalance, we need to relocate ours as well.” and i wonder if they mean the rival caesar's legion faction or what • as caesar is given military advice, lucy is brought forth to him, bewildered. of course she has no idea what is going on or who he even is [hell, the audience doesn't either, turns out] or what the fuck this even all is. the man in lanius' armour takes off his helmet to reveal [ he is macaulay culkin <3] lacerta legate. • you know what's crazy? eagle eyed fans guessed macaulay's character from the pictures and videos of the back of his head months ago and naturally they were right. looking back at those posts, lacerta legate is shown in a scene that hasn't happened yet. going to go ahead and speculate with everyone on reddit and agree lacerta legate will be the new caesar. now how will be interesting because there's already two more. if lucy influences this, i will cackle, i'll say that • one of the funniest theories about lacerta legate i've seen is that he's a synth. i can't wait to see if they ever bring those up in this show, it's one of my points of interests and one i'd like to see in it. because it would add an even more insane level to everything, like if you know, you know • lacerta means “lizard” in latin. a good portion of symbolisms for lizards implies sneakiness but others interpret them as renewal and survival. so take that what you will • “ave, profligate” lacerta legate anachronistically addresses lucy. [these people do some fascinating stuff with cs and ws, there's a lot of latin rules both in speech and action that they follow and i'll do my best to explain lmao]

• lucy is looking around, the caesar is not paying attention to her but i guess she is expected to... say something? lmao but apparently not because as soon as she says hi, lacerta legate goes “how dare you address the great caesar?” caesar's looking at her now and lucy's like ““kaiser”... you, do, do you mean “caesar”?” [because that's the way they have pronounced it and allegedly how it's supposed to be pronounced like two thousand years ago but anyways] “i believe kaisars were german and you guys have more of a roman theme, so i, i think it's "caesar””--- sorry but this shit funny as hell lmao • meanwhile, the continuous soundtrack of bloodshed and mayhem of screaming victims plays in the background, help 😭] • the advisor seems to be saying “this is the one” into caesar's ear as lacerta legate seems to be attempting to say something to caesar at the same time lucy tries to again talk to caesar too and by saying “sir, please. i'm, i see that this is a um... work camp. and if i may, i'm a very---” lucy puts lightly as the wounded woman she tired to save's head is mounted on a spike right behind caesar. it is here where lucy is interrupted by lacerta legate “shh. we're negotiating the rights to your prima noctis.” “prima noctis?” lucy says is utter disbelief. lacerta legate gives a bemused smirk. • [so i know about this alleged tradition but by a different name “right of the lord” and i find it fascinating lucy didn't know the word profligate but knew prima noctis but anyways! it's a disgusting supposed legal practice of feudal lords having intimate relations with their female subjects and particularly on the wedding night. #justmenthroughoutalltimeandhistorythings]

• so lucy also starts to chuckle, like in disbelief. “ok. first of all, shame on you. ” tell me why when she turned around to address everybody there after the “shame on you”, the legionaries behind her flinched? and raised their weapons? 😭 tears are about to form in my eyes--- “that is awful. and secondly, prima noctis isn't even a roman tradition.” is really isn't, wikipedia only has ancient greek mentions and a general google search reveals nothing, these hos stupid as hell, please • “it's from the middle ages. they were just nasty people borrowing a latin phrase. and as much as i want to respect your traditions... there is a line to all that which i think we have found”. this scene is just so amusing to me because i am so surprised they let a woman talk without harming her and it's a history lesson, you know these men can't read! lmao • “and you should know that i am not even a virgin.” why legionaries start gasping?? is this an episode of “maury”? 😭 “and that's not including all the cousin stuff i did, which is at least a page or two on my resume”. lucy is not ashamed of any of her sexual history and she's a proud little freak ☝️ lacerta legate ain't never heard of in his entire life and his face shows it gldfgdl • [lucy bringing up “cousin stuff” again was on my bingo card btw gldgfdl] • “so, looks like we're out of options.” and lucy has her hands immediately tied up with ropes, introducing another option apparently [lol] lucy, being insane keeps talking “if you don't mind me saying, it seems like you guys might have lost your way out here”. lacerta legate counters “i wouldn't expect a profligate like you to understand”. • lacerta legate tells lucy that they are at war. lucy asks with who and lacerta legate says the new california republic, the khans, the brotherhood [everybody]. he says that first they gotta punish the “unrepentant members of caesar's legion” and he points to the hilarious plot twist of another caesar across the way in another encampment as a legionary yells “all hail caesar!” • “there's two caesars?” lucy asks. lacerta legate then says “the great founder of this empire, he di ed. [of a brain tumour and thank goodness] we've been at war ever since over who should be his heir”. they show his stupid little shriveled body lain atop a dusty ass hill. “he wrote down the name of his successor. he placed it into his divine pocket. but every time we try to retrieve it, the false caesar and his followers, they sh oot at us.” lacerta legate says, nearly incensed at speaking about it. the note in edward sallow [caesar]'s pocket is visibly shown, flapping in the wind. i wonder if this has gone on for twenty years. “we are at a stalemate” lacerta legate says. • [they already looked like the stupidest and most pathetic faction in all of the games but whew! lmao sorry, dick riders, this shit a joke! lmaooo] • hi! so i know lucy and other characters are often audience analogs right but i cannot help but ask why lacerta legate is telling lucy all this? she's a woman and a profligate, why should he care to? i was thinking maybe it was because she was getting sent to her demise anyways so nothing said would matter but then again, he doesn't seem like a typical legionary so maybe there's something else there, idk • “i may be able to help you. i have experience in family counseling and sometimes conflict resolution, it's easier than you think” lucy says confidently. lacerta legate regards her statements with mirth right before the next shot is lucy being crucified on a telephone pole 😭

•sometimes i think lucy thinks everybody also has good sense and is smart and well meaning like her. and just i guess thinks the best of people. it feels like lucy decides not to read people but she can pick up on a tough situation enough to clearly try to wiggle her way out, even if in a battle between brains and brawn makes brawn wins [which caesar's legion clearly favours, who gives a fuck about conflict resolution when you can just crucify the heretic lmao] • lucy, realizing she can't unsour this pickle, says “oh geez” lmaooo cooper, save her • as lacerta legate turns to leave, lucy, up there on a telephone pole cross says” excuse me” and again! lacerta legate, instead of continuing to walk on and/or ignoring her, turns to face lucy to hear her out. i don't really get it. something is different about this guy, huh? lmao like why is he doing that? “this isn't rome, ok? this is america” lucy shouts down. “is it?” lacerta legate taunts back. “yeah, it is. at least according to all the maps.” [being from a vault, she makes a great case there. she wouldn't know and most people wouldn't for certain. i bet cooper is one of the few people who has even left the continental u.s. in the last two hundred years but anyways]. “maps drawn by the de ad. all that remains of america is the overwhelming evidence of its failure ” lacerta legate reminds lucy. “now if you'll excuse me, we have a war to win” • [lacerta legate is going on about maps drawn by the d ead but is continuing a civil war over a note written by a d ead man but anyways! anyways!] • “you know, speaking as someone who's seen upwards of 15 different movies [probably all of cooper howard], if you think everyone else is the bad guy, chances are, you're the bad guy” [this mirrors what cooper said to moldaver in one of the meetings in season one btw]. “but "good" is not a meaningful vector in history. only strength.” lacerta legate gives lucy a hand gesture [that i do not know what it is, i tried searching for it but it reminded me of the hat tipping gesture cooper did to lucy in novac] and actually leaves lucy to be crucified forreal this time • macaulay culkin's performance was oddly soft spoken, unassuming, and light given he's supposed to be a caesar's legion legate and i have no idea if that was on purpose or not and quite frankly, i do not give a damn! i need him in five more episodes, we love you, macaulay 💗 • the entire promo for lucy being in the clutches of caesar's legion being on the edge of your seat captivating, nail biting only for her to get there and start lecturing these men on morality and giving them history lessons, she was not scared of them at all, this show is so fucking funny for no reason, i swear to god!? 😭 • going to be honest, i thought way more harm was going to come to lucy being in possession of caesar's legion, but in narrative, them being more preoccupied with civil war means they are fractured and distracted • both lucy trying to save the wounded woman and maximus going on an excursion with xander harkness and it going horribly 💀

• as cooper drags himself to the ledge of a pool, dogmeat has returned to cooper's side. cooper opens the wound in his leg and the poison is getting pretty far as the radscorpion stinger has become lodged inside. the next scene is him trying to extricate it. •”yeah, well, how 'bout a boat that's not a boat. you know what i mean? of course you do.” cooper says as he talks his way through having to cut out the poison himself. “you take out one plank... boat's the same as it ever was. it's just got a, a hole in it, that's all. you take out a, a lot of planks... and all of a sudden, you gotta ask yourself... what, what the fuck am i looking at? this ain't no boat. it's just a, a pile of wood, man. it's just a fuckin' pile of wood.” • [cooper is comparing himself and his body to the ship of theseus as his post war body is so far removed and unrecognizable to his pre war body, he barely recognizes it and the things it does. he is saved from removing the piece of poisoned flesh and will probably fully recover where as regular unghoulified person would probably d ie from such a wound. he's probably had to do this before, i mean, he's been taken hostage and tortured by dom pedro. and it doesn't get any easier] • cooper ship of theseus with lucy's finger... oof • “i don't know what i'm tellin' you all this for. i know you already know all this. it's just been a while. since i had someone worth talkin' to. that's all.” cooper says as he drops the facade once more when it's only dogmeat and him, petting her as he lays in the abandoned hospital • i did not get emotional during this entire scene haha not at all, not at all haha no, not at all

• saw someone here say cooper had the radscorpion venom in him and it made him have a religious experience dlfgdl • so i was right about this event somehow being associated with a flashback--- next scene is cooper at home discovering barb in the kitchen crying trying to pack in the event of needing to go to the vaults. • knowing what cooper knows, he probably finds this presentation confounding but still asks “you ok?” to barb as she keeps deciding what should be packed and agonizing over what should go. “i can't seem to get janey's teddy into the keepsake box. for the vault.” in between sniffles barb manages to get out. “i just hate leaving anything behind, you know”, “well, we may not have to, right?” cooper says, knowing deeply how disturbing this conversation is. barb holds up a picture of her, cooper, and janey, continuing to grieve the future loss. • cooper tells her he has to go to to a thing for charlie whiteknife. and he walks away. he stops in the hallway a second to take it in. • a mutual thinks this scene was foreshadowing. about barb having to eventually leave and/or exclude cooper from being included in the vault when the time comes. and that she knows cooper is either spying or already knows her involvement in the b ombs being dropped. and i for one think most of this is probably right. at least with the foreshadowing. • it's truly shocking the difference between before cooper found out barb's involvement in the end of the world and after--- he offered no solace or comfort to her despite being incredibly attentive and emotionally intelligent. i think barb is going to notice his shift but honestly, i can't blame him for blowing his cover wide open and changing up quick once he discovered who barb essentially really was. he almost certainly doesn't even want to ever touch her again let alone try to console about preparing to enter the vaults. he probably thinks she's insane atp. who cries about having to go to a bunker if you're the reason why you need to go to the bunker? sigh

• “it's just been a while. since i had someone worth talkin' to. that's all.” and then one of the next scenes is with charlie whiteknife, one of cooper's greatest friends, bye • cooper arrives at a fundraising event with charlie whiteknife for the american veteran entertainment alliance. there's glass cases full of memorabilia of the exploits of soldiers, awards, medals, helmets, pictures, those kinds of things. the aesthetic is very reminiscent of world war ii. an emblem on the wall reads that this is the veterans of foreign wars. since it's a fundraiser, there's also food, too. • cooper approaches charlie whiteknife and asks him what does he know about robert house. “all i heard is that he's building some kind of weapons system in vegas. our intel thinks it's connected to what you heard barb talking about.” “your intel?” cooper curiously quips. “it's blueprints and a bunch of phone records. what else am i supposed to call that?” charlie whiteknife responds back, also smirking. a correct and resourceful king lol • so moldaver [who knew before anybody], charlie whiteknife, and cooper all know barb's dealings. i wonder who else outside of vault tec and the entire orchestration knows barb's dealings... • and on the flip side, does it appear mr. house doesn't? care? that his weapons system is all out there for someone to find? charlie whiteknife didn't specify how he found this information out though, perhaps there was digging involved there • “well, do you know what your boss wants me to do to him?” cooper asks, looking directly into charlie whiteknife's face. “mm.” charlie whiteknife says offhand before returning eye contact with cooper. cooper raises his eyebrows. charlie whiteknife lowers his eyes and says “i didn't know”. this message was telepathic and once again, fellas • idk why everything about them discussing what they want cooper to do to mr. house is somehow hinting at something i can only liken to a honeypot operation. even the conversation cooper had with moldaver was oddly suggestive. if they wanted him mur derlized, why are they talking about in such a way that the audience is reading it differently 💀 • cooper says he wants to help in whatever way he can in this situation but he thinks there's got to be another way. “look where we are, coop. half the guys in here have ki lled people. maybe not the right ones. robert house is just one person.” charlie whiteknife says before the lights go dim and someone takes the podium • a congressional representative for the district of glendale, diane welch begins to speak. [at the time of writing, the current congressional representative of glendale is a femme too btw]. “and if you've never heard of me, it's probably because i'm the only sitting congressperson in this administration to have refused corporate funding.” [there are usually five hundred thirty five sitting members of congress btw]. “so, while i may not be able to afford tv spots and billboards, i don't think america can afford any more corporate influence in washington.” and before she can really say more, someone from the veteran audience goes “get on with it” and laughter begins. this scene was a scathing indictment and again, don't have enough room to get into it here, whew • like this comment is rich coming from a room full of [mostly male] entertainers who some absolutely have corporate donors and funding and are bought and paid for but whatever. lol • representative diane welch says that today isn't about her and that “it's about you and the sacrifices you've made for this great nation. as a friend to our brothers and sisters in the armed forces, it is my honor to award...” representative diane welch seems to have to read a cue card on this as she drops them trying to present. her speech here is quite uncharismatic and novice. idk if this because she's not psyched to be there or what. her being there to thank the veterans kind of feels like an afterthought. cooper decides to take a restroom break [i had no idea “i'm gonna go hit the head” meant that, this is ship terminology]

• cooper walks into the restroom and uh robert house is just. leaning against a wall in there. illuminated by a light near a mirror. cooper is normal so he's peeing. and mr. house immediately. begins a conversation with cooper. while he's peeing. 💀 • the first episode of this season is heavily implying to me that they're trying to get cooper to uh gain carnal knowledge of mr. house in order to destroy him. and this episode with the conversation between charlie whiteknife and cooper is once again heavily implying something real honeypot that i can't put my finger on. anyways! mr. house decides to stalk cooper howard in the men's bathroom at the va like he's going cruising, more at eleven. • mr. house asks cooper “you getting any awards tonight?”. cooper probably has male fans or somethin' in the bathroom talking to him all the time so of course he says something back. “no, no i'm just here for an old friend.” [😭] “corporal charlie whiteknife” mr. house ominously remarks. “rumour has it he's a bit of a pinko. is that right?” mr. house is a known ragebaiter so. “i wouldn't know about that.” cooper still peeing says. • “and what about you, mr. howard?” mr. house decides to imply, decidedly giving cooper an honorific mid accusation. “what about me?” cooper, tired as helly. “oh, cooper howard? amercan veteran. star of the silver screen. pinko.” one again cooper is still over there peeing • this scene is frightening to me. and you want to know why? and i'm just now realizing it a little more. at first, i thought about how mr. house was and is spreading propaganda that cooper is a communist. i thought he was merely voicing it here in an audience analog kinda way but there is a little more--- a guy walked in mid conversation while mr. house was creeping on i mean talking to cooper. if you're not paying attention, could very well miss it. that guy is overhearing this conversation. to me,mr. house is both informing cooper he's putting him out there and that'll he do that shit right damn there at that veteran fundraiser • to all this, cooper sexily replies “don't believe everything you read” as he walks over to a sink to wash his hands [thank goodness! cooper is not disgusting lmao] “oh, don't get me wrong. i sympathize with the pinko point of view. they have grievances with traditional institutions. entirely justified, if you ask me.” mr. house surprisingly says as he waltz over behind cooper as retorts “i didn't ask you” with a smile. “it's their solution to the problem.” mr. house continues on as he grabs a napkin? to give to cooper? when cooper is done washing his hands. “oh. here.” and the camera pans to both men in the mirror, mr. house sexual tensionally standing behind cooper howard like some sort of gay coded disney cartoon villain. • “you back a body into a corner, they're liable to try anything.” mr. house basically whispers in cooper's ear now. cooper is looking at this man like he's a nutcase. and he is! “you back billions of bodies into a corner at the same time... tsk. everyone trying to solve the same problem at the same time. with a multitude of solutions, messy, messy, hm?” mr. house drones on in his insistent ramblings. where's security? how he get in here 😭

• cooper surmises with “i take it you're not a vet.” mr. house takes cooper in [like everyone else does apparently] and looks him over before meeting his eyes, and inquisitively goes “what gave me away?”. “because a vet would know better than to talk politics when a man has his dick in his hand.” “til next time, mr. howard!” hey so. idk wtf this means lmao can someone with dick explain this phrase, not to mention this entire scene, to me? like there's no heterosexual explanation for this lmao • [pondering deeply if mr. house is a friend of dorothy and/or if it won't just be the communist accusations that's the nail in the coffin for the barbcoop marriage but something a little freakier hmm] • incredible levels of old man yaoi here and there's a million ship names for whatever mr. house and cooper have going on rotf • [if my calculations are correct since charlie whiteknife was also a marine like cooper, if he was a corporal, that means he probably commanded a section or squad] • the way cooper and charlie whiteknife were discussing on how to end mr. house and that man was waiting on cooper in the bathroom of this place. tell me he don't have people and things bugged?! • i almost wonder if their next encounter at the thing in las vegas if mr. house will talk cooper out of k illing him tbh. i also wonder if this weird little man knew here about how moldaver instructed cooper to k ill him. hmm

• xander harkness showing up unexpectedly for the supposed secret meeting between the other local chapters of the brotherhood of steel rustles the would be alliance that elder cleric quintus was attempting to form. in another meeting with some clerics, the yosemite elder and for some reason, maximus, elder cleric quintus stages another attempt at alliance talks but the yosemite elder is obviously spooked. “the codex is is clear about chain of command.” she says and elder cleric quintus counters quickly “we mustn't squander this opportunity.” “i told you. we're out.” • my thing is... who informed harkness of this meeting? like, how did he know? somebody tipped him off right or? and why does elder cleric quintus have maximus in this meeting? he's a knight. he's not a cleric, this chapter is all about the clerics having power. is this to make up for almost letting maximus d ie in a senseless fight to the d eath earlier or like to continue to manipulate him and deem him his successor or something? ugh • “i'm not interested in fighting in a rebellion, quintus.” i understand elder cleric quintus' chapter is in a tough spot with being in possession of one of the greatest energy resources to ever exist but this is what happens! when your ideology is built on nothing but variations of imperialism and fascism. why would a weak axis who knows they would lose start a civil war? • ”but the brotherhood began as an act of rebellion. before the war, an ordinary captain was sent to a research center in california. roger maxson. and when he saw what they were doing there… depraved experiments on human subjects, well, then, roger maxson had to ask himself, who did he serve? his god? or his government? he chose his god. he s hot the scientists. he s hot the people who tried to stop him. his government had defied god, and for that, he defied his government. but he wasn’t punished. he was saved. so that he could found our noble order. if our rebellion is righteous… the way will be paved for us.”

• [and the rebellion is the essentially a military branch going rogue from the government, it's like if mercenaries started a nation or something but anyways] • the founding of the brotherhood of steel is so interesting because they eliminate all victims of these experiments by groups like vault tec, the enclave, and the government. their ideology reduces them to “abominations” and ghouls, supermutants, synths are not spared • “i told you. i don’t go in for the religious stuff.” the yosemite elder jogs elder cleric quintus' memory. “give the cold fusion relic to the commonwealth.” she nearly demands as she leaves. i said last episode she was hardly in it and only really said yes because her chapter was cornered and saying no wouldn't have been good in the moment and funnily enough she has a quick change of heart when the commonwealth gets a whiff of the situation • maximus has observed the meeting and decides to chime in. “my lord… this xander guy… i could just k ill him. well, that’s what we do here. isn’t it?”. elder cleric quintus is so incensed like this isn't the logical conclusion of all this rhetoric and violence, he almost goes on a tirade lol “behold, the dimness of the sword. we just lost the alliance. If we ki ll xander, the envoy from the commonwealth, it will be war. and without the support of the other chapters, it will end with all our heads on spikes.” maximus, using the exact logic elder cleric quintus had used earlier again says “yes, my lord, but if our cause is righteous---” “i have no need for the thoughts of a sword! leave. must i repeat myself?” • funny how now k illing somebody as a strategic move is a stupid idea and “the dimness of the sword” but earlier, it was just a part of the little fight show. it was used strategically according to the initial cause of the brotherhood of steel's founding. it was a noble cause of roger maxson. but when maximus suggests it, it's such a dumb idea, huh? love hypocrisy. what exactly is maximus supposed to learn here? like, fuck • “well, that’s what we do here. isn’t it?” and it is, the clerics never have to get their hands dirty, they just order someone else to get their hands dirty. reduced to a “sword” when people are mad at you but “son” when you've risked your life to find an asset. anyways

• maximus is so hurt by this entire exchange, he storms out of the meeting confused, belitted, narrowly on the brink of a panic attack. and then. “there he is” chimes harkness. • if elder cleric quintus had been more patient or idk ran the brotherhood of steel differently or hm maybe been more strategic in how he handled being in the fascism faction or somethin', maximus would've never went on the trip with harkness lol • “what do you want?” maximus says trying not to imply at all that he was suggesting to m urder this man earlier just now. “well, my arrival seems to have put a damper on the conversation.” harkness can read the room [a little], he's pretty charming and charismatic upon first impressions. funny, even. he mentions that there's so many clerics in this chapter. “i mean, we have clerics back at the commonwealth. they’re just not, like, in charge, you know? and i know every chapter of the brotherhood is a little different, but this one… sucks. no offense.” and they all suck but who is counting hflhflg • maximus thinks that he shouldn't even be talking to harkness because of chain of command. “good man. see? that’s a soldier for you.” at least harkness can recognize a good man when he sees one even if this all will be ironic later • i think it's interesting people pick maximus to talk to because they think he's all muscle. he is absolutely on the receiving end of being manipulated and i hate that for him but he but sticks to his metaphorical g uns a lot. he's quite cautious, even when he's being led down paths people want him steered in “your elder cleric is about to make a mistake. the brotherhood that you believe in, that i believe in? we are the last bastion of order in this country. we are a bulwark against chaos. if you ask me, fomenting a rebellion sounds a lot like chaos. you know, back east, it’s guys like us who call the shots. people who put their ass on the line. that is foundational to the brotherhood ethos. your clerics? what do they do? stand around, give speeches. we are the ones who bleed.” harkness laments making interesting points and especially for maximus • maxmius asks harkness what does he want him to do about it. it really sounded like harkness wanted to talk maximus into joining the commonwealth wealth chapter but i can't prove that. it was just butter. • “just talk to me. you know, this isn’t the first time that the brotherhood has been on the verge of civil war. but if us soldiers figure something out, it won’t be the first time that cooler heads have prevailed. what do you say?” “yeah, let’s talk.” “hot dog.” and that “cooler heads have prevailed” line is so fucking ironic, omg. they put that in there with express purpose. it's like a double entendre or something omfg

• “well miss lucy, how's that golden rule workin' out for you now?” cooper says while looking through a spyglass on a hill adorning the caesar's legion camps. i have a reverse of this type of scene on my bingo card lmaooooooo • pair “how does that golden rule jibe with what's going through your head right now?” from season one, episode four with “how's that golden rule workin' out for you now?” from season two, episode three • first time we hear out loud? cooper saying lucy's name--- the intimacy, the personalness, the covetous nature of it all. what do you mean he said her name to himself where she can't see or hear it? • “what the fuck?” cooper suddenly says as he realizes caesar's legion is split into two camps and there's two guys on separate thrones lmaooo “kinda looks like we got ourselves a civil war.” cooper says as he kneels down to dogmeat's level. “well, shit. what you think, dog?” • cooper is in front of a former resort and country club called camp golf, also a former ncr headquarters that, in the games, was called house resorts [but i am not sure there's the same affiliation in the show]. cooper takes the longest drag of his life from the chem inhaler [look, another time cooper is stressed and he resorts to chems!] and noticed dogmeat looking at him so he asks dogmeat “what?” in a very appealing but annoyed way lgdgld • “don’t look at me like that. i don’t like her either. but we gonna need her down the line. i ain’t going up against two legions in one afternoon. we need some help. and this is about the best place to get it. used to be, anyway” hi, so isn't it crazy how cooper thought he was out manned here and the first place he thought of seeking help is the ncr? they probably go way back. cooper still believes in them. that man is full of hope in ways a regular person just cannot imagine. • and “i don't like her either” lmaooo well we know damn well the dog loves lucy, don't lie twice now, cooper. them pants will definitely catch on fire from all this fibbing. • camp golf is pretty abandoned, there's satellite dishes and tents in the front yard encampment but no sign of people. as he enters the inside of the building, you can see golfing trophies still in their cases. stand alone lights are still on. victor whirs to life and spooks cooper. • “h-howdy, p-p-p-p-p-pardner!” “is that you, victor?” “v-v-victor. that sure does sound familiar. well, dagnabbit, spent the last ten years thinkin’ i was a soda machine.” [😭] he slowly turns around to face cooper. cooper asks him like, what the fuck is he doing here and victor is like “well, b-b-beats me, pardner. someone did a number on my numbers. memory’s all jimble-jambled.” i wonder if someone in the ncr messed his memory as to not give opsec • cooper seems to be relieved to see victor here. “well, i gotta save a dipshit vaultie from the legion. came here hopin’ to get some help from the ncr.” victor says that he hasn't seen the ncr and cooper asks who is running things nowadays. victor says the ncr and caesar's legion go at it like cats and dogs. but that now caesar's legion is fighting each other like cats and dogs too. cooper goes “is that so?” “but you know what they say in vegas. everyone’s a winner. eventually.” and i suppose victor has a point

• [in this scene, there's an ncr poster on the wall while cooper inspects a helmet. it says “careless talk costs lives”, reminiscent of world war ii. earlier i mentioned victor's programming has been rearranged because of opsec, in theory, while victor's memory is all garbled, he still revealed the location of the ncr rangers nearby. just wanted to point that out] • “the same goes for losing, in my experience. except for one man. [the house always wins] the man that built you. where’s robert house?” “he’s gone. he had all the money in the world. but all he really wanted was to live forever. life just ain’t fair, i guess.” “well, typically, i would agree. but you should know better than anyone that house had a knack for plannin’ ahead. “oh, he had plans, alright. but he needed the cold fusion doodad from before the war. didn’t you have somethin’ to do with all that? way back when?” victor almost seems accusatory with these last couple of sentences. cooper has decided to depart. • “oh, you’re leavin’ already? ain’t nobody around to keep poor victor company these days. just them rangers up in the hills.” “rangers in the hills?” “well, you know how it is. the ncr and the legion, they can’t stop fightin’. like c-c-c-cats and d-dogs.” “much obliged, victor.” “well, i’ll be seein’ you!” “i’m sure you will.” • lot of supplies in that abandoned ncr headquarters...

• back at area 51, maximus becomes aware that harkness is a pilot as they go on a little trip. maximus tries to get his own armour but harkness offers spare armour. “they give you spares?” maximus asks like that one meme 😭 • the vertibird traverses the desert as maximus smiles and says “motion assist servos”. [these are power armour mods and mentioned in fallout 4 and fallout 76] •[the song playing here is “sugar doll” by alvadean coker] • ”yeah, i don’t know anything about any of that shit, man. i just know how to kick ass in it, you know?” harkness is just like, a guy lmao. harkness asks maximus if he's ever flown a vertibird. “here, let me give you control right now. hold on to it.” “no, no!” “flip the switch… you sure? yeah?”. this exchange will be mirrored later. • “hey, maximus, can we just be hard dick for a second?” [me, the first time i heard this: what!] maximus has also never heard this turn of phrase and looks at harkness funny but remembers where he is so says “oh, yeah”. “unless your guy quintus gives me that relic, you and me are going to be on the front line shooting at each other soon. and i know you’re very good, but trust me, you don’t want that heat.” maximus face drops. fun's over. “and i don’t know, i’m just thinking, if i go home with the relic, there’s no bloodshed, you know?” maximus has crossed his arms. in this scene, i wondered if he returned to stewing on the idea of k illing this guy again. harkness knows he's being tense “i’ll be honest with you, man. we are really up against it back home. without that relic you found, we risk losing the commonwealth. and if the commonwealth falls… civilization won’t last much longer.” i keep forgetting people, the brotherhood of steel thinks maximus found the cold fusion relic so i guess of course he would be the main pawn people in these chapters target to manipulate and use and persuade. • maximus questions harkness on the meaning of “won't last” and that it's already the worst out there in the mojave. harkness assure him it could always get worse. and boy. the foreshadowing, huh? • “it can get worse. trust me. just think about it, that’s all. i trust your judgment, maximus. so should you.” • there's a beep on the monitor that harkness notices. there's a power signature in a building detected. i kind of wonder if harkness noticed this on the flight over here and then decided to use it as a tactic to persuade maximus with later? idk probably not but it's a thought i'm thunking • “looks like unauthorized automated activity.” [who is he or they to control that? girl what lmao] harkness tells maximus. “you’re 2,000 miles away from home. what do you care about a couple of robots in the desert?” this is what i mean, it feels like planned out from harkness even if he didn't know what he'd find that day, you know, it's something disturbing about it in retrospect. like those secret missions soldiers go on in other countries and commit atrocities they never answer for. • “we’re the brotherhood of steel. we keep the wasteland safe. this is what we do! this is what we get to do!” harkness says, appealing to maximus' inner knight. “oh, here it is. hot dog!” harkness is elated and sticks out his arm for a fist pump to maximus. “c’mon! yeah!” harkness implores as maximus returns to the fist bump. maximus smiles and says “hot dog” is the most reserved, sweet tone. somebody [who sucks] is being nice to him 😭

• cooper enters the ncr rangers remnant camp on the hill. he whistles as he approaches. there's a couple rusting vehicles and boats about. “oh, i know” cooper remarks to dogmeat as she steadies in front of him. a sh ot rings out and cooper smirks. he so loves danger. or maybe he's happy somebody he's familiar with is still kickin' idk gdlgldf. this person identifies themselves as captain rodriguez of the new california republic. it's a black lady and she ain't playin' with nobody. • “well, i can see your salutations haven’t changed.” cooper barely even gets out before another ranger knocks him to the ground with the butt of a rifle. cooper is smiling lmao. captain rodriguez storms down to tell this other ncr ranger not to hurt cooper. “why not?” this ncr ranger asks [he is credited as biff]. “this ghoul and the ncr go way back.” 😌 • “if i may… new california republic may wanna drop the word “new,” ’cause y’all lookin’ dusty as hell. where is everybody?” 😭 damn • “up here, it’s just us. we’ve been cut off from reinforcements for more than a decade.” captain rodriguez unfortunately relays. “they're comin'” poor biff says. “guess, uh, time takes a toll on some more than others.” captain rodriguez surmises as biff is uh messing with a squirrel in a cage. in between cooper and captain rodriguez talking, biff was muttering “gotta be ready. gotta be ready. they’re coming any day. we gotta be ready. any day now.”. biff is... not exactly well i guess 😭 • captain rodriguez talks about how when shady sands fell, they had an ncr battalion out east. and that they could still reach them. cooper reminds captain rodriguez shady sands was over twenty years ago. i'm sure both captain rodriguez and biff relive that day everyday. • “legion has us boxed in. we’ve lost touch with our battalion. please, help us contact them. let our people know we’re still out here.” cooper sees the sad irony of the situation and laughs. “what’s so funny?” captain rodriguez challenges cooper. “i’m in a minor predicament. i came to the ncr looking for help based on the cozy ass assumption that the good guys would prevail in the great state of nevada." with how things are, on one hand, i'm kind of surprised he'd think this but he has been buried for probably twenty years so things were different. but like i've said before, cooper has more hope than anyone can imagine • captain rodriguez claims they are winning the war and biff backs them up. “well, if this is winnin’, i would hate to see what losin’ looks like.” cooper scathes as he abruptly and coincidentally starts having a coughing fit [cooper being stressed and needing a hit of chem once again!] captain rodriguez immediately knows what cooper needs and reaches for a container. • “please. the stuff we fight for… clean water, schools… rights for folks like you… story has it, you used to believe in those things, too. please, help us, before we’re captured.” captain rodriguez offers cooper the container. cooper of course is once again confronted with goodness in the wasteland. this parallels the super duper mart incident a bit. • “ain’t nobody comin’. ‘cause there ain’t nobody left. little piece of advice that’s helped me sleep at night over the years. when something’s dead, it’s usually because it deserved to die.” point, i suppose. cooper leaves. • almost thinking cooper dropping one of the vials captain rodriguez offers him in exchange for helping the ncr was intentional because he took the entire container like it didn't matter to him when it was four in there but took three, dropped the container and was pretending like he doesn't desperately need them to live. you see how stress is suddenly effecting his well being again and therefore effecting his symptoms therefore making him needing the chems being used as a plot point again? well anyways!

• harkness and maximus barrel through a door. maximus... seems uneasy already. a malfunctioning securitron comes around the corner like “halt! display your credentials! greetings, visitor! would you prefer a neck or foot massage today? there will be no massage! i-i-identification is… please remove your clothing and apply a complimentary towel. cancel massage p-p-p-protocol immediately! intruder! massage protocol activated! activating version… intruder! prepare to be-be neutralized. relaxation imminent!” lmaooo who programmed this thing • the securitron is doing what it does best and it's blasting. harkness takes out a weapon called a super sledge. essentially a sledgehammer with a rocket booster. harkness and maximus overpower the securitron and eventually maximus punches the screen part and extracts a fusion core out of it. harkness gives maximus another “hot dog!”

• i think cooper pretty much knew lucy was in trouble and had to help himself and still saved her anyways • lucy was on that telephone pole long enough to start hallucinating from dehydration and heat stroke [one or two days?] gosh--- • lucy thinking she's hallucinating cooper? saving? her? idk. but she probably thought she was so out of it, she was imagining him being there... • there's a guy next to lucy also being crucified in caesar's legion attire [captive from the other caesar's legion encampment perhaps?] and he's very d ead so crows are pecking at him. a crow lands on her telephone pole as she notices cooper waltzing into the caesar's legion camp she's in. cooper and lucy make eye contact and he doesn't break it even as he turns a corner to enter a tent. oof • as cooper enters the caesar's legion camp, all the legionaries and the caesar are armed. ““ave.” or whatever the fuck y’all say to each other.” cooper is so fucking funny lmao. lacerta legate points out that cooper has information helpful to caesar. “well, i understand that the legion ain’t fans of the linear progression of time… or the soft “c,” for that matter. but I bet you still understand cause and effect. now, i give you something you want. and, well, you give me something i want.” and the “something i want” is lucy, bye • [both cooper and lucy separately and unrelatedly having a discussion with the caesar folk about how to pronounce the “c” in caesar 😭 actor and teacher jumping out, the pedantism of it all 👏 • “or we can put you up on a cross until you give us what we want.” lacerta legate counters violently. “well, yeah, you could do that. or you could exterminate the last holdout of the new california republic” cooper makes with bold intel. “i can tell you where they’re hidin’.”

• i have two schools of thought about the utilization of cooper's flashbacks in the show. one is that for narrative and artistic purposes, we see glimpses of cooper's past that serves the story. the other is that events in the present trigger flashbacks and memories for cooper from his perspective [and naturally through the magic of film, we get to see what things trigger these flashbacks and compare the present with the past]. • as cooper bargains for lucy's life with presumably info about the ncr, we are brought back to the veteran fundraiser. charlie whiteknife is telling one of his war stories, probably an anecdote from the battle of anchorage. the room is reminiscing with him. including cooper. •”now, remember, these are the 45s. they’re hard as hell to walk in. and this power armor’s so goddamn hot from the fires that it’s melting the snow beneath my feet. and i’m dragging this guy, you know, just dragging him through the mud and the slush. and i don’t know if this poor damn grunt is dead or alive. so, the first chance i get, i take cover, take a knee, open up that visor. and who do i see staring right back at me? it’s cooper howard.” charlie whiteknife points and shyly cooper bobs his head. yeah, it was him lol • “that’s right. you know what he said to me? coop. you remember?” “uh, “how do i look?”” cooper, humbly through his teeth. “that’s a lie, ladies and gentlemen. that is a lie.” charlie whiteknife proclaims. “i mean, the movie star cooper howard, he probably would have said that. but the man i was looking at… he looked up at me and he said, “how are the others?” nearly burnt alive… and he was worried about our squad. fuckin’ marines, huh? we like to tell stories about what we did out there. yeah, not all of them, anyways. some of them we can’t tell.” • right back to lucy! and now charlie whiteknife's speech at a veteran fundraiser is overlain with present events at the caesar's legion camp. “but the ones we do tell… we tell ’em to make us feel good about what we did.” lucy is cut down from the telephone pole and falls on her stomach. cooper's shadow is to her back. “to give us hope that it was all for the right reasons.” saw talk how this scene mirrors the scene when he was filming the movie and k illed the villain as the hero and here he saves lucy as the “villain” • as cooper helps lucy up and provides an anchor as she walks, charlie whiteknife's speech continues “but we’re just marines. we don’t get the privilege of knowing. we just had to go off of what they told us. they told us that it was all on the line… fate of the whole free world. with the stakes stacked that high… we didn’t get much choice, did we? and i guarantee you, the guys on the other side got told the same shit.” and then it pans to caesar shouting “tonight, we bury the new california republic!” such an interesting juxtaposition.

• they don't show what exact information cooper told caesar's legion. but as they seem to be celebrating and rallying. cooper gets to help lucy finally get out of there. the camera shows some dynamite in that camp. no reason! lol • “at the end of the day, we just gotta hope that we bet on the right side. the side that protects the people you love. because if it did… i guess that’s worth doing pretty much anything. even something bad.” charlie whiteknife ends his speech. as charlie whiteknfie leaves, it is revealed his award is a commemorative lighter. • “thank you” “don't thank me yet” • as the cooper of the past reflected on charlie whiteknife's words, the cooper of the present does the same too. “this is for you.” charlie whiteknife says as he presents the lighter to cooper. “they gave that to me for saving a man. not for ki lling the three it took to do it.” charlie whiteknife leaves. as he pats cooper on the shoulder, he's wearing a turquoise ring, a valued and sacred gemstone for some indigenous tribes. [it is also associated with being the birthstone for december, the month in which this episode released] • cooper still having the lighter charlie whiteknife gave him all those years ago 😞 • charlie whiteknife's voice and words echoing two hundred years later. charlie whiteknife living through cooper. gosh, i really want to hope charlie whiteknife made it somehow. but... i know better • [cooper fiddling with the lighter with the hand he sewed lucy's finger to!] • “maybe this was a mistake.” cooper reveals to lucy. lucy is like “why? what did you do?” “i don’t know. maybe somethin’ good. or maybe somethin’ stupid.” and then we see a big kaboom in one of them caesar's legion camps lmao god i love this man

• discussed this with some mutuals but they think because of how cooper rescued lucy [because he needs her for leverage and bargaining later] and disrupted caesar's legion's whole thing and fucking both camps up that he'll do this again but with mr. house and hank but saving lucy will be genuine that time [😭] • i also said that since this was in between flashbacks related to cooper's military and veteran time, that this showcased cooper's military strategist and tactician side [also was told a great quote here “cooper intellectualising his growing fondness for lucy through his militarism and pragmatism”] • cooper escalating a civil war to save lucy. maximus starting a civil war to save children. the ghoulvaultknight of it all • if you know anything about the games, you knew caesar being very d ead was exactly what was going to happen. the civil war, though, was a welcome surprise lol • feel like this was one of the first times showing cooper being unsure to lucy about his actions. because he's suddenly getting back in the saddle of his old self again. because he's revisiting his moral stances. because he's starting to grow fond. • “want to know who i was before the war? stupid.” versus “i don't know, maybe somethin' good. or maybe somethin' stupid” • cooper associating doing something good or right with stupidity and turning away from that behaviour only to do something good where it concerned lucy. the comparison of lucy thinking she's doing the right thing with the wounded woman and it leading her to almost be crucified paralleled with cooper going to save lucy from caesar's legion only to perhaps escalate a civil war by setting off some dynamite, whew • the biggest parallel is lucy saving cooper at the super duper mart while he was on the ground, near de ath, in a state of delirium to cooper saving lucy at the caesar's legion camp while she was on the ground, near d eath, in a state of delirium. talk about equal footing • we almost got the bridal carry i almost had a vision of ☝️ • the way lucy was looking up at cooper as he's trying to save her and the sun is shining behind him. bye! • apparently a version of the “feo fuerte y formal” theme plays in this scene between cooper and lucy • last episode i talked about how lucy left the vault, lost her stuff, gained new stuff only to lose it again and then it seems cooper was able to get her stuff for her again 🥹 • wondering if lucy will tell cooper she was hallucinating seeing him, and tell cooper she thought she was hallucinating him rescuing her, i need that conversation and bad • cooper “don't like her” but escalated a civil war over lucy like yeah ok ldgldflgd • the parallel of cooper dragging lucy around last season where she's his captive and cooper dragging lucy around this season when trying to save her • the vault suit getting dirtier and dirtier as episodes go on • hi. did you know that all cooper had to do was save lucy and just go? he didn't need to blow up the splintered legion like that. it's not obvious he told the caesar[s] the actual location of the ncr holdout location. he probably didn't even need to mention the ncr to do this idk. sure the legion will connect some dots and they'll come up again later, maybe. all i got to say is. he's doing some crazy stuff for lucy, i fear. • cooper lecturing lucy on how pre war, that he was stupid only to turn around the next episode and tell her he thinks he did something stupid, i'm sickkk---

• as with any character that's in this show, i had in the back of my head that perhaps harkness' time was not to last. • like, he's funny and charismatic but he was a strong armer. so funny he was saying that maximus was going to make the right choice. and he did. just not how harkness was thinking. • harkness and maximus go deeper in the building and all the children are trying to hide from the commotion but one is spotted. harkness tells them to get to their feet. it's perry, the ghoulified boy. and he's scared. maximus immediately says “oh no. no.” • harkness opens his visor. “aw, it’s just a baby abomination! hey, buddy. where are your friends? where there’s one, there’s always another. alright, i know there’s more of you here, so you better come on out. don’t worry. we’re not going to hurt you.” this bastard lies through his teeth as more children emerge. harkness remarks “jackpot” like he's won some sort of human slaughter lottery. • maximus, remembering that these are children goes “it’s okay, it’s okay. you’re okay.” and then harkness... he says “i’m gonna split you up into two groups, okay? if you have smooth skin, walk over to this side of the table. wrinkles, stay right here in front of me, okay?” [ok wait, i am just realizing how many kids split off, some of the kids that stayed with the clearly ghoulified kids didn't even look ghoulified like holy shit some of them could just have skin conditions acne, scabies, boils, anything. literally half of the kids have atypical skin, so many levels of eugenics, holy shit] maximus knows how this goes. “hey, wait. xander? xander.” but harkness cannot be reasoned with. “alright, smooth skins, close your eyes.” maximus begins to beg harkness to stop. then thaddeus crawls out. •”hi! hello! oh, if i may. i’m the manager here, and, uh, i just ask you… please don’t do what you’re about to do. i know i don’t have a lot of leverage here or anything, but, you know, they’re just… they’re just kids. so, who cares, right?” thaddeus says as he stands in front of the different skinned kids with his hands up. “they’re not kids. they’re abominations. and so are you.” harkness says as if it's definite, closing his visor preparing to once again slaughter these people. maximus one again tries to reason with harkness “but they are kids. xander. xander, come on, man, we don’t…” thaddeus goes “no.” maximus shouts “please, xander, please stop!” harkness one again definitively “the codex is clear on this. and without the rules, where are we?” “fuck the codex, xander! listen to me!!” “no. no, no, no. no, no, no!” thaddeus says doing all he can in front of these kids. “hot dog!” harkness let's out as he's about to pull the trigger. “stop, xander!! “no, no, no, no, no, no, no!” “wait!” “no! no!”

• the super sledge smashes into that fuckass xander harkness man's head and he falls d ead in the armour to the mothafuckin' ground. [everybody cheered] • maximus visor opens. with another instance of mirroring from season one, maximus reveals himself to thaddeus once again. “hey, man” “hey.” “uh… what you been up to?” “i think i just started a war.” • the fact that maximus was saying to just kill harkness and elder cleric quintus was like? “see the dimness of the sword” and honestly, i was pretty much agreeing with how not good of an idea that was. and then harkness singled maximus out to go hang out so he could influence him only to be k illed and showcasing just how fucked up the brotherhood of steel truly is • like i was going through a range of emotions watching harkness do some real world parallel dehumanization. it's sad but at least maximus knows the difference between feral ghouls who could hurt and aren't themselves anymore and literal children who aren't hurting anyone? like there was nothing in self defense or honour or glory about this. but the biggest thing about this scene was how thaddeus acted • thaddeus has escaped the brotherhood of steel and thinks he's a ghoul now and is shown to be managing a group of child labourers but i'm actually so shocked and moved how he stepped right in front of a g un and was going to essentially sacrifice himself [if he could d ie, that is] to at least protect some of these children. maximus and thaddeus could not believe the lengths this harkness man was going to go to. maximus is making the best of a bad situation but he's such a hero sometimes forreal. a knight in shining armour.

• harkness trusting maximus not to k ill him was so fascinating. he clearly wasn't banking on maximus and thaddeus knowing each other. but now elder cleric quintus is going to think maximus k illed this man in defiance of him or something and i cannot see how maximus is going to be able to stay in the brotherhood of steel for long. • harkness not standing down, not letting these kids go or escape and just delving into his darkest desires. shit, let the brotherhood of steel chapters k ill each other if this is how they choose to behave. there's only a few pro ghoul factions tbh in fallout to begin with so there's actually only a few i even agree with and for sure! the brotherhood of steel could always burn in hell in my eyes just like caesar's legion, let them hos fight, then. maximus mashed that man's head in and i absolutely could feel the hammer was going to be used on him, damn i caught that fast when harkness brought it out, i just knew it • maximus has such a firm moral compass that no amount of brotherhood of steel indoctrination can allow him to facilitate the harm of innocents. isn't it crazy he's involved in another brotherhood of steel person passing on his watch? [they both deserved it lmao so] • not going to look at “hotdog” the same way again 😭