Fallout season three heads to a state never featured in the game series
Fallout's first season unfolded in California, just like the franchise's original game. Season two moved the action to Nevada, following the geography of Fallout: New Vegas. It seemed logical that the third season would choose another familiar game location – perhaps Washington from Fallout 3 or Boston from Fallout 4.
Spoiler warning!
However, the season two finale points in a completely different direction. Some characters will apparently remain in New Vegas, but one of the main heroes is heading somewhere no main series game has ever taken place. At least not in the core series.
Two centuries of searching end with a new mystery
In the closing minutes of episode eight, the Ghoul finally reaches the goal of his decades-long search – but the end proves to be just the beginning of a new journey. The hero's missing family isn't in their designated cryo-pods in New Vegas, a devastating blow after two hundred years of searching.
There's good news though – the Ghoul now knows they're alive. His wife Barbara left a clue about her whereabouts: a postcard from Colorado lies in her cryo-pod. The season concludes (not counting the intriguing post-credits scene with another hint about season three) with the Ghoul heading to that state in search of his family.
The unmade Fallout 3 and Colorado lore
Colorado has never been a location in the game series, though the location was explored as a potential setting. The state was meant to be one of the locations in Van Buren – the codename for the original version of Fallout 3, developed by Black Isle Studios, creators of the franchise's first two games. The project was cancelled in 2003 due to publisher Interplay's financial troubles.
Van Buren was supposed to cover Colorado territory along with Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. In franchise lore, the state, like most of the USA, was devastated during the Great War. After the catastrophe, various factions formed there, including Caesar's Legion led by Edward Sallow, who adopted the name Caesar. Players encounter this character in Fallout: New Vegas, and his remains can be seen in the show's second season.
Caesar's Legion conquered and assimilated other groups in Colorado, including the Hangdogs – a faction of skilled dog trainers based in the ruins of Denver. A former member of this organization can even be encountered in Fallout: New Vegas.
A vault without experiments and a presidential bunker
Colorado also serves as home to Vault 0 in Cheyenne, familiar to Fallout Tactics veterans. This rare vault didn't subject residents to experiments – it was designed for cryogenic storage of pre-war era's brightest minds, whose brains were connected to a computer called the Calculator. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, the vault wasn't fully functional, and most inhabitants suffered serious brain damage, leading to the Calculator's instability and danger.
The Fallout series already mentioned Colorado, albeit indirectly. In season one, viewers see an Enclave outpost where Siggi Wilzig steals a cold fusion module, but the specific location isn't stated. Apparently, this is the same outpost that appears at the end of season two's finale.
Even before season one premiered, Colorado was mentioned in a special video titled "A Special LIVE Report from Galaxy News" – fake Vault-Tec advertising. During a moment of "technical difficulties," the announcer states:
Life in a Vault-Tec vault is a dream come true! And the only path to safety, unless you're the President of the United States or someone like that who has a mountain in Colorado to hide under and run things in the world.
According to this video, the president is beneath Colorado in a bunker. And viewers just met this very president in season two. That's unlikely to be the last encounter with him – and it's quite possible Cooper will cross paths with the head of state again during his journey through Colorado.
