Spoilers are ahead for Fallout season 1.
Set within the franchise’s canonical timeline, Fallout season 1 boasts plenty of references to other stories from the series. However, one of Fallout‘s best Easter eggs appears in Cooper Howard’s (Walton Goggins) backstory. A seemingly throwaway line, the brilliant nod actually references one of the sci-fi comedy flicks that helped inspire the original Fallout. The show’s main events unfold 219 years after the Great War’s bombs decimated the United States, but that doesn’t mean 2077’s Cooper Howard, a charming Hollywood actor-turned-spokesperson for Vault-Tec, is dead. In fact, the undying actor roams the Wasteland as The Ghoul.
After prolonged exposure to intense radiation, Cooper’s visage mutated, earning him the moniker of The Ghoul. While other surface-dwelling people have undergone the phenomenon of ghoulification, very few have their wits about them, and many have turned feral. Judged by Fallout‘s cast of characters, The Ghoul reveals himself to be a thoughtful gunslinger with a very clear set of morals. He also remains curious about what happened to his wife, Vault-Tec executive Barb (Frances Turner), and their daughter, Janey (Teagan Meredith), hinting that The Ghoul isn’t so different from the Western heroes he once played.
From its story to its shootouts, there’s no denying that the Fallout show borrows from classic Westerns. However, one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter egg in Fallout season 1 references an equally significant inspiration. Much of The Ghoul’s backstory centers on his time as a beloved Western star. Eventually persuaded by his wife to become the Vault-Tec spokesperson, Cooper is defined by his Hollywood charisma. Fallout even mentions a few of his biggest hits, including The Man from Deadhorse and A Man and His Dog, which saw Cooper sharing the screen with his own dog, Roosevelt.
The second movie title is a clear reference to A Boy and His Dog, a 1975 sci-fi comedy that inspired the original Fallout. Based on Harlan Ellison’s novella of the same name, A Boy and His Dog centers on teenager Vic (Don Johnson), a survivor who roams the post-apocalyptic US with his telepathic dog, Blood. Concerned with food and sex, Vic is an amoral character, though it’s easy to see how the film’s mutants and underground communities inspired the original Fallout‘s premise. The 1975 film and Mad Max are also the reason Dogmeat, Fallout‘s most iconic character, exists.
Before becoming a beloved Hollywood actor, Cooper Howard served in the US Marines. The fact comes up at length while he grills Barb about Vault-Tec’s dubious moral standing. Despite being the literal face of Vault-Tec’s bunkers, Cooper can’t wrap his head around some of the logistics — nor can he abide by the seemingly arbitrary nature of certain Vault-Rec decisions and regulations. Notably, Vault-Tec has banned dogs from its bunkers, which frustrates Cooper. Feeling cornered by Vault-Tec’s authoritarianism, Cooper wonders why he even went to war if he can’t share the future with Roosevelt.
When Barb defends Vault-Tec’s decision and tells her husband that the dog ban is rooted in logic, the couple’s relationship shows some pretty significant cracks. Cooper can’t wrap his head around Barb’s loyalties or why she would support a policy that effectively hands Roosevelt a death sentence. It isn’t the only time Cooper Howard’s love for canine companions has come to the forefront. After tracking a runaway Enclave scientist, Dr. Siggi Wilzig (Michael Emerson), The Ghoul fights Wilzig’s dog. Afterward, The Ghoul heals Fallout‘s dying dog with a Stimpak and the two become inseparable travel buddies.
The Ghoul might seem like an archetypal bad guy at first, but Fallout goes to great lengths to prove that looks can be deceiving — and that being quick to judge someone in the Wasteland isn’t a smart move. Cooper Howard’s tragic backstory also goes a long way in setting up a compelling character arc for The Ghoul. While he may not always make the right call, he has a strict moral code, and is driven by love for his family. A screenwriting trick suggests that the easiest way to make a character likable is to give them a cat.
A pet can lend humanity to even the most brutal of characters, making it difficult for viewers to write them off completely. While The Ghoul/Cooper Howard makes some poor choices in the past and commits some heinous acts of violence in the present, it’s hard to hate someone who takes the time to heal a dog from life-threatening injuries (even if he was the cause). The bond between Fallout‘s dog and The Ghoul not only pays off a brilliant A Boy and His Dog Easter egg, but adds a compelling dimension to Goggins’ character.