The Fallout show has been an extremely faithful adaptation of the video games so far, but there’s one major element the series left out, and if season 2 doesn’t include it, a longtime franchise tradition would be broken. The Fallout show included several video game references and Easter eggs, and it demonstrated a remarkable attention to detail in keeping with the franchise’s previous installments. Those references were absolutely everywhere in the show, from the Fallout show’s weapons to consumables and medicines taken from the Fallout games.
The Fallout show also changed several parts of the games, though, and there were major elements it omitted entirely. One of those elements has been a major part of the franchise for more than 25 years. Even though the show left out this element, there’s still a chance it could be included in Fallout season 2. Not much is known about the new season as yet, but there are already numerous theories about what could happen in Fallout season 2. No matter what unexpected direction Fallout season 2 takes, it should include a cameo from one of the franchise’s most mysterious characters.
The Mysterious Stranger is, as his name implies, quite a mysterious entity in the Fallout franchise. He sometimes appears to the player during combat, takes out a single enemy, and then disappears just as quickly and silently. He first appeared in the original Fallout and has been part of every main game since. The Mysterious Stranger has a lot of lore in the Fallout franchise, and he’s become a focus of discussion and admiration both due to his role as a savior and because of how enigmatic his backstory is. Despite how popular the Mysterious Stranger is, though, he was noticeably absent from the Fallout show.
Since he’s been such a staple of the Fallout franchise, the Mysterious Stranger should make an appearance in Fallout season 2. He could create an even more overt through line connecting the games and the show, and it would also continue one of the franchise’s longest-running traditions. The Mysterious Stranger is also an important part of Fallout‘s wasteland, as he’s a main facet of the world’s more mystical elements. The Mysterious Stranger could add a lot to the show, and it would also be very easy to put him into it.
In the Fallout games, the Mysterious Stranger always appears to help the player’s character in combat. In the Fallout show, one character fills the role of the player most closely: Lucy MacLean. This fact provides the perfect way for the Mysterious Stranger to appear in Fallout season 2, which is by helping Lucy in combat. He could simply appear, take out an enemy or two, and disappear, just as he functions in the games. This would likely be the best way to include him in the show, as any
The Mysterious Stranger is overpowered compared to other fighters in the Fallout franchise, but that doesn’t mean he has to detract from Fallout season 2’s stakes or suspense. In the later games, the Mysterious Stranger has a flat chance of appearing any time the player uses V.A.T.S, the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. While he is helpful, he doesn’t necessarily save the day, which could be the key to his cameo working in the show. The Mysterious Stranger wouldn’t detract from the show’s sense of danger as he doesn’t need to magically save Lucy, which makes his appearance in Fallout season 2 even more likely.
The Mysterious Stranger also lends himself to a cameo just by the nature of his character. Since he’s so shrouded in mystery, he doesn’t have a set appearance, name, or identity beyond his role in gameplay and his outfit, and he doesn’t even speak. Almost any actor could play the Mysterious Stranger, he wouldn’t have a large role, and he doesn’t even need to be prominently featured; he could just appear in a few seconds of footage. The Mysterious Stranger would be the easiest possible character to incorporate into Fallout season 2, so there’s essentially no reason not to include him.
While including the Mysterious Stranger would be a fitting way to tie the Fallout show together with the games, his appearance would also cause a problem. Viewers of the show who aren’t familiar with the games would likely be both surprised and confused if an unidentified man in a trench coat and fedora materialized out of thin air to help Lucy and disappeared again after. It would feel out of place and entirely too convenient, which might cause the creators of the show to want to include some sort of explanation about the Mysterious Stranger’s identity.
Revealing something about the Mysterious Stranger would be a mistake for the Fallout show, though. A main draw of his character is his mystique and the lack of explanation of his various appearances across the country over hundreds of years. It’s a hot topic of debate: some people believe the Mysterious Stranger is a title handed down by generations, while others believe it’s not a man but a physical embodiment of some concept, like death or luck. Revealing his identity would go beyond a simple retcon: it would eliminate most of the fun of his character.
It would also directly contradict every other iteration of the Mysterious Stranger. He’s not supposed to be a fully fleshed out character with a name and a backstory, he’s just supposed to be this figure who appears, kills someone, and vanishes. The Mysterious Stranger is supposed to be an odd and somewhat out of place addition to a firefight, and the Fallout show should portray him in that way. Giving him the same mystical aura would even work within Fallout‘s lore, as there are several characters, like Nick Valentine, who know of the Mysterious Stranger and comment on how he behaves that way.
While the Fallout show shouldn’t reveal his identity, that doesn’t mean it can’t explore the Mysterious Stranger’s character. By giving him a cameo, the show would also create an opportunity for its characters to comment on him and the somewhat terrifying idea that a man can seemingly teleport into battle at any given moment. That could lead into some funny jokes, and it could also give greater insight into the effects the Mysterious Stranger has had on the wasteland, other than the countless people he’s killed. There’s huge potential in a cameo from the Mysterious Stranger, which only improves his odds of appearing in Fallout season 2.