FALLOUT ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐| The Four ♐Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Sagittarius THEMES: Freedom, Knowledge, Truth, Adventure, Luck, Ethics. The Ghoul (Cooper Howard). Lucy, Maximus, and Norm all built on the Sagittarius Archetype in one way or another . . .
FALLOUT on Amazon Prime | A 5-STAR ADAPTATION
FALLOUT is one of the best shows on television right now, and I think a big part of the reason is how closely it holds to ancient archetypes we all recognize while also being something entirely new and creative. I’ll get to the Sagittarius archetype when I talk about the characters, but first, a review and an encouragement to watch it if you haven’t!
Contains SPOILERS for season one — I haven’t yet seen season two. I think this article will make a LOT more sense if you have already seen the show.
NOTE: You can access a table of contents on a desktop by hovering over and then clicking the stack of lines in the left margin of the screen.
The Story
Tim Cain designed the Fallout game. Based on his name and where he lives, he might be my cousin. I hope so. He created the foundation for everything Fallout. Some say it’s the best RPG (Role-Playing Game) ever made. The whole concept is deeply creative.
Whatever else Fallout is, it is also a critique of militarism, war, and factionalism. That is what Cain says. The loss of truth, choice, transparency, and freedom is the result of that. As it happens, those are Sagittarius themes, too.
A few people make all the decisions for everyone else, and The People did not choose the deciders.
Cain says Fallout is not about the brutal, uncaring dominance of corporate capitalist culture. Sure, Timmy. Whatever you say, cousin. It seems fitting that the American creator doesn’t see that part somehow; it’s so built in that it becomes invisible.
But not to Nolan.
Producer, writer, and director Jonathan Nolan played the game—as did the showrunners. The showrunners Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, have mentioned Nolan’s “specific,” “laser-focused” vision in interviews.
Jonathan Nolan is one of our best screenwriters in English. The fact that he is British and American and has lived in both places helps him both observe from a bit of a distance and know American culture intimately.
It’s a story for the whole world, and American influence on the whole world cannot be overstated. As an American, I feel called out by this show (and by Ella Purnell’s pitch-perfect accent).
Whatever Tim Cain intended, Fallout is absolutely about end-stage capitalism, and it’s not pretty.
The Acting
Thanks to all involved and the Casting Director, John Papsidera.
And my Emmys go to . . .
Walton Goggins as Cooper Howard/ and The Ghoul
Ella Purnell as Lucy MacLean
Aaron Moten as Maximus
Moises Arias as Norman MacLean
Kyle MacLachlin as Hank MacLean (Dark Dale Cooper, for Twin Peaks fans)
Xelia Mendes-Jones as Dane (You can also catch this actor tearing up the screen in The Wheel of Time)
Leslie Uggams as Betty Pearson
Also brilliant performances by Dave Register, Frances Turner, Jon Daly, Reg Luzzi, Annabel O’Hagan, and Dale Dickey.
Hey, thanks for casting Erik Estrada and Fred Armisen, too. That was great.
The Show Design is Awe-Inspiring
Costumes and Makeup
The costumes are pretty. They were designed by Amy Westcott, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Black Swan (2011).
What I love about her work is that she does not need to steal the spotlight; her costumes serve the story perfectly. Sounds weird, but she made the apocalypse watchable!
Jake Gerber (Walking Dead) and Vincent Van Dyke designed the makeup, while Mike Harvey leads the team. I am glad The Ghoul is not gruesome, since we have to look at him for so long.
SOME PHOTOS
Get a look at what actors Dale Dickey, Michael Emerson, and Ella Purnell are wearing. I’m going to cosplay Dale Dickey!
Get a look at the Ghoul makeup on Walton Goggins.
Check out Aaron Moten and The Brotherhood
Corporate Overseer Amazon has not yet approved my use of these photos (Ha!).
Sets
A lot has been said about the set design. The 50s and 60s aesthetic in Bethesda’s game design carried over into this particular story, and the American propaganda posters and household props in the background are cohesive across factions and brilliant in every frame.
You can rewatch the whole show just to look for Easter eggs. Thank you, Production Designer Howard Cummings and his team.
Cinematography
Jonathan Nolan’s vision, channeled through Cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh and his team, was shot on film, with the Wasteland scenes shot on location in America and Namibia.
The Wasteland camera work was inspired by spaghetti western tropes in general and from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly specifically. The extreme long shots and closeups not only fit the period, but also remind us that it is a western in style—which again brings us back to the Sagittarius archetype.
Sound
Add the brilliant music by Ramin Djawadi and sound design by Susan Cahill and Daniel Colman. The flavor of the game's sound effects, the dry humor of the integrated songs, and the careful integration of character theme music are exceptionally well constructed and set the overall tone.
The editing of the music is subtle when needed, which I appreciate. Djawadi worked with director Jonathan Nolan and sound supervisor Susan Cahill on Westworld.
I have linked to some detailed articles about these designers above. Why reinvent the wheel? I hope you can read those too.
Prediction: Fallout will continue to sweep design awards.
What’s the Apocalypse Downside?
“I just threw acid in an innocent man’s face, and I’ve only been up here two weeks. The wasteland sucks.” -Lucy MacLean
TRIGGER AND BOUNCE WARNINGS
This show is almost cartoonishly gross, once or twice an episode. The violence can hit viscerally, so be warned.
Hopefully, the slow motion and brilliant song choices and music composition will help you distance yourself enough to tolerate it. Please don’t give up and bounce; it’s worth staying.
The violence is not gratuitous in this context. The writers want us to see the world as brutal. Brutality is the point. The fear of brutality is the point. Characters becoming hardened by the brutality and getting more and more cynical is the point.
ALSO, I hate zombies. I just do. So, usually, I’d bounce after I realized there were ghouls, but I didn’t, and I am glad I stayed. They handled all that with some serious expertise.
SPOILER: The Dog is still alive — so far — so don’t bounce. He gets healed.
Okey Dokey. Go watch, but please subscribe first.
Now for the ♐SAGITTARIUS THEMES & CHARACTERS
The main characters all have Sagittarius values, so the themes of the archetype of Sagittarius are at the core of the plot of Fallout. That is what I mean by genius structure.
The truth is, the writers didn’t have to know astrology consciously. It helps, but it isn’t crucial. Those ancient storytelling tropes and archetypes are ingrained in us.
I was watching someone who reacted to Fallout on YouTube (early in season 1, episode two) say that The Ghoul needed a horse or a dog, because, of course, he does. We all recognize Sagittarius characters, whether we call them that or not, and a Sagittarius needs an animal sidekick.
This is an American story at the core. America has always prided itself on valuing freedom above all else, and the Wild West (called the Wasteland in Fallout) is, of course, a problematic symbol of that freedom.
COOPER HOWARD (THE GHOUL): The Cowboy
“Us cowpokes, we take it as it comes.” -Cooper Howard, Fallout, Amazon Prime
The brilliant Walton Goggins says his character is a Scorpio. Sorry, Mr. Goggins, that is not a Scorpio motto. This character may have a Scorpio moon, but the sun sign is Sagittarius.
Our exposition on the big picture and timeline for Fallout is delivered through the character arcs of White Hat, Cowboy Cooper Howard, and Black Hat, Cowboy Ghoul. Yes, it’s the same guy. He is the first on screen and at the core of the story. His story ties the Before the Bombs Dropped and After the Bombs Dropped timelines together.
His transformation as a character and his counterpoint to the idealistic Lucy makes the choice between ethics and cynicism central to all the character arcs.
Ethics falls under Sagittarius. Sagittarius villains aren’t evil because they want power, glory, or riches. They are evil because the opposite of an ethical life is a cynical one. Cooper Howard was ethical. The Ghoul is cynicism incarnate.
☀️⬆️♐The Ghoul’s: Sagittarius Sun and Rising
Embodied in the story of the transition from idealistic, freedom-loving. Hollywood Cowboy to cynical, freedom-loving Wasteland Cowboy is the freedom, anarchy, and brutality of the adventurer in the Wild West.
Freedom Fighter
Whenever you find characters who are former soldiers who say they fought for freedom, start thinking Sagittarius. If the character is a career soldier, they are more likely to be a Leo or an Aries.
The military is too bossy for a Sagittarius to stay in it for long. Also, the evils of militarization are part of Fallout's point as a game. Cooper Howard wouldn’t stay in the military without a greater purpose.
Seeker of Knowledge
From the beginning, we see Howard’s intense, one-pointed, and singular search for knowledge. He spies on his wife because the truth is more important to him than loyalty. The knowledge he gains is what changes him. Sagittarius rules the Search for Knowledge.
Truth-Teller
You may notice that even as The Ghoul, this character rarely, if ever, lies. If he doesn’t want to answer a question, he doesn’t. Most of the time, he tells the pointed and ugly truth.
Ethics
We have the wasteland, but we also have the equally challenging landscapes of right and wrong, ethics, and truth to navigate with our characters. That’s Sagittarius and great storytelling.
🌙♏Scorpio Moon
This character is also perceptive, skeptical, and curious. He can be gentle with animals and children, at least in his incarnation as Cooper Howard. He has been on the same fixed quest for 200 years. He is a bringer of death. This man has a Scorpio moon.
For a Scorpio, the main issue is not the principle of fairness, as it would be for a Libra. It’s about how Scorpio perceives you to be using your power. If he thinks you are lying to him or playing a game, well then, he is going to win that game by whatever means necessary.
The trouble with Scorpios is that they may trust their own perception too much (because they are usually right), and if that happens, then you'd better run away from them because they don’t take prisoners, and you won’t be able to convince them you are innocent.
If you are like me (and I know I am), you have some questions.
Will this cynical and brutal cowboy kill his wife in front of their daughter? Will he forgive the unforgivable? Who will his daughter be now? An overseer? Will he sacrifice himself for his daughter, or leave her in the dark about her mother?
Will he be killed by his surrogate daughter/mentee, Lucy, as a mercy killing or because she is protecting someone else? Will he save her and his own soul at the same time?
Will we see a silhouette of him riding off into the sunset on the last remaining loyal horse mutant with a dog at his side at the end?
In this double Sagittarius man, we have a totally free character, capable of anything. Who will he be at the end?
LUCY MacLean: The Reformer
“I may end up looking like you, but I’ll never be like you.” - Lucy MacLean
The next main character we meet is the innocent and idealistic Squeaky MacLean (See what I did there?).
American Girl Lucy (Ella Purnell) carries her main character, Mary Sue, Dudley DoRight energy, as a badge of honor.
⬆️♐Sagittarius Rising
The Rising Sign is the mask you wear and the strategies you use to negotiate the world. Lucy wasn’t particularly adventurous and didn’t want to leave home, so I did not give her a Sagittarius sun.
The Ghoul told her she would eventually become him, and that really got to her. Now her battle is to avoid the cynicism that Dark Sagittarius the Ghoul represents. She is stubborn, so I am going with a fixed sign. I chose Aquarius.
Lucy is a teacher who highly values education. She also values ethics and freedom of choice (by which I mean democracy). These are all Sagittarius values, and Lucy is out to teach the world to adhere to them.
Ella Purnell thinks Lucy is a Virgo. I originally pegged Lucy as having a Virgo moon, but changed my mind after rewatching season 1.
I was struck by the very Libran speech she gave to The Ghoul when they first met, and after I saw the Season 2 preview and her continued promotion of the Golden Rule and justice, I decided Libra was a better choice.
In fact, for me, it’s a toss-up if she has a Libra or the more stubborn, community-minded Aquarius sun. Let me know what you think.
At any rate, a Sagittarius Rising would put Virgo at the top of her chart, ruling the whole thing and letting the world see that aspect of her.
Maybe Mercury is in Virgo in conjunction with that midheaven? In honor of Ella Purnell’s instincts, I’ll agree. Why not? Maybe season 3 will change my mind about that sun sign. Perhaps Ella will subscribe and tell us the reasons.
More about Lucy in the February Aquarius newsletter as Fallout season two comes to a close.
RELATED POST: HOW to Write Astrology Archetypes: Sun Signs, Moon Signs, and Rising Signs
MAXIMUS: The Knight in Shining Armor
“It is a knight’s duty to better this fallen world.” -Maximus, Fallout
Right now, Maximus is Don Quixote, the earnest and delusional knight created by Cervantes. I think he wants to be the guy who is motivated by finding the truth or achieving freedom for all— and that may be his eventual path.
Sagittarius rules religions, and Max is a true believer. He can’t quite comprehend the hypocrisy and cynicism around him. He is a little too flexible, easy to manipulate, and sways in the direction of the last person he spoke with, and he can’t stop acting independently.
Right now, he mostly wants not feel like a powerless orphan. He fantasizes about fighting windmills in his cool armor. With his Taurus moon, and after a hard day of being someone’s hero, he wants to come home to a hot shower, free food, a comfortable chair, and sex with Lucy.
I am also giving Maximus a Capricorn Rising because the world sees him as an ambitious climber. We know he has Daddy issues and is looking for approval, and the way he navigates the Brotherhood is definitely Capricorn.
Capricorn is next month, so I’ll talk about Maximus more in-depth then.
NORM McClean: Deep Diver
“Maybe we could do to them what they would have done to us.”
-Norm MacLean, Fallout
People always forget about Norman MacLean, Lucy’s brother, played by the capable and fascinating actor Moises Arias. Arias has mastered the power of stillness. This actor portrays Norm as a quiet, determined person.
Norm is the Scorpio Detective trope in many ways. He wants to dig deeper. He can’t leave well enough alone.
Norm didn’t get his name on the screen as an introduction. His face isn’t on the poster. He is the underground hero, so to speak. (See what I did there?) This is my only quibble. In S1E8, when he was standing in Vault 31, realizing what was happening, that’s when we should have seen “NORM” fill the screen.
Chaos Agent?
Introverts are interesting when the camera closes in.
I’m thinking Norm is our chaos secret agent. Having a Sagittarius moon puts Norm in a classic Independent Study class. Yeah, he learned all about the computers so he could snoop around and get the big picture, not as the “job” the Vault leaders gave him.
That Sagittarius-Gemini Moon-Rising combination can be dangerous to the status quo! They know bullsh!t when they hear it and can dish some out themselves if the situation calls for it.
When Norm reveals his father’s backstory and storylines overlap, and Hank and Betty appear in the Cooper Howard storyline, you can hear the collective audience saying, “There’s Betty!”
Norm’s nemesis, Betty, is played by the great Leslie Uggams. I don’t think it’s going to be a small part. That doesn’t bode well for Norm. He is going to have to shake things up and get out of there.
I’m going to save the longer article about Norm until I get to the Scorpio Newsletter in November, 2026. Hopefully, that will be right before season three.
What do you think? Upgrade your subscription and join us for the chats. I have a question. Do you think Norm is named after the author of A River Runs Through It? If so, why? Seems too coincidental to me.
SEASON 2 of Fallout will be on Amazon Prime on December 17, 2025. Get a Fallout recap before diving into the next season.