How Did Fallout Make Its Most Forgettable Main Character's Story the Most Intriguing?
Disconnected from the others, he’s often forgotten as one of the main characters of Fallout — and yet, it’s his story that kept us on the edges of our seats.
Despite the popular misconception, Prime Video ’s Fallout TV show followed not three but four main characters — but while the three most prominent of them shared their goals and crossed their paths on a regular basis, the last one was left alone. He’s often not even considered a main character at all, but his story proved to be the most intriguing and nerve-wracking in Season 1.
Norman’s Often Regarded as a Side Character
Norman MacLean, Lucy’s little brother, stayed in Vault 33 when his sister ventured out into the Wasteland to find their father. With that, his story as a minor character seemed pretty much concluded — except it wasn’t as he was not a minor character. Throughout Season 1, Norm had his own story and a hefty amount of screen time.
Surprisingly, many Fallout TV show fans often claim that there are three main characters in the series, overlooking Norm entirely. Most likely, it’s due to his being confined to the three Vaults exclusively… But at the same time, we found that Norm’s storyline, however secondary at first glance, was the most intriguing.
Three Vault Mystery Always Kept Us Guessing
While Lucy, Maximus, and Cooper’s hunt for Siggi’s head was entertaining, their Wasteland misadventures didn’t feel like they had much gravitas for the majority of Season 1. Sure, we later learned why the head and who’s in possession of it mattered so much in the finale, but until then? We were just along for the ride.
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But Norman’s investigation into the mystery of the three Vaults was intriguing from the start. OG Fallout fans knew something was off immediately, seeing how every Vault was running an experiment — and we’ve never seen interconnected Vaults like these in the games. The new fans realized something was amiss pretty soon, too, especially after Norm and Chet’s discoveries in Vault 32.
To be completely frank with you, we were mostly there to see what Norm can uncover about the purpose of the Three Vaults. Guessing about the experiment and its rules; adjusting our theories as more information became available; being scared for Norman as he ventured into the deep water… This was the real thrill of Season 1.
Norman MacLean largely kept our attention peeled to the screen and us on the edges of our seats. And yet, people keep forgetting he was one of the main characters. Come on, folks, take the man somewhat seriously!