They are a group to be feared and a force to be reckoned with.
Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for the Fallout Season 1 finale.
The Big Picture
-
Fallout
‘s Brotherhood of Steel began as an army, evolved into a cult-like force, and recruits outcasts. - Their mission is to collect pre-war technology to maintain dominance and prevent another apocalypse.
- Maximus’s arc in
Fallout
reveals the Brotherhood respects violence, rewards opportunism, and has a sinister side.
Prime Video’s Fallout is a show teeming with weird flesh-eating bounty hunters like The Ghoul (Walton Goggins), idealistic Vault-dwelling technocrats, and opportunistic murderous Wastelanders of all kinds. Perhaps, though, none are as mysterious as the quasi-religious paramilitary order known as the Brotherhood of Steel. Audiences are first introduced to the group through the character Maximus (Aaron Clifton Moten), after which we learn more about its ranks and functions. The Brotherhood’s distinct infantry suits, known as power armor, make them an imposing and formidable force in the Wasteland, giving them a distinct advantage in the world’s chaos through their ability to make war on whoever should oppose them. So, just who the heck are these guys, and what do they want?
Fallout
In a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear decimation, citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect themselves from radiation, mutants and bandits.
- Release Date
- April 11, 2024
- Cast
- Moises Arias , Johnny Pemberton , Walton Goggins , Kyle MacLachlan
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Graham Wagner , Geneva Robertson-Dworet
- Producer
- Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan
- Streaming Service(s)
- Prime Video
The Brotherhood of Steel Is a Paramilitary Organization in ‘Fallout’
After the fall of the United States government, a half-crazed, maniacal Army captain, Roger Maxson, appropriated his platoon and set out to impose order over the chaos of the world. Over the course of 200 years or so, the organization evolved from an extension of government power into a cult-like paramilitary organization, mimicking itself after the feudal armies of medieval England.
The Brotherhood of Steel recruits cast-offs and refugees, discarded people desperately needing help, and welcomes them into their ranks. Recruits are fed and given a purpose within the ranks, as well as a new name. They also compete within this militaristic atmosphere to become a Squire. Squires are bound to a Knight, a soldier who wears their own suit of power armor. If the Squire proves themselves brave enough, they may someday become a Knight. Recruits are grateful for the opportunity and feel lucky to have found a family and a sense of purpose in a world seemingly bereft of it. The madness of the Wasteland spells certain death for the weak, and there is indeed safety in numbers, which has led to many joining this ancient cause.
What Is the Brotherhood of Steel’s Mission in ‘Fallout’?
The Brotherhood of Steel is on a mission to collect pre-war technology to prevent any other faction from obtaining it, lest they use it to perpetrate yet another apocalypse. This quest has made the Brotherhood’s influence wide-ranging, with several chapters spanning the Wasteland, effectively allowing them to establish dominance over less organized factions. They are, in many ways, the remaining vestiges of the United States military-industrial complex, fashioned into a type of Christo-fascism that the Brotherhood believes affords them the moral right to rule.
The Brotherhood of Steel is not necessarily viewed as liberators; they are a group to be feared and a force to be reckoned with. They are the biggest guns in Fallout‘s world, and it is for this reason that people either join them or do their best to stay away from them. While their mission may be noble at its core, and their supplicants resolute in the belief that they alone should possess the means of mass destruction, the audience is compelled to meet this with a certain amount of skepticism.
Maximus Teaches Us Everything We Need to Know About the Brotherhood of Steel in ‘Fallout’
Early in the Fallout series, it’s revealed that the Brotherhood once rescued a survivor of the nuclear assault on Shady Sands — Maximus, as a child. As a result of his saving and upbringing within the Brotherhood, he holds a deep reverence for the organization, often illustrated by a flashback where he stumbled upon a Knight in power armor after emerging from a refrigerator in the wake of the devastating blast. He discloses to his priest that he joined the Brotherhood to hurt the people who hurt him, offering up one of the many reasons why anyone would join this cult-like organization. Maximus, like many, has found security in the rigid structures of military life. The audience even learns that the Brotherhood gave him his name and, in effect, created his identity in the organization’s image.
The audience learns of the Brotherhood of Steel’s mission when Maximus tells Lucy (Ella Purnell) about it. However, while Lucy and Maximus’s relationship may seem unlikely, it’s important to remember that they are two halves of the same American coin. The Brotherhood represents what used to be the might of the American military. By comparison, Lucy’s idealism describes the corporate optimism that embodies the spirit of American capitalism. Both factions, the Brotherhood and the Vault Dwellers, see it as their duty to restore order to the world. But what is most interesting is that Maximus’ character’s arc teaches the audience what kind of values the Brotherhood has in practice.
Maximus languishes in the Brotherhood under the bootheels of toxically masculine recruits. He empties latrines and gets accused of things he didn’t do, and the realities of being part of the Brotherhood are far from his ideal. Maximus is told by his Knight Titus (Michael Rapaport) that one becomes a Knight through acts of bravery. However, as the wounded Titus threatens Maximus, it becomes clear that the Brotherhood is far more opportunistic than they have led outsiders to believe. Maximus allows Titus to die and takes his place, impersonating a Knight by wearing Titus’ power armor and, eventually, earning the respect of his fellow members for his perceived role in the death of Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury).
If anything can be learned from the conclusion of Fallout‘s first season, it’s that the Brotherhood of Steel respects and rewards violence, quick thinking, and the ability to take advantage of an opportunity. At their core, they are no different from every other faction; everybody wants to save the world, but can’t agree on how. Even though they all differ in terms of their methodologies, the Brotherhood stands as proof that even the most organized of groups can have a more sinister underbelly.
Fallout is streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.
This article was originally published on collider.com