The explosive finale of Fallout Season 2 on Prime Video has fundamentally reshaped the power dynamics of the Wasteland. While looming threats like Caesar’s Legion and the Brotherhood of Steel continue to escalate, the series is pivoting back toward its most enigmatic antagonist: The Enclave. Though briefly introduced in the series premiere, this shadowy faction is positioned to dominate the narrative arc of Season 3.
While the television adaptation has played its cards close to the chest regarding The Enclave’s ultimate goals, enough clues exist to reconstruct their clandestine agenda. Let’s explore what we know about this deep-state organization and their machinations for the future of humanity.
Warning: The following contains significant spoilers for the Fallout Season 2 finale.
The Enclave operates as the invisible architect behind the Great War, exerting total control over Vault-Tec and the remnants of the U.S. government to trigger the nuclear apocalypse and secure their hegemony in the aftermath. When Barb Howard (Frances Turner) ominously cautioned her husband, Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins), that far more dangerous entities existed beyond Vault-Tec, she was referring to the Enclave.
In a tragic irony, Cooper’s attempt to save the world—stealing a cold fusion diode from Hank MacLean—actually facilitated the Enclave’s rise. As Robert House (Justin Theroux) reveals in the finale, Cooper inadvertently handed the keys to the kingdom to the U.S. President (Clancy Brown). “I warned you there were far more sinister players on the board, Mr. Howard,” House remarks during a chilling phone call moments before Cooper’s arrest by the House of Un-American Activities Committee.
Robert House, a man whose entire philosophy is built on predictive data, admits he was ultimately outmaneuvered. The Enclave didn’t just survive the bombs; they weaponized the apocalypse. Two centuries later, they remain the Wasteland’s ultimate puppeteers. “The Enclave has eyes everywhere,” House cautions. The final montage reinforces this, showing the faction intercepting communications from both the Vaults and the neon-lit ruins of New Vegas.
The faction’s influence extends into the Vaults themselves, which serve as petri dishes for cruel sociological and biological experiments. After Stephanie Harper (Annabel O’Hagan) consolidates power in Vault 32, she utilizes a high-level Pip-Boy to signal the Enclave to commence “Phase 2.” While the specifics remain hidden, evidence uncovered by Norm (Moisés Arias) suggests a horrific connection to the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV).
The FEV is a potent mutagen capable of transforming biological life into monstrous forms, such as the super mutants foreshadowed throughout the season. Because FEV reacts violently with radiation-damaged DNA, the untainted residents of Vaults 32 and 33 are the perfect test subjects. Phase 2 likely involves the mass-mutation of these “pure” humans into a disciplined, genetically-enhanced army designed to enforce Enclave dogma across the surface.
This is precisely the nightmare scenario House feared. He references “the demon in the snow”—a haunting memory from Cooper’s time in Alaska during the Sino-American War. The Enclave partnered with the government to engineer these apex predators, known as Deathclaws, as a biological alternative to human infantry. Their emergence in New Vegas signifies a terrifying shift in the regional balance of power.
As total war descends upon the Wasteland, the Enclave appears invincible, yet they are far from a unified front. Season 1’s Siggi Wilzig (Michael Emerson) proved that individual morality can still spark rebellion within the machine when he defected with a targeted test subject and the cold fusion technology.
“Is The Enclave going to be purely villainous or are there noble people in there too? Are they ever in the right? These are the questions that make Fallout so rich as you get deeper into the lore,” showrunner Geneva Robertson-Dworet explained to Polygon. “There’s always more twists and turns and complexity to be uncovered.”
Source: Polygon
