Maximus’ Gunslinging Season 2 Face-Off with Quintus Explained by Aaron Moten
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Fallout Season 2, Episode 4.<em>Fallout</em> Season 2 just had its most explosive episode yet with Episode 4, “The Demon in the Snow”. In it, we see Lucy (Ella Purnell) and the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) finally arrive at New Vegas, where they face off against both a horde of Elvis ghouls, a Deathclaw, and Lucy’s new addiction to Buffout. Meanwhile, Maximus (Aaron Moten) faces a moral dilemma when Xander (Kumail Nanjiani) threatens to kill Thaddeus (Johnny Pemberton) and any of the kids with him who are ghouls. After killing Xander to prevent the slaughter, Maximus makes the decision to kill Quintus (Michael Cristofer), a task that proves easier said than done before Maximus bolts from their Area 51 base with Thaddeus and the cold fusion in tow.
Collider spoke with Aaron Moten and co-showrunner Geneva Roberston-Dworet about Fallout Season 2 and this pivotal episode for Maximus. We break down Maximus’ mindset during that scene with Quintus, as well as the character’s growth throughout the two seasons and his reunion with Thaddeus. Robertson-Dworet also discusses the reaction to the show and toeing the line between originality and honoring the games.
Aaron Moten Discusses the New, Hardened Version of Maximus in ‘Fallout’ Season 2
“I think that we show so much of what is at his core in the first season.”
I’m gonna kick off with Aaron, because Episode 4 is a big episode for your character. Maximus goes through a lot, to say the least. We see a different side of him this season, I think he’s become more hardened and a little bit more mature. What is it like playing this character leading up to that point where he’s like, “I’m gonna try and kill Quintus?”
AARON MOTEN: Yeah, it was a great challenge this year, especially leading up to that moment. If you ask me, I think that we show so much of what is at his core in the first season, at least in certain moments. I think we truly see Maximus at some point, I will say, in the first season, I believe that little moment is Maximus. There’s this beautiful thing that I think Graham [Wagner] and Geneva [Robertson-Dworet] have always done, which is, depending on who is in front of him, also depends on the type of Maximus that you get presented with. It’d be like if my mother walked into the room here, I might sit up a little straighter, something would change in me based on who is in the room.
It’s a hyper-realistic thing that I thought was embedded in the writing that they’ve done. And the greatest challenge in this was to know what is there and what exists for him, and continue masking slightly, and also knowing that this strength — this hardening — sometimes the best way to express it is this stoic, hardened sense. But, at other times, I think we all know that he’s terrified. He’s absolutely terrified. His choice, from our perspective viewing, to kill Quintus is a large one, and to get to that point has taken him a while because it really goes against what he believes and whether he’s even capable of it. It’s a really tough thing for him to do.
You mentioned there’s a scene in the first season, which scene is it that you’re referencing?
MOTEN: I think it’s in the interrogation with Quintus. I think there’s these very short, small moments. It’s not about the entire scene actually; it’s about these moments where something that is heroic is often in a lot of people we don’t really notice that we’re doing something heroic in a moment. But to truly open up and present yourself to someone is a really daring thing. Even with our wonderful storytelling, it takes the audience four or five episodes later to discover that he’s not lying in that moment. But it is a beautiful thing to go back and rewatch it and know that he was not only putting himself on the line but also sacrificing himself potentially for a close friend.
Geneva Robertson-Dworet on Johnny Pemberton’s Return to ‘Fallout’ Season 2
“I just love their friendship where it is now as characters and where they started as enemies in Season 1.”
I love that we get him and Thaddeus meeting up again because I loved when Thaddeus is in his suit and he’s not doing a very good job of acting like he’s not himself. With how that episode ends, are we gonna see them teaming up a lot more in the last half of that season?
GENEVA ROBERTSON-DWORET: I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Are these going to come out after the second half of the season?
I haven’t seen those episodes!
ROBERTSON-DWORET: Oh, okay! I think we all love Johnny Pemberton, and I feel like you and Johnny together are so irresistible to watch as a duo, and I just love their friendship where it is now as characters and where they started as enemies in Season 1. And I’m always excited to see where those two go next. And I’m excited for viewers to see also Thaddeus’ progression as a human if that is what he still is.
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Aaron Moten Talks About the Maximus and Lucy Connection in ‘Fallout’
“If Maximus didn’t meet Lucy, he would maybe not be alive.”
I’m curious since in Season 1 we got a lot of Maximus and Lucy travelling together and they got that kiss at the end of the season. Are we gonna see them reunite at any point in Season 2? Or is that not in the books?
MOTEN: We are always having a conversation even when these characters are not physically in front of each other. The storylines are having this dialogue. And it’s a really important relationship in that as an actor it’s important for me to always push something to the edge where I’m like if Maximus didn’t meet Lucy he would maybe not be alive. We have to imagine the world that this has set him off on this road this path. So there is more to the importance of what that relationship is for them.
‘Fallout’ Co-Showrunner Reveals the Reaction to Fans After Season 1
“Relieved actually is the word.”
And then just a final question I have about the show. Obviously after Season 1 there was a very big fan response. I have to ask about the Ghoul and Lucy and everybody’s reaction to that. Were you guys surprised by that response? And also what can you tell us about that if it affected Season 2?
ROBERTSON-DWORET: Well we were surprised and delighted. I mean relieved actually is the word I would say because this is a universe with such a fan base that cares so much and they should. This is an incredibly unique game series and we tried to do it justice but we were just very anxious going into it about like did we get enough details right? Did we make mistakes? Look it’s inevitable that a show with a million tiny details and hundreds of people working on it that a couple of mistakes are going to slip through but we really really try to be as faithful to the games as we can be.
When we are doing something new with an aspect of the game it’s extremely intentional and clear that it’s intentional like “Oh this is the thing you love from the game but it’s supposed to be the broken version, or it’s supposed to be the story of what happened to this particular faction 15 years later,” and like what happened after times change in this area what happened to this faction in this particular region. So we try to be really intentional about that stuff but yes it was a tremendous relief that Season 1 was embraced by fans and we’re looking forward to people seeing Season 2.
New Fallout Season 2 episodes premiere every Wednesday on Prime Video.
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