What did the first episode of Fallout season 2 reveal about Vault 24? Explained

Fallout season 2 gets right into action with its first episode as the show returns to Amazon Prime Video on December 16. The last time viewers saw Lucy in the season 1 premiere, her situation looked dire after learning just how evil her father, Hank, really was. 

Season 2 establishes Lucy and The Ghoul's surprising alliance as they make their way to New Vegas to look for Hank. Their journey brings them to the Starlight Drive-In and eventually to Vault 24. Titled The Innovator, Fallout season 2 episode 1 reveals what's inside Vault 24 - another sick experiment involving a mechanism for brainwashing.

Vault 24 doesn't physically appear as an accessible location in Fallout: New Vegas or any of the Fallout video games. But there is a Vault 24 jumpsuit that teases its existence. 

What is inside Vault 24 in Fallout season 2 episode 1?

Lucy and The Ghoul come across Starlight Drive-In Theater during their journey to find Hank in the Fallout season 2 premiere. They follow the trail of dead bodies Hank had left in his wake to the theater, which secretly houses Vault 24.

The vault is hidden behind a large projector screen and they find that it has been broken into upon further inspection. They decide to head inside after learning that Hank passed through it and what they discover inside is yet another harrowing experiment and a message from Hank. 

Exploring Vault 24 from Lucy and The Ghoul's perspectives reveals that whatever happened inside the vault, it wasn't good. There are numerous corpses inside - long-decayed skeletons wearing communist outfits. They also find Russian propaganda playing.

In the Fallout universe, each Vault usually houses some sort of messed-up experiment. In Vault 24, it looked like they used it for brainwashing. The corpses are actually Americans who were being brainwashed into becoming communists. 

One of the skeletons inside Vault 24 is wearing a little mind-control device on the back of the neck, the same one Robert House was using in the opening scene of Fallout season 2 premiere. It turns out that the vault has been used to test House's mind control devices. 

Why was Hank inside Vault 24 in Fallout season 2 episode 1? What did he leave Lucy?

Hank went inside Vault 24 in the season 2 premiere to retrieve the test from the brainwashing devices. Specifically, he was there to get the little square chip that House was seen implanting in the back of one of the brainwashing victims' necks. 

Further exploring the vault brings Lucy and The Ghoul to what Hank had left behind for them - a living person, but not for long. A Great Khan is wearing the same mind control device the mysterious stranger was wearing at the beginning of the episode.

He delivers a message from Hank to Lucy: "I fix everything. Go home, Sugar Bomb." But before anyone can react, the man's head explodes, splattering Lucy with gore. This gory moment hardens Lucy's resolve and makes her even more determined to find her father so he can be stopped before he can kill any more people. 

Meanwhile, Hank reaches the Vault-Tech facility in the final scenes of Fallout season 2 episode 1. He gets in contact with Robert House and discusses ways to improve his mind-control device, which establishes the two dangerous men working together. 

Watch the first episode of Fallout season 2 on Amazon Prime Video. New episodes arrive weekly on Wednesdays.