Fallout Season 2 Brings The Weirdest Part Of The Games To Live-Action

The following contains spoilers for "Fallout" season 2, episode 2.

"Fallout" is a very weird show, between its retrofuturistic aesthetic and darkly comedic tone. It's as gross as "The Boys" but in an even more tongue-in-cheek way, which makes it one of the most unique video game adaptations out there. "Fallout" is also a show that features terrifying (and practical!) mutant monsters, giant cockroaches, smart zombie cowboys, and more. The whole thing is quite absurd, yet as silly as "Fallout" gets at times, it's also a poignant indictment of capitalism. Season 1 even does what the "Fallout" video games never have and gives a clear explanation for what led to this fictional universe's nuclear apocalypse — namely, it was decided by a committee of billionaires.

Season 2, which has so far proven to be a stellar adaptation of the game "Fallout: New Vegas," delves even further into that same weirdness. On top of a post-apocalyptic version of Las Vegas and Roman legionnaires, it brings more strange little creatures into the mix, like the radscorpion. And yet, it's the season's second episode that introduces by far the most bizarre thing we've seen in the "Fallout" TV show to date ... an element that comes from the original games, no less.

During the episode in question, the Brotherhood of Steel finds a new headquarters in Area 51. While they inspect the facility, there is a blink-and-you-miss-it moment when we see a soldier grab a frozen alien body. That's right, aliens are real in the "Fallout" universe! But this is more than just a cool Easter egg or a nod to the Nevada cryptid lore. Instead, aliens have a long history within the "Fallout" franchise, especially the Zetans.

Ever since the first "Fallout" video game allowed players to encounter a crashed UFO with some weird-looking skeletons nearby, the franchise has toyed with the idea of beings from outer space existing on Earth. The games aren't really concerned with aliens, but with their '50s aesthetic and B-movie sci-fi tone, things like flying saucers and little green men don't exactly look out of place in this world, either. As a result, the property has established a lore for these other-worldly individuals over time, giving us the Zetans.

The most prominent alien race in the "Fallout" universe, the Zetans look like stereotypical '50s-era extra-terrestrials with bulbous heads and began interacting with humankind centuries before the nuclear apocalypse. In the "Fallout 3" DLC "Mothership Zeta," you even get to board an alien craft and examine the many artifacts they've collected, along with the assorted creatures they've abducted and experimented upon. Similarly, the mysterious organization known as the Enclave is said to have come into contact with the Zetans and been inspired by their technology to develop its own — especially all plasma weapons.

Given how much the "Fallout" TV adaptation is leaning into conspiracies in its pre-war timeline, it's certainly possible that the series will eventually show the old U.S. government dealing with aliens directly. At the very least, the "Fallout" TV series' meticulous attention to detail suggests there are plans to do more with the Zetans down the line. And even if there aren't and this is the only reference we get to extraterrestrial beings, it's still a clever nod to a pretty wild aspect of the original games — when you go from dealing with "Mad Max"-like raiders and mutant zombies to fighting aliens on a spaceship.

"Fallout" is streaming on Prime Video.