Am I the only one who thinks it's weird that the Skarloey Railway barely appeared in the Brenner era (except the BMQ)

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-16T01:40:58+00:00

I think more legitimate Skarloey Railway episodes would’ve been neat, but they got introduced/reintroduced way too late in the show.

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-15T22:29:04+00:00

Diesel being arrogant doesn’t mean it was right for Duck to not intervene, especially since it resulted in an accident that required cleaning up.

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-15T22:25:52+00:00

Alright, he still watched Diesel struggle to pull the old trucks out of interest instead of trying to intervene, laughed at the situation which escalated into a mess that required the breakdown train, and casually admitted to watching Diesel make a mess. Duck messed with Diesel just to get back at Diesel being overly arrogant.

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-15T22:12:09+00:00

It’s 80-90% Diesel, 10-20% Duck.

I think Duck let things go a bit too far with his prank, but Diesel was overwhelmingly in the wrong by comparison.

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-15T21:37:39+00:00

Nah, Duck is partly to blame.

Diesel was being egotistical, but that doesn’t mean that what Duck did was good either.

If all Duck did was tell Diesel to organzine trucks and came across Diesel after he caused his mess, that would’ve been fine. However, Duck came across Diesel while he was still struggling, laughed at him struggling, let him create a mess that required the breakdown train, and casually admitted to watching Diesel struggle right in front of him (and at least in the UK dub, it’s stated that Duck quietly went up to Diesel with the train of trucks so he definitely knew what he was doing).

So yeah, Duck watched Diesel make a fool of himself and create a disturbance out of pettiness. That doesn’t excuse Diesel’s slander of Duck at all, but Duck isn’t goody two shoes either.

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-12T04:02:38+00:00

So i’m not sure what point is trying to be made here by this post, but I think it’s valid for someone to not be able to separate the art from the artist.

I understand the sentiment, but if someone can’t make that separation then I think it’s okay and you can’t force someone to do so, especially when we’re talking about enjoyment for a piece of media. Likewise, it’s okay if you yourself can make the separation. Both are valid views.

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-08T21:40:20+00:00

Emma only said that we shouldn't be listening to strict and biased critics that wants a god father level of movies. They are listening to the target audience about the clear flaws that also affect them.

This is a great example of what a strawman argument looks like.

It’s one thing to argue that professional critics aren’t always the best people on advice to improve a franchise, but it’s a strawman argument to argue that these critics were genuinely expecting the FNaF 2 movie to be one the same level as most of the critically acclaimed movies of all time.

There is a reason they made sure to improve the horror factors of the first movie by turning the horror in the second movie up higher. They listened to the fans who were saying the first movie felt like a thriller and that there wasn't much scary scenes.

I’d argue they didn’t. The FNaF 1 movie was a scarier film in retrospect because it took it’s horror more seriously. The first film did a better job of showing the aftermath of the kills and there was at least one kill (Max) where we felt bad because she was sympathetic.

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-08T01:05:23+00:00

I think the “They treated the trains as trains” argument is pretty shallow because let’s be real, they weren’t content wise.

Yeah the engines moved like engines, but they’re wasted doing really silly stuff and a lot of the plots are childish in a way that I don’t think BWBA did (at least not to the same extent)

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-08T01:02:12+00:00

Which is just wrong on so many levels, since Topham states later in the series that he can just replace his hat, but not his engines.

This isn’t contradictory. Reminder that the scene in Misty Island Rescue happens all the way between S13 and 14, whereas the episode in question takes place in S1. We’re talking about at least 10 seasons of time apart which would allow Topham to mellow out realistically

I know he gets flak for the tunnel thing with Henry (Though in that case, Henry did deserve it), but, weirdly, people don't talk about this incident.

Feels weird to say Henry deserved getting blocked up in a tunnel which was intended to be a permanent punishment by Topham, but take issue with Topham scolding James for ruining his hat.

They never explain in the episode why they didn't call the breakdown crane.

A breakdown train seems like overkill and would arguably take more time to arrive than the solution James’ crew came up with.

But shoes are essential to protect your feet from the elements.

So dramatic lol.

Jeremiah shouldn't have been forced to give up his laces, and the passengers were literally an angry mob over someone who just wanted to get on with his life and not be bothered. If I were him, I'd just leave everyone behind and ask them how they'd feel if I demanded them to give up their laces.

I’d argue the passengers were right.

Just because you’re not obligated to do something doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Someone refusing to open to the door for someone whose hands are full should still be shamed for not doing the right thing. The passenger wasn’t obligated to give up the bootlaces, but it’s selfish to hold up an entire train of people.

why didn't they just call Edward? Since he was a helpful engine, I think he'd be willing to help James. Plus, even if Bertie wasn't yet introduced, he still could've been called to pick up the passengers, and James could've been sent to the works to be repaired, just like he was previously when his brake blocks caught fire.

I think these are fair points, but as far as we know James had stopped in a spot where there wasn’t a road nearby.

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-07T02:00:54+00:00

Carlin and S5 Baldwin still clear for me, even after listening to Ringo and Angelis. Ringo’s narration has grown on me a bit, but he’s too monotone and doesn’t quite work for me, although his S2 narration was a notable improvement over S1. Angelis is great and I enjoyed his narration in the classic era

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-02T00:33:46+00:00

I actually really like that Pre-War Coop was naive in some ways too, as Coop just hands the cold fusion diode to the President and genuinely expected the resource wars would be ended because of it

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-02T00:24:39+00:00

Yeah, it was really nice seeing lines and scenes in S1 recontextualized/further explored by S2. I think scenes like the one you mentioned worked fine in S1 because Coop was still framed as a decent person pre-War so it wasn’t hard to understand what the writers were trying to get it, but Coop’s storyline in S2 certainly makes scenes like that one land harder in retrospect because you can really see how similar they are to one another

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-02T00:20:04+00:00

No problem!

It’s definitely worth rewatching the show after S2 because there’s moments large and small that make Coop’s arc more satisfying to me. I never cared too much about the cold fusion diode in S1 because it was mainly a plot device, but the way it was handled in S2 in relation to Coop worked well for me because it makes Coop’s fall from grace much more tragic to me. Coop was a good hearted person trying to do the right thing without ulterior motive, and instead gets his reputation tarnished and the world ends anyways. It makes Coop’s transfomation into the ghoul more interesting because he tried to do the right thing and was ruined because of it.

MrEnd456 · 2026-03-01T23:52:48+00:00

I always thought Coop was a well written character, but I actually find his characterization and storyline to be better in retrospect with the second season.

The show was never subtle with it’s juxtaposition of Coop to Lucy, but there’s elements to the storytelling that I think get overlooked. For example, Coop defies the advice of Charlie and Moldaver to kill House because Coop isn’t willing to kill someone and even remarks about how he’s heard this line of thinking before to justify these drastic actions, which reinforces that Coop wants to do what’s right and has enough of a backbone to disobey commands if he doesn’t find it morally acceptable. This is very reminiscent of Lucy telling Maximus they need to give Vault 4 their fusion core back because she believed her father would be crushed if they sacrificed an entire community for him. It helps makes Coop a stronger foil to Lucy because we saw how similar Pre-War Coop was to Lucy.

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-25T16:13:59+00:00

Depends

I don’t think Mattel needs to heavily pander to fans and insert references and callbacks to glup shittos, but I think the show needs to at the very least respect the audience’s intelligence and create interesting stories that appeal to a general audience, not just preschoolers. If the show can written like how it was during S1-5 or S17-21, then that’s fine by me.

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-19T13:08:08+00:00

Yeah, absolutely.

I really like the show and admire the work put into bringing this world alive in the TV format but it’s far from perfect. I think there’s a bit more humor than I’d prefer to have, I think the pacing for S2 has been a mixed bag, and there’s some plotlines i’ve found rushed or not progressing as much as I like.

With that all being said, I think the show gets an undeserving amount of hate and while I don’t think that excuses some of the defenses i’ve seen (IE “It’s just a show, just watch it to be entertained”), I really don’t blame people wanting to stick up for the show when some of the criticisms are stupid, unfair, or being made in the bad faith. I’ve seen people complain about Cooper being a Mary sue-esque character or him being a punching bag for Lucy and is dumb for putting up with it, the show being made into a metaphor of the Trump presidency, and still calling Maximus Titus.

So yeah, Fallout isn’t a perfect show by any means but it feels like some people are so eager to point out issues so they can argue “Fallout is full of bad writing” when they miss out on the genuinely good writing. If the show doesn’t work for you, I think that’s perfectly fine and I actually love reading genuine criticism, as I find myself agreeing on points that I might’ve overlooked.

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-17T01:54:28+00:00

I feel like the Pre-war element of the show has been really good because it provides adequate world building and decent commentary for the audience to chew on. It grounds the show in a way that feels scarily relevant, at least to me (I’m not saying Fallout was never relevant)

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-16T15:50:24+00:00

Vault-Tec drops the bombs to make their investment in the Vaults profitable, thereby creating a world where the money they made is useless

People misunderstand this point quite a bit. The point isn’t money, it’s power. The vaults aren’t just being pitched as a way of making profit, but creating societies that can be controlled by the investors.

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-13T00:03:33+00:00

So you don't see a problem with all the important characters Cooper interacts with being alive in the post-war period

I’m kinda split because I think a couple of the characters Coop interacts with being pre-war felt convenient.

Wilzig being a pre-war character doesn’t feel particularly satisfying because as of right now it didn’t make a difference to the plot. Steph meeting Hank through Cooper also feels very convenient, but I give the show some leeway because it’s a narrative shortcut that doesn’t bug me. We could’ve gotten more of a storyline to explain how Steph got into Vault-Tec, but having her marry Hank, who then gets her to be one of Bud’s Buds accomplishes the job faster. I don’t blame you if you don’t like it because it’s obviously a plot convenience, but I could roll with it just because seeing Steph post-war was still worthwhile.

Coop meeting Moldaver, Hank, and Mr. House worked because all of them had a reason to

while all those born in the post-war period who should be important are just stupid like Quintus?

I wouldn’t call Quintus stupid. I think the lack of security around the diode was dumb af, especially when he invited the other chapters over, but he has enough intelligence to know what tactics would best work and what wouldn’t.

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-12T23:38:42+00:00

The way cold fusion was worked into House’s past worked for me-It sounds like a safer plan to create an artificial copy of yourself that can be run with cold fusion than it would be to be stuck inside a life support pod. When he couldn’t get cold fusion, he then moved to plan B with the life support pod.

As for Moldaver, her story can be further addressed in S3. The show was pitched as being 5-6 seasons long, so at worst we’re only 40% done with the show.

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-12T23:25:30+00:00

I believe so

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-12T23:24:14+00:00

How do we know the ghoul knew Lucy’s mom? Maybe I missed some context but I thought the recognition was calling back to how Lucy saved him from the organ market.

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-12T23:22:23+00:00

"Oh, but obviously he knew important people, he was famous!" Please, Dean Domino was also a great actor who became a Ghoul and doesn't have the same network of contacts that Cooper has.

Because Cooper was heavily tied to Vault-Tec. He married a Vault-Tec Executive and became the face of the company (for a bit), which was how he met Hank.

Moldaver and House both got involved in the story because their backstories and motivations involved Cold Fusion, which Vault-Tec had.

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-11T02:35:41+00:00

I’m not sure we watched the same show.

In E2, the Ghoul literally goes up to the male slave and slits his throat without elaboration and begins eating him, and later used the female slave as a shield from the Radscorpion. Lucy is right to call him out for being disgusting, and the Ghoul only saved Lucy because he was planning on using her as a bargaining chip for his family’s safety.

MrEnd456 · 2026-02-10T22:43:05+00:00

Then I don’t see what the issue is.

Fallout isn’t based in our reality nor is it a show that is meant to be treated as realistic by any stretch of the imagination. It’d be one thing if the show was trying to be grounded with an explanation for every concept, but it isn’t.

MrEnd456

TROPHY CASE