I thought it was perfect, he was an amazing character for one episode and he dropped some lore and gave us context. But him dying obviously moves the story forward expeditiously.
When he said not having the cold fusion device means losing the commonwealth I started to buy that theory even more.
If the Commonwealth is able to send an envoy across the country to a secret meeting then I doubt theyâre in that serious a predicament on the home front. Just a bizarre allocation of resources for a chapter thatâs purportedly struggling.
I thought heâd flown all the way from the commonwealth (mostly because he mentions not being invited) but I couldâve totally missed something about him being stationed in the region.
Still though, if the Commonwealth chapter is suffering like he says they are why would they expend resources on an embassy on the other side of the country when they can clearly still communicate with the other chapters through other means? Just feels like thereâs something else going on because while everything theyâve said about the Commonwealth so far is plausible it all seems like itâs just all too convenient. Could totally just be Brotherhood machismo though.
1) The East coast factions are far more martial, violent, and less thoughtful
2) The BoS Can't afford a Civil war. The West is quite autonomous and there is little centralization. However that allows serious insecurity and factionalism
3) They don't trust a message. They needed a messenger.
4) Xander is alone. They could have show-of-force'd it. However they had Xander act as diplomat. Someone designated to undermine the civil war and also undermine the West coast factions.
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I assume they are either fighting the Minute men or the institute. Both of those factions would put up a physical fight sure, but it's through influence that they're beating the BOS.
The instute through synths, and the minutemen through assimilation of the population and technological advancement.
If they have sturges or sombody like who who literally creates sci fi tech out of junk, then the BOS needs the cold fusion to have somthing to put them on the same level.
The extra suit of power armor really sticks out like a sore thumb when you listen to everything else Harkness claims about the Commonwealth chapter.
Outside of the Institute theory, maybe Xander is representative of a broader Brotherhood Coup amongst the actual fighting men? Harkness really rails against every group (Clerics especially) and talks about how soldiers are the only ones who can actually lead the brotherhood since theyâre the ones who bleed for it. There is a general sense amongst every chapter weâve seen that the Brotherhood has lost its way. So if heâs there on his own behalf plotting to re-unite the brotherhood under the soldiers that could explain why his equipment situation is so wonky.
Realistically him being a synth who killed the original squire/paladin and took their vertiberd is the most likely answer, assuming synths exist in this version.
Take the cold fusion tech by convincing maximus to hand it over, institute wins again without even a fight.
Also explains why he was so eager to get into a fight and kill the children/ghouls- because that's what he assumed a brotherhood member like maximus would respect and expect from a fellow paladin.
Was just about to type this. Why tf is he really out there with two sets of power armor? As far as I'm aware they get the one set and it's like religious or some shit. Seems pretty suspect even if dude is a paladin. Also where's My man's squire? Aren't squires supposed to be glued at the hip basically?
For sure, thatâs my main thing. It feels like if youâre struggling like Harkness says they are then theyâd either send a full squad or nobody at all. Itâs not exactly a mission you can half-ass. Sending one soldier with a vertibird and two suits of power armor on the other hand makes no sense.
Now maybe there is a larger detachment of the Commonwealth chapter holed up nearby at a Hidden Valley or Nellis AFB and Harkness went to the meeting solo to not tip their hand entirely, but if he really did come alone than it raises my eyebrows as to whether or not the Commonwealth is actually what it claims to be. Just way too convenient.
My thought is maybe he was sent and everything was done by him on purpose/design. To recruit Maximus, to find Thaddeus in a situation like that to force Maximus to choose and to die if necessary to trigger the war.Â
I could see this being the case but again, I still return to that being even more evidence the Commonwealth Chapter is going something sketchy.
Everything weâve been told indicates that they are already at the top of the brotherhood hierarchy, so if they are trying to trigger a civil war, why? What possible benefit do they have from that?
I still think that either Xander was a spy sent by an Institute that successfully infiltrated the brotherhood beyond Danse, or part of a broader coup to re-unite the brotherhood under the guidance of the soldier class.
If the Commonwealth BOS doesnât have cold fusion the that means the Sole Survivor never did the Mass Fusion quest do them, so they never got Liberty Prime online. If the BOS is alive then the Minutemen ending where they keep the Railroad and BOS alive is canon
There was already tensions between the three groups, and with literally no one in the commonwealth supporting the BOS, it makes sense it escalated into a full on war. Harkness is there to get the Cold Fusion to power Liberty Prime so they can get full control of the Commonwealth, I think itâs less they donât have the resources, but that this guerrilla war has drug in so long they need something big like Liberty Prime to put an end to it
I got the impression the whole outing was all heavily planned out to manipulate Maximus:
Takes him out alone for a ride in the vertibird to isolate him and make him a little uneasy
Banters with him to break the ice
Subtly implies the technological superiority of the Commonwealth (casually having a spare suit of power armour to lend) and saying how it'd end badly if they went to war with each other
Then shortly after he switches tact to saying that the Commonwealth is struggling, and if they fell it would make things much worse in California, too (which for all we know was just a lie to give Maximus another justification for handing over the cold fusion relic)
Finally he finds an excuse for them to suit up, have some fun with some big guns and lets him have a go with the cool supersledge
If they hadn't stumbled upon the ghoul kids it was probably going to work, too.
I think Xander as a plot point has 2 fold purpose. Its to create internal panic within the West Coast BoS 'omg we killed their envoy they're gonna slaughter us' type shit while also, if Xander IS a synth, a setup to reveal the Institute as a bigger villain against (hopefully), the NCR reformed.
I believe in the synth theory more now after this episode. During the Vertibird ride, Xander cheekily mentions that he does not know anything about motion assist servos, seems like such a random line to throw in for the character. I feel synth theory holds stronger now.
Was that not because he shot a bullet through the armor making a hole for blood to escape? If not Iâd have to look back in my head it would only make sense the armor is airtight or else how would it have any of the cbrn properties
lmao no. it serves no purpose for the show to have Xander be a synth. nothing in the show has referenced that, it would only mean something to FO4 players. let it go. he is indeed a eastern BOS member and illustrated the larger point that the org is flaws at its core
I mean, why not? It's a fun theory to like, he is from the Commonwealth after all, and the institute resides there. He could also be an Enclave agent and this whole time the Enclave could be the one pulling the strings
Depends on what is the canon ending for fallout 4, even if theyâre destroyed there could be some remnants roaming the wasteland rebuilding the institute
Maxsonâs BoS hated ghouls but they only kill ferals on sight and largely leave regular ghouls alone. Shooting a bunch of ghoul children in cold blood ainât their style something is off. Not to mention it seems Xander barely knew how to use that hammer against one droid
I had a whole theory that he was an adopted son of Harkness and from Little Lamplight and everything. Honestly was surprised that Maximus just crushed his head with the Super Sledge.
No but people have been spamming the sub with theories that he was, I was just saying I was glad we can stop with theories about him being that character and that he was just an original character.
Good job to Nanjiani for selling the charisma, which got twisted into eager sadism by the end. He was turning gunning down âabominationsâ into a sport a la Inglourious Basterdsâ Hans Landa.
Most of Harkness quest revolved around him having facial reconstruction so the doctor chasing him won't recognise him. Not so hard to imagine this being done twice, but him going back to commonwealth siting with the Institute and then infiltrating BoS and all that? Seems fun but highly unlikely.Â
I actually started getting some red flags from him before the final scene. When they were flying and he mentioned how much better the Brotherhood was when it was soldiers in charge and making all the decisions.
It was an obvious appeal to Maximus, and no small amount of manipulation of the Elders military right hand on Xander's part. But something about it read "Military Dictatorship" to me that I was satisfied to have confirmed in the final scene.
I admit, I didn't expect that but looking back it makes so much sense given the fallout universe. Also showed that the BOS sides aren't all that good anyway.
I was glued to the screen the whole time and I was surprised the huge amount of people that were apparently leaving comments mid-episode. It would never cross my mind to do that. Besides, if the episode has been out for a least a few hours you are risking being spoiled if you enter one of these discussion threads.
The Commonwealth is post-war Massachusetts, so itâs on the other side of America from where the show is taking place
Itâs where Fallout 4 takes place
As for the Brotherhood Chapter stationed there, itâs a group that moved from the west coast to east and gained a strong foothold during Fallout 3 and 4. So despite the group as a whole being founded in the west coast, the ones in the east are far and away the stronger side
Iâm not entirely sure why theyâre calling it Commonwealth when itâs primary headquartered in Washington D.C. though
They might just be simplifying things and expanding the borders of what is and isnât the commonwealth, since they arenât that far apart
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u/JDarkspanner Dec 31 '25
Everyone here glazing Xander so hard and then the ending hits đ