Fallout Season 2 Episode 3 Introduces One Of The Franchise's Most Notorious Factions

This article contains spoilers for "Fallout" season 2, episode 3.

In hindsight, the Roman-themed Caesar's Legion was always going to be a part of this. With Robert House (Justin Theroux) being a major new player in "Fallout" season 2, his presence has always implied that various factions from the video game "Fallout: New Vegas" could make an appearance as well. That wasn't our only clue, either. The "Fallout" season 2 teaser trailer had already confirmed that the militant Legion would play a role in the proceedings.

The Legion and their helmet plumes march front and center in season 2, episode 3, as Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) finds herself in one of their work camps and quickly (and correctly) points out how ridiculous it is for a bunch of grown men to be, essentially, cosplaying as Roman soldiers in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. Unfortunately for her, the Legion might look silly, but they're far from pushovers. In "New Vegas," the faction is a powerful and dangerous conquering force that's infamous for enslaving people and using its Roman themes to reinforce the power of its dictatorial leader, the dangerous Edward "Caesar" Sallow (John Doman). 

With the show's events taking place 15 years after "New Vegas," much has changed for the Legion since it appeared in that game. As this episode reveals, Caesar is now dead, and his remaining troops have split into two groups, themselves locked in a stalemate over the question of leadership. This also puts the legion in a genuinely interesting position: While its members currently seem content to deal in thuggery and in-fighting, unifying these two camps may once again make them a force to be reckoned with.

Magnificently, much of the episode's Legion-centric storyline involves Lucy's sparring partner in these scenes, who also happens to be the show's most ingenious example of stunt casting: The Lacerta Legate, portrayed by none other than Macaulay Culkin. The "Home Alone" star plays the soft-spoken but ruthless Legion higher-up with a smug detachment that proves to be a great foil to Purnell's increasingly offended and exasperated character. Hopefully, we'll see more of this horrible, horrible guy. 

There's also a more serious side to the Legion's situation in "Fallout" season 2. The way the faction has split into two opposing camps with their own Caesars mirrors a very real situation from history — namely, the final years of the fourth century, when the real and hopelessly overblown Roman Empire split into the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. It's a surprisingly deep cut for a show as joyfully ridiculous and unconcerned with actual historical events as "Fallout." But then again, it's also precisely the kind of thing you'd expect from a series that's happy to turn an obscure video game substory into a key plot element.

"Fallout" season 2 is streaming on Prime Video. New episodes drop on Wednesdays.