How One Fallout Vault Could Play a Part in Season 2

Prime Video gave us enough of a walk down memory lane in The Ghoul's mind during the events of Fallout season 1 to see flashes of his life as Cooper Howard, leading up to the massive reveals about Vault-Tecs activities and, unfortunately, his wife Barb's specific role in it. There's still a lot more to go into both leading up to the bombs being dropped and how that shaped Cooper's life into who he is now hundreds of years later, including one big question – what happened to Cooper, Janey, and Barb when the bombs dropped?

From the season 1 opening we know that Janey was with Cooper when the initial bombs were dropped, and that the two raced away on horseback toward an unknown destination. It seems fairly safe to assume that Cooper took Janey to whatever vault the two had a spot reserved in along with Barb based on the finale, where Cooper finally gets to ask Hank where his family is, implying both Barb and Janey are still alive. While Coop was able to ask his question he still doesn't have an answer, which means audiences are left to speculate as to what happened to them.

Are they in stasis in Vault 31 awaiting their turn to be a vault overseer? Another option could be that Barb is now controlling things in New Vegas, given that particular game's 15-16 year setting before the series...or maybe even that she's passed the torch to Janey. Given that Janey was outside when the bombs were dropped, it's possible that she experienced side effects from the radiation just like her father has.

A big question that has circled back into my mind frequently – when Cooper arrived at the vault with Janey (assuming that's what happened), was his entry denied at the door, or did he refuse knowing some of the truth behind Vault-Tec's activities? I'm of two minds here: the first that Cooper would not abandon Janey willingly, but he was also pretty upset that Roosevelt wouldn't be allowed in the vault and generally knew the corporation his wife worked for couldn't be trusted.

Personally, there's one brief reference that I'm hoping is elaborated on that I feel was made for a reason: in 01x06 of the series, we see Cooper tell his Wife, "I think about it. Quitting showbiz. Buying us a ranch up in Bakersfield. Get back to being a real cowboy again." She shuts this down immediately with the implication that the vault in Bakersfield isn't "one of the good vaults," which undoubtedly sent her husband and the spokesperson of the vaults himself skeptical – even more-so than he already was. 

What you may not have caught here is that Bakersfield is actually a rather significant location for Fallout lore, as what remains of Bakersfield is what Necropolis, the City of the Dead, was built on – and Necropolis is a Ghoul city. What's also in Bakersfield is one of Vault-Tec's intentionally faulty vaults as suggested by Barb, Vault 12, which was designed to have a door that didn't actually close so the effects of radiation could be studied. Those effects, of course, is that the population of Vault 12 became Ghouls...which seems like a direct reference for a reason. 

Did Cooper try to go to Bakersfield after the bombs dropped and he was separated from his family, is this simply just a quick reference for fans to catch, or could it be a hint of what's to come in Cooper's future? If you want to talk about The Ghoul, you can find me on socials @amazingspidrhan!