This article contains spoilers for Fallout Season 2 Episode 6.

The Fallout TV series seems set to lay the foundation for the future of the franchise, as Bethesda's Todd Howard confirmed that the show is canon and will influence future games like Fallout 5. However, there is still a ton of potential left for future seasons of Fallout to explore after Season 2 ends. Fallout Season 3 is confirmed to be in development, and while it's unclear just where the next season will take place, the fate of The Ghoul seems like it's already set in stone.

Fallout Season 2 Episode 6 picks up where the previous episode ended, with The Ghoul having been impaled on a pole after being punched out of a window by Lucy using a Power Fist. The Ghoul is eventually saved by a mysterious, cloaked figure that fans will immediately recognize as a Super Mutant, marking the faction's debut in the Amazon Prime series. To heal The Ghoul, this Super Mutant embeds a chunk of glowing green uranium in The Ghoul's open chest wound. While the immense radiation from the uranium will likely heal The Ghoul, it also seems to be setting up his transformation into a Glowing One.

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By Drew Swanson

What are Glowing Ones in Fallout?

Glowing Ones are a variation of the standard ghouls of the Fallout series, and feature distinct characteristics, including:

Unusually high amounts of emitted radiation
A bright green-ish yellow glow
Mostly feral, with only a few exceptions

Ghouls that are exposed to a high enough concentration of radiation can become Glowing Ones and can voluntarily release pent-up radiation from their bodies. This process can even heal and revive non-Glowing ghouls, but only feral Glowing Ones are capable of controlling this radiation release.

Although most Glowing Ones are feral, there are a few cases of non-feral Glowing Ones in the Fallout universe. Notably, the Glowing Ones of Vault 12 in New California were not feral, but have been driven to madness and are unable to speak coherently. Other non-feral Glowing Ones do have the ability to speak and interact with the player, such as Jason Bright, who leads the Bright Brotherhood cult in Fallout: New Vegas, as well as Oswald the Outrageous, a Glowing ghoul magician in Fallout 4's Nuka World DLC.

Glowing Ones have been present in every mainline entry in the series, starting with the original Fallout.

Why The Ghoul Will Likely End Up as a Glowing One By the End of Fallout Season 2

The Ghoul without his hat in Fallout Season 2

The stage for The Ghoul's transformation into a Glowing One has already been set after he had a chunk of uranium placed in his chest by the unknown Super Mutant in Episode 6. Uranium is already a very radioactive element, but the uranium-238 isotope is by far the most radioactive. If The Ghoul had this isotope implanted in his chest, it's easy to see how such a concentrated dose of radioactivity could cause him to become a Glowing One. Although uranium has a distinct yellow color, the glowing chunk that was embedded in The Ghoul was glowing a much brighter green color, similar to the color emitted by Glowing Ones.

The Ghoul Has a Clear Path to the Capital Wasteland for Fallout Season 3

It's not exactly clear where Fallout Season 3 will take its main cast, but all signs are pointing towards Season 3 heading to the Capital Wasteland of Fallout 3. With the Enclave emerging as a new threat, and Super Mutants now in play, the Capital Wasteland makes the most sense for a Season 3 setting, given its connection to these factions. The Capital Wasteland is also home to the ghoul safe haven of Underworld. Perhaps The Ghoul sets out for this settlement after becoming a Glowing One in an effort to either cure himself or at least find support for his new condition among like-minded ghouls.

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Fallout TV Show Poster Showing Lucy, CX404, Ghoul, and Maximus in Front of an Explosion with Flying Bottle Caps

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Release Date: April 10, 2024
Network: Amazon Prime Video
Showrunner: Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan
Directors: Frederick E. O. Toye, Wayne Che Yip, Stephen Williams, Liz Friedlander, Jonathan Nolan, Daniel Gray Longino, Clare Kilner
Writers: Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan