The Master also takes a lot of inspiration, especially his physical appearance, from the movie "From Beyond". Of course, that movie was inspired by a Lovecraft story, and Fallout has a bunch of Lovecraft other references... but the "absorbing" and mutating mass of flesh stuff is pretty much directly from the film. BTW: Mariposa is Spanish for "butterfly". A bit nail-on-the-head naming there.
I love the fact that the Lieutenant actually knew there was something wrong in the mutant reproductive process but didn't have enough courage to tell the Master about it. This is what happens when you control people with fear too much; your subordinates tend to lie to you to keep you happy, and in the end you are completely unaware of the whole situation.
seems like a plot hole though, with his "intellect" how could he be ignorant so something so simple to see through basic observation? why wouldnt/couldnt he simply initiate a SM preg through invitro to make sure his "master race" was viable.
The main reason I love the master is that when you show him the proof that the mutants are sterile, he feels so terribly bad for every terrible action hes done, because he did those things in the name of the unity, but the unity was ultimately going to fail, and seeing him become sad and depressed as he kills himself is actually quite sad.
It's indeed rare and interesting to see a main villain who isn't just some narcissistic and arrogant psychopath but someone reasonable and with some humanity left despite his horrific form who, when presented with solid facts and evidence, quickly realizes the harm he caused and decides to redeem himself.
It's just weird to me because it's like... you haven't dipped nearly everyone dude, just stop the dipping for now and start work on a new strain, and then don't start full production until it's confirmed to work. What sort of scientist are you, man?
I have never played Fallout and this guy was my introduction to the series. And having him say THAT as his last words is probably gonna haunt me forever. Having to realize that your inhuman efforts were all for jackshit is - extremely depressing to go out with. Especially without any other option, given - well, his condition.
I genuinely spit my drink laughing at 1:50, where you're introducing The Master, but the filler footage is you SPRINTING up to some dude in his house and caving his fucking skull in with a giant hammer
That part when the Master realizes he messed up and that female voice says, "All my work" in that shocked and dismayed tone always sticks with me. Amazing voice acting.
@@Phoebe5448 I love the fact that the voices are personified emotions, the computer-like voice is the neutral one, about statistics, scientifical facts, etc...Then you have the angry male voice, for all that is violence authority, angriness, wish of killing, and the female voice, for good emotions, protrction, caring. Aded to the master own voice, it give an exceptionally complex character.
@@Areldil it's like there is an inner debate between the various personalities inside the Master: The "angry" voice at first is enraged, but after that he sounds confused, as when after moment of immense rage you feel astonished and wonder what you have done, the "computer" voice is more logical and cold towards all the horrors that were done, asking for proof, calculating the information and proposing to continue while the "female" voice is genuinely tormented and horrified by all the actions done seeking the Greater Good
I really want more villains like The Master. He’s so grotesque but he has a way about him that he knows what he’s doing, and that he truly believes it’s for the greater good. I especially want more villains that can be talked to, eventually showing them reality and that they’ve been doing wrong, not right, to the point that they just give up.
I find kind of underwhelming how, at least according to his journal of Fallout 2, the path where the Vault Dweller opens The Master's eyes with hard evidence and makes him redeem himself with self-destruction is not canon and what actually happened in the lore was just a generic battle to the death with no nuance.
That's what I loved about Halo 2, you get to see both paths of a villain who believed they were right but were shown they were wrong. The Arbiter accepts reality at a great cost, the character Tartarus can't bear the truth and continues in denial.
@@Sextus70 Wasn't that left up to interpretation? Vault dweller says in his journal that he doesn't want to talk about what happened there other than the fact that what he saw there was grotesque, depressing and that he still doesn't feel ready to talk about it.
@Jerma985_Enjoyer Just reread the memoirs, and he says that indeed. However, there's a picture in them of what seems the Dweller firing at The Master with some kind of anti-material rifle. That seems to imply he was so disturbed with what he found out (or if there was some dialogue attempt, it failed) that he decided to fight to the death.
Sadly yeah. I would recommend Wasteland 3 it's reasonably close to that even if the game is a little bit shorter than the fallout games were it shares so much DNA with the original games that it's as close as you'll probably get. I wish Bethesda would take Fallout 5 and go really dark and twisted with it.
@@infernaldaedra Sincerely, having them "going back" in the timeline opens them so many possibilities to tie in facts and events loosely quoted in tge games, as well for leaving a dreadful desert-like wasteland, and even make a dark, sinister, revolting place to live in.
that's because the theme of the franchise moved from "no-matter how advanced or savage it is, humanity will always manage to both adapt, and be awful", to just "war bad, apes together strong" with a shitty cultural underlying "theme". and i believe New-Vegas is reponsible for that, because it's entire theme was about how radically differents-cultures can't help reform society as long as one isn't more powerful than others. and don't get me wrong, F:NV is one of my favorites games, and i absolutely love it's theme, but bethesda missed the fucking point while trying to recreate it again and again. Fallout 1 and 2 were about the slow reconstruction of humanity after a cataclysmic-event, Fallout: New-Vegas was about differents cultures with their uniques outlook on how society should be rebuilt, fallout 3 and fallout 4 were about "war-bad, don't commit war" and "don't be mean to others, we should all be friends".
@@ungabungus01 I think "talking head" is also used to describe puppet like people on TV and Caesar is saying that it's weird that someone so interesting is a talking head. Think that was also what they called the models when making the game :) not 100% sure though.
To me, the Master is the ultimate expression of the Wasteland: he’s a monstrous twisted creature horrifically impacted by the technology and radiation that makes the Wasteland so hostile. Once a mere man, he’s become a Frankenstein’s monster intent on bringing a destructive peace-just as, in a way, the Great War did. Yet, when he’s shown to be wrong, he fails into despair and destroys himself, rather than use all his knowledge and power to find another way to help the devastated world. In essence, he’s the epitome of self-destruction that both led to the apocalypse and is too often the norm for life within the Wastes itself.
Its amazing that fallout is such a crazy series that you could come to your conclusion and i came to a completely seperate conclusion of “too much rat brain apparently”
I think he likely understood he was a treat to life, as he could make other terrible misjudgments as he did before. Better to destroy himself to save the remaining life from him.
Thats my favorite thing about the Master, he genuinely believed that his actions were for the good of all society. He genuinely believed that by turning everyone into super mutants and killing anyone who got in the way, peace would actually reign and the ends justified the means. When you keep trying to tell him the Super Mutants are sterile and, will eventually all die out, he keeps disagreeing. He doesn't want to imagine that every awful thing that he did was completely meaningless and his entire plan was thwarted by just one mistake he never thought to calculate for. Eventually when you finally provide enough evidence for him to believe it all, he kills himself. Not because he would rather die than let you beat him, but because he's sorry. He genuinely wanted to help everyone and bring peace in the only way he knew how. When you tell him that his entire plan has failed, he sees suicide as the only true form of justice to make up for the actions he committed.
Whoever voiced The Master couldn't have done a better job. Especially with the dialogue where you prove his plan will fail. "I cannot continue to do the things I have done in the name of progress and healing. Leave now, while you still have hope." Gives me chills every time.
It’s interesting. There are two types of antagonists. Those who can be reasoned with, and those who cannot. And finding out after which is which adds a retrospective context to what interactions you’ve had. And teaches you about what’s been done and it’s effect. The interesting thing is you can’t really tell most of the time which is which. It makes characters like Vader compelling.
33:20 the way that the slightly angry voice just says “madness?” Pierced my heart. He sounded so enthusiastic, but in that moment it’s just confusion and possibly sadness towards all of his work being useless.
I feel bad that Harold never learned the true fate of his old friend, he knows about the Master by Fallout 2, but he never found out he was Richard, and Richard likewise thought Harold must have died because otherwise he would have helped him out of the vat he fell into. I kinda wish there had been an option to tell Richard and/or Harold about the truth at least as an Easter egg rewarding players who put two and two together, even if just to have one or two extra lines of dialogue. Also, if you do another Fallout 1 Villainpedia, I’d love to see one for the character Set cause he is so bizarre as a character but surprisingly multifaceted, I think he’s highly underrated. I guess technically he’s not a villain but he is a resentful pawn of the Master and not a nice fellow.
@@SSD_Penumbra It’s one of those details that isn’t super obvious, but some of Set’s dialogue and a note from the Lieutenant in a desk that’s out of the way confirms that the Master put some super mutants into Necropolis to force the ghouls to be on the lookout for humans that the super mutants can take, but Set isn’t interested in following along, hence why he asks you to kill the super mutants at the watershed. So basically, Set isn’t a minion on the level of the super mutants or children of the cathedral, he was only intended by the master to be a watchdog in Necropolis, but Set is not having any of it.
I just love how the game doesn’t end when you beat the master. You have to beat him AND the lieutenant, because the game is aware that the lore implies that he would continue with the mission, even if the master was gone. It’s so rare to see a game respect secondary villains in this way. And I love how the game itself almost believes that the master would have been in the right, had his plans not been doomed to fail from the beginning, due to the reproduction issue.
Another unique thing about the Master, is that the Master, *knows* that he is wrong. The Master just sees it as simply the only way humanity can go on, he thinks he has to do it, because demise would come to them otherwise. Which is the only reason he kills himself, all the evil he had done, was supposed to save humanity in the long run, and his plan failed.
I always wondered why, after such a long time, he would just give up his plan in an instant, instead of trying to fix FEV in not sterilising the individuals that are brought in contact with it. It's critique on a very high level, I know. I'm a Fallout fan of the first hour btw =b The thing that sticked with me is the rawness and harshness this game slaps things around and I love it till today.
@@EdMcStinko indeed it was. I thought it was pretty neat to have the option to talk him out of his plan! It's not like I discovered it on my first playthrough, since the speech threshold is rather high to get the option and then you still would have to follow the right path in the conversation. I guess I stumbled across the option by accident one time and was I was flabbergasted.
I was traumatized the first time I walked into the master’s room without the helmet protecting you from his psychic abilities, reading about the terrifying horror show going on in the vault dwellers scrambled mind as he tries to take a single step, losing massive HP along the way
I played Fallout when I was way too young. The scene where you get dipped in the FEV vat and the Super Mutants kill everyone in the Vault scared me. The Master terrified me. I had nightmares for months after meeting him.
rats we're rats.. we're the rats.. we prey at night we stalk at night.. we're the rats! i'm the giant rat that makes all of the rules.. let's see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into..
My first play i come to military base and was oneshot and cut in 2 parts by mutant with laser rifle. This shocked me so much so i deleted the game😂 my next attempt was only in few months
I love how they chose probably the most recognizable children's voice actor to portray The Master. Someone who's voice we grew up with and and is so familiar, but not like this. It freaked me out in a way that can probably never be repeated.
The saddest thing is, much later on, i think it was in Jacobstown in Fallout NV, you will learn from Marcus that the reproduction system of supermutants actually started to heal... and since they can live for hundreds of years, it would in the end work out. Master DID really have a master plan.
I'm quite sure this was added to justify existance of super mutants in Fallout 3. Bethesda is so out of touch with this lore and it makes me sad they've done a stupid fan service with their games instead of actually doing proper writing and world building.
@@shiverr1337I rather think in that case it was more of a freak accident than anything, like for fallout 4 the reason why we don't see chimera anymore is because they've either been all wiped out or there isn't much fev left and the wasteland there is more stable now thanks to the past actions of others, atleast that's my interpretation of things
I don’t remember that being the case at all. Mutants are sterile and have been that way forever. It’s even explained in fallout 3 and 4. That’s why the mutants in 3 capture humans. What dialogue did you get from Marcus in FNV? Never heard him say it healed.
@@TRP_7022yeah mutants are still sterile, there is a big misconception from a single line from Marcus in fallout 2 we’re he jokes that it takes some time to get the juices flowing again after visiting a brothel. Chris avellone confirmed it was a joke
@Rencol666 actually it was fallout 2 where Marcus said it healed but it was said by developers that he was kidding so to this day supermutants can't reproduce
New Vegas came the closest I think. Mr. House is just a Capitalistic Master without the mutations. The man was so forward thinking that he predicted the Nuclear Apocalypse and built a robot army, a personal vault with a super computer to upload his brain across all his machines. The Vegas Strip would survive under his watch and through hundreds of years of carful planning he will make a new empire under his own name and further humanity, United under his immortal mind.
@@Broomer52 The question is this though... The Master clearly has a flawed plan that we can see the problems with, not to mention the direct threat of turning every human person into a mutant hybrid. Mr. House, on the other hand, while he's cold and doesn't regard human life with much respect outside of his own ends... does his idea of what New Vegas can be NOT work? Is he doomed to fail or can he actually accomplish his goals successfully with our help? The Master's plan, as we saw in the Brotherhood research, would never have been realized, because it didn't work. But with Mr. House it isn't so obvious where his point of failure is, even if you disagree with his ideas. So I think that makes him a bit more complex when compared to the Master. The reason the Master tends to win out, is just how memorable your encounter with him really is and that (unlike Mister House) you can actually win out against him in a social confrontation, a battle of logic and reason, because he's actually wrong and much less ambiguous.
@@Gakusangi tbh Mr House doesn't see himself as a god like the master does. He's just the House of the wasteland. He doesn't tolerate any bad folk such as raiders. Well only that time where he had to start back New Vegas with the families.
It's interesting to compare The Master to Dagoth Ur. They have a few important similarities. Both were corrupted through the discovery and attempted destruction of something powerful, in Ur's case the heart of Lorkhan. And both attempted to unite people by making them "one" through corruption, in Ur's case via Corprus. They're both tragic figures that seem more like victims the more of their story you hear.
What ultimately made the difference between the master as a truly evil villain, and the master as a tragic villain really does come down to trying out the diplomacy option. If you don't take that route he is nothing ever but a evil maniac, albeit a really cool and perfect fallout one. But the diplomacy option to defeat him shows that like you said he truly always meant to be the savior, and the moment he chose to die and end his reign instead of riding the madness and trying to conquer anyways is the moment he proved everything he claimed he wanted, that he didn't lie, and that when we found out he was wrong, he accepted it, and chose to end it, rather than perpetuate it. It's a very very powerful moral backbone that is disturbing if you think to be present in such a monster of a man, yet lacking in so many wastelanders that are absolutely human. The master, the practical father of mutants was honest, if anything.
@@b42charlie funny how Internet historian has a channel all about "i must expleeeene" based in the "I have no mouth and I must scream" and you asked to explain.
Considering the Master had already merged with the base's computer when he was moved to the vault, I imagine four supermutants carrying the computer all the way across the west coast.
Sad that Fallout 4's villian, Father, wasn't as well rounded. If you ask him why he even made synths and what their purpose is, he just says "you wouldn't understand" and then dies. Very poor writing.
I'd like to think it's something up to interpretation. Usually individuals such as himself keep things vague and isolated. He's cruel and separated from others so you could guess it could be a deep reason. Regardless, I do wish that his reasoning will eventually be revealed.
I like that they kept that *SPOILERS* In F:NV, if you have enough speech you can convince the Legate that even if he wins and takes over the dam, he wouldn't be able to hold it, as his army had already suffered many loses and all it would take for any of the factions to re take it would be to send reenforcements. He sees this and admits that he never wanted the dam, that he thougth Cesar's obssesion with it would break the legion, and that they would return with greater streght.
Just a fun point of trivia; the Master's male voices are Jim Cummings, AKA Winnie the Pooh. The Lieutenant is Tony Jay as well, Shere Khan from the animated Jungle Book. Two of the all time greats giving these characters some incredible presence! Could you please look at the evolution (or devolution) of an icon of PC gaming; the enigmatic Kane of Command and Conquer?
Nice! Oh, by the way, your idea is so refreshing to see. I grew up with Command and Conquer, and it's one of the very first games I played. Glad to know that there's still someone out there who recognize (and appreciate) the influence of Kane!
The female voice from The Master is Kath Soucie. Who played characters like Kanga from "Winnie the Pooh", Phil and Lil from "Rugrats", and Dexter's mother from "Dexter's Laboratory".
The time limit made it hard for players that really like to be thorough, with a completionist mindset, but it made so much sense story wise It drilled into my mind, sometimes when I’m playing a more modern game I find myself focused hard, hurrying to the next objective cos that would “make sense” Then I check myself, I usually end up realising “this isn’t fallout” I reload a much earlier save and take my time getting around to things, ensuring I set myself up as thoroughly as possible A little more realism wouldn’t hurt, maybe developers could add it to a “hardcore” mode for realism Imagine if fallout new Vegas had a 100 day limit for the courier to set things up, like wouldn’t the ncr and legion face off happen without the players input? Wouldn’t easy Pete, just chilling out front of the saloon hear the distant gunshots, the rolling of artillery and see the dust slowly rise over the horizon? Hardcore mode would have been more relevant with a time limit
I agree. Fallout 1 is one of those rare games which doesn't handhold you at all. It doesn't even tell you what direction to go half the time, and you have to be exceptionally observant and listen to the clues. To actually get to necropolis you end up going through a ton of dead ends. The time limit for the water chip makes sense I guess, but having another one for the Master just as quick is too much. Fallout imo is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace, worrying more about learning the ropes and surviving than achieving a campaign victory quickly. After all, if you fail, that's game over...You'll have to reload a very old save if you've not managed your time. And NOBODY wants to undo like 5+ hours worth of game time to rush an ending.
Legitimately one of the best villains ever. One that you can kinda understand why he does the things he does but is also unforgivable because of those every same things. Also the fact that you can talk him down and reason with him (much like legate lanius in New Vegas) is so cool and I wish more games did this
Mariposa means "butterfly" I guess that's a dark nod to the "transformation" that was going on there at the MB. Very Silence of the Lambs I thought this was "The Strain" Master. Another good villain.
Cool to know that Mariposa in spanish means Butterfly. I Speak Portuguese, and this exact same word (Mariposa) means "Moth" in my language. Which i think it fits better to the whole trasnformation thing.
That's pretty cool. I actually used to live nearby Mariposa and still have some friends that live over there. Its a neat town but it's just like many other small town in California. Its not a desert like pictured in the games except for the last decade or so due to drought. But normally it's a beautiful place
The solution to the sterility problem is twofold. First, just don't convert all humans, keep a healthy-sized population around. You don't even have to force them into the vats, just foster a culture of understanding and brotherhood/hero worship of the super-mutant among the population, and make becoming one an honour, maybe even the prize of a festival or something. Second, just keep researching and experimenting, you only need one breeding pair of supert-mutant to start the ball rolling after all. It's the same with necromancers in fantasy, why do you kill everyone, when everyone is going to die in time regardless ! Just wait, and use the powers of propaganda and narrative, and manufactured consent, just like the real-life demons !
I feel the same way about The Master's plan. In fact looking back on it and what you have stated here it seems to me that The Master could have done what The Emperor of Warhammer 40K did with his space marines, making the super muntants into a elite force of valiant warriors using examples like Lou to try to convince people that they are a force of protection and order against the raiders and mutated creatures of the wasteland able to rebuild human civilization out of the destroyed world.
The problem with this is that both the Master and his Liutenent had no idea the mutants were even sterile. They only find out at the very end of the game because frankly neither checked to see if their super mutant armor even had genitals and each of them assumed they were "unique" among the mutants.
@@gelmorn18 Well, the thing with the Emperor is that his plan was much better for humanity, and hinges on actual understanding and abolishing of dogma that historically held humanity back. What tanked everything were his idiot sons.
@@fireflocs But it was a problem he knew of and worked to improve in the first place. His entire plan was about continuous evolution and unity. I dont get why he’d suddenly forget the most central aspect of being a mutant: change.
the fact they never stop to think of failsafes like this is in my opinion part of the point. The master was so broken and twisted and focused on achieving his one goal that as soon as the first real roadblock in that path is exposed he descends down a self destructive spiral and takes his own life, showing his failings as a being.
Also i realy find interesting that . In Fallout 1 main antagonists wanting to make everyone mutant but in Fallout 2 main antagonists wanting to kill everyone who is mutant . They are kinda opposite side of each other i think developers intentionaly did this .
@@NephritduGrey mmmmmm I don't know about that the whole reason the planet was nuked was because of humans lol if the planet was just full of humans again the same thing would prolly happen just many years later
It’s also cool, that in the second game you can go to brothel with Marcus, and he says that he’s afraid of making the hooker pregnant. You can ask about the infertility of mutants, and he answers that it takes a few decades for “everything to get on its place”. So, virtually, if the vault dweller wouldn’t have killed Master, his paradise could come to fruition.
One of the writers later backtracked this by going “UUUUHHHH ACTUALLY MARCUS WAS JUST JOKING NEVER MIND ABOUT THAT LINE” cause I guess they realized later on that they didn’t want the possibility for the Master to be right all along.
@@madmorgo6233 that was the flaw in the Master's plan. His tweaked FEV ensured that the reproductive organs were preserved... ... ...just he didn't bother to check whether they still still produced gametes.
The dominant mind probably got a boost from the rat's survival instincts maybe that first rat has alot of influence? Like wonder where he got the idea to spread across the wasteland? rat's can also sense bad genetics making them reject mates with genetic flaws perhaps this created his view of humans being unacceptable and flawed?
@@JonatasAdoM I think it could apply to not spreading stds like all the other rats would just know same with cancer it wouldn't get passed on. Nature can be harsh sometimes but ant colonies came from a mother insect producing oodles of infertile young but a weakness can be a strength like jurassic park and mimic said "life finds a way"
"I journeyed, long in walking, far beyond the place of stopping where there was no more returning to the people i had known. I saw the world forgotten, where the grass gives up on growing. And I knew that 1 would never make another journey home. Upon that fleshy plain, below the final rock outcropping (outcroppings) stretched the vast and empty desert of the hungry (HUNGRY!) bleeding thing (THING!). Encompassing the earth to the horizon, all-consuming (all-consuming), crying in a thousand voices to its desolate god-king (god-king desolate god-king). And the MUSIC of its crying never dead, ever dying, sent me running in a madness I can scarce compare to fear (fear), not to safety, but to silence (silence) unto my own unmaking. And yet now, upon awaking, once again the song I hear. (The song) I long to taste (TASTE!) the fruit of the earth, (Earth) i long for water quenching (water quenching...) Of my thirst, unending, (unending) nothing that remains can satisfy. (SATISFY!) For my voice (voice..) has joined the chorus (CHORUS!) ever more, ever mourning Ever singing. Ever hungry. Ever dying. Never die.
Jim Cummings took over the roll of Tigger in 2000, but played Winnie the Pooh himself as well as over 400 other roles! He does lots of singing double work too, Scar in "Be Prepared" and Rasputin in Anastasia being the most iconic.
@@chereaj7891 Jim Cummings beeing the voice of Minsc and Buzz Lightyear made me cry with laughter😂 But now that I know that he was the voice behind so many so drasticly different characters I'm impressed beyond belief😯👍
Jim Cummings is a legend. Other than the Master he also voices Gizmo and Set. As well as many characters in Fallout 4. Not to mention he plays Patriarch and Wreav in ME2, Barlin and Aldous in DAO and many characters in Skyrim such as Skald, Dengeir, etc.
You know what, I really like the fact that they went to the trouble of giving an explanation for the weird animals in the wasteland beyond things being made big and scary by radiation. I always just assumed that they were a throwback to 50s b movies, so it's interesting to see it reinterpreted through a more hard sci fi/anti-authoritarian lens
Anti-authoritarian? What does that mean? But I like the explanation for mutants other than "rads done did it" I wish the modern fallouts would use more actual science and less magic.
@@therealestmannyt1029 i know there is some supernatural elements. Like that quary that is alive or huanted. I know it's connected to the dunwich building in fo3. in nuka world isn't there a huanted house with a little girl ghost? But I was referring to radiation turning creatures into mutants like ghouls, ghouls were originally created by a mixture of FEV and radiation but now its just radiation.
@@whitegluestick6039 it's anti-authoritarian in the sense that the explicit reason that the world is only so dangerous is because of the government and the corporations that it contracted out to overstepping ethical boundaries. The government of the pre-war society had no regard for its people, only showing interest in furthering its imperialist agenda, and that's why the wasteland is so hostile. There isn't really anything external to the US military-industrial complex that really gets any attention beyond the implication that mutually assured destruction was preferable to the alternative and having even the incidental mutation of the local fauna be due to the government of the USA trying to create supersoldiers, rather than being an incidental effect of the radiation, is further evidence of that.
To anyone possibly thinking about trying the first two fallout games, if you enjoyed the modern fallout games and you enjoy a well written story and slow but sure progression then you owe it to yourself to play through these games. They are masterpieces.
Fallout 2 has the worst Tutorial of all time Ever It's all the slow dragged out-ness of fallout 3, and it's not friendly to new players While also not even teaching you enough of the game And if you're a non combat character.... Yeah, good luck Besides that It's amazing
The Master's ultimate downfall evokes much that of a classical tragedy, like Hamlet or Tamberlaine. His core traits--his scientific perspective, charisma, desire to improve the wasteland, and heal the world--all evoke those of a hero. However, circumstances & personal failings gradually twist those ideals--they mutate--into self annihilation and damnation. Something that's actually kind of difficult to write for an antagonist, and give the protagonist sufficient agency. The traits that make him heroic end up destroying him and his soul.
My favorite piece of lore is that even the Master was reluctant to use nuclear weapons against his enemies, while since Fallout 3, we as the players have been blowing them for giggles
That's why in Lonesome road DLC. I always have Ed-E prevent a nuclear disaster with all these talks of history and seeing what damage was done to the Divide. Preventing a nuclear strike against the NCR and Legion seems more logical to someone having to explore and survive the Divide.
I remember my first encounter with the Master in the late 90s as a kid. This guy made of goop blew my mind, and is one of the many reasons I have become a life long fan of the Fallout series
Holy shit. I never played the the first two games in the series but this video made me want to. Just the way he crumbles as he realized his work was all for naught. Perfection indeed
I like to think that The Master was unfairly kicked out of his vault or framed, just like the Soul Survivor, as a way of making them better foils of each other.
The best. The GOAT retelling of The Master. This is the finest exploration of this character and I'll be using this vid to explain my 28+ years of interest from here on out. Amazing. No notes.
The best fallout villain period fallout 2 villain is the enclave in its whole and they want to rid the land of "mutants" (frank on the oil rig is just a final tough mob at the end game) fallout 3 villain is basically the same but without a tough opponent cuz you just fight through footsoldiers fallout NV the final boss can be either general oliver (a puss) or lanius but lanius is just a bloodthirsty sociopathic warmonger he has no end goals he just wishes to conquer think of it as a dog chasing the mailmans van like what would the dog do even if he caught it Fallout 4 villain is the Institute...this secret secluded organisation of scientists who use people outside of the institute to test their sick experiments (ofc you can be join the institute but i aint talking about that) like none of the fallout games have such a thought through villain who actually wants to make everyone equal and just better the world (through some cutthroat methods) but he actually has a end goal and ambitions but he had not forseen one singular flaw that destroyed his whole plan (that being sterilization) and thats what makes him such an interesting and actually a tragic character he didnt choose to become the master he just fell into the vat of the FEV accidantally and was "corrupted by it"
What if the thought “what if I used another rat” was actually the rat brain taking over and the biggest baddie is all of Fallout is just nuclear ‘Ratatouille’ with a psycho Remmy?
If you want to do another Fallout character I think Robert House would be a fantastic one. Truly one of the few "antagonists" in the franchise to come close to The Master in quality.
Yeah the master and mr house are easily the best antagonists in the series they’re just such interesting characters that manage to be really convincing and charismatic. It is kind of crazy just how many amazing villains there are in the fallout series thinking about it now
Agreed, House is a Catalyst to the events and a potential story ally. He's a neutral in the story if anything. A greedy control freak money grubbing neutral but one that kinda want's stability and diplomacy. He doesn't even want direct involvement in the Hoover Dam war, its business!!!
Dude. It is worth playing fallout 1. I was a guy that had the 1.0 version so I literally lost because I hit 400 days. My middle school brain was so blown away that I could fail by not finishing the quest in time
@@brooksy_ it's a small game. You can beat it in 20 hours without feeling cheated. However, there's a reason why it started a mega franchise and all the old heads miss the writing from the pre Bethesda days
@@aj1218 I played it a few years ago because I wanted to get into the fallout series so I decided to start from the beginning and was shocked to see what the first two were like. I was pretty skeptical at first but the writing ended up being so great I ended up liking them more than the 3d games
It is so sad that, in cannon, the Vault Dweller never even talked to him. He either used the nuke or he just shot the Master up without talking to him.
In my walkthrough I talked to him, left his secret base, found a water chip, few months later returned to him, activated the bomb and tried to tell him about that, but he was so sad that didn't even talk to me again :(
The Master is pure Chad-nerd euphoria. I remember as a teen thinking it was cool that you could convince Sarah to off himself in Mass Effect, but then I discovered this game and it just doesn't compare.
The best part about the master, as with all good villains, is that, if you scrape away our instinct to call something inhumane on the surface because we haven’t experienced the wasteland ourselves, the master’s ideas are very agreeable, to the point where I think it’s a bit of a detriment to the game that he is so well written, yet you can’t side with him. Yes, you can let him win, but it’s against your character, and the wasteland’s, will. The only way to unite the world after the bombs and feasibly survive, thrive and rebuild it in more harmony than we’ve ever achieved in real life, would be to have the master go through with his plan and see it to the end. Also, the only problem that can stop the plan other than a godlike, plot-armored player character is reproduction. However, with our new knowledge of how synths get made, I think it’s actually safe to assume they could become Super Mutants, entirely solving the repoduction problem.
Ive spent my life engaged in fantasy, i love this game but i never would have imagined id actually feel anything for it beyond the basic joy of entertainment. This was well thought out and beautifully put. Kudos
He’s a psycho obsessed with creating a master race. Humanity is beneath him, and human farms would almost inevitably entail either using vaults which could lead to revolts, or using mutated wasteland humans, which have a really hard time mutating “properly”
I don’t think you understand at all the human farms probably wouldn’t work. I mean I could be wrong as well but I’d say it’s safe to assume that the irradiated FEV caused some sort of molecular mutation that could possible be carried on to offspring. Just theorizing here but it holds up in my head cannon (obviously lol)
@@Xnvasxveexcept all the vaults hold unmutated humans so he could just as easily use those. Either way he could probably see an eventual human uprising followed by war between races, which is exactly what he wants to avoid in the long run.
Sure it could work, but you gotta realize this isn't a practical problem, it's a philosophical problem. And if you still need humans to breed, then humanity didn't evolve, there's merely a two class system now.
One became a mass of flesh and metal, the other, a mass of tree and earth. The former wishes to live, and the latter wishes to die. Both stationary, mutated, and leaders of humans. Am I winning yet? Am I deep? Me so smart.
It's a little poetic that the Vault Dweller in Fallout 1 convinced the Master to die for the sake of others where as the Lone Wanderer in Fallout 3 convinced Harold to live for the sake of others. The conclusion to both their stories end up opposite to each other- especially since Harold finds himself to be a reluctant leader as opposed to the Master who was obsessed with imposing that he was the leader of humanity-at least the future of humanity.
This was such a good character profile I watched the whole thing twice and will probably watch it again. The Master is indeed a masterclass of “villainy” in general.
I find it invredible how he and his old friend Harolds storry seem to have Mirrored each other. Think about it. One technology and the other nature One wanting a cult but needed help, the other didn't but gpt one anyways One seeking evolution in life the other stagnation and death Honestly pretty intresting if you ask me.
I feel like fallout tends to have extremely underrated villains. From the Master to the Enclave, to Caesars legion, and hell even the institute is a extremely cool concept
Mr. Tenpenny, The Brotherhood of Steel, All of the pre-war people that destroyed the world. The politicians and pre-war CEOs and scientists, and just tragic tales you often find are quite interesting as well.
In fallout, The Villain Characters tend to be the type to think they are saving the world with a solution and they are salvation but the practice makes them monsters instead or a Villain with an actual solution that's implying said solution in the worst way possible. Even in the cancelled Van Buren, A Scientist was trying to wipe out a disease terrorizing the Midwest by flying up to a space station and laser beaming the whole planet not before imprisoning a wastelander infected with said virus to try to cure it and if that prisoner escaped then he sends out a killer robot to chase them across the map to retain them and actively destroying towns in game to purge the Virus.
There is something to be said about the style; and I couldn't tell you for certain if this was an intentional art choice, or a matter of technical convenience, or some other third category; of Fallout 1 and 2, especially with it's talking portraits. The fact that so many of the characters have this hideous, uncanny, ghastly, and/or creepy look to them, and that they're faces are pushed up so close to your face when you're talking to them, it gives you this choking sense of claustrophobia and unease. And of course, The Master, is the best/worst example of all of them. The fact that he's been reduced to a slimy, gory mess of flesh and machine, one with schizophrenic tendencies and an unnerving, inconsistent cadence, all the while his hideous visage dominates half your entire screen... it's fucked up, to be honest. I remember being a pretty young kid, in the early 2000's (way before the Bethesda Fallout's), watching my step father play through the end of Fallout 1, I remember him entering into The Master's chamber, and I remember finding him so creepy. I was obviously too young to understand anything that was going on, and I knew nothing about the story of Fallout, but even still, I remember sitting there, uneasy but unable to look away, completely enthralled by this insane character design.
I really wish they'd do a (respectable) remake of the first game. The story and setting are stellar. But even as someone who can appreciate old games, they are very hard to approach from a modern gameplay mechanic. The combat system is especially a drudge, almost nore a chore than an enjoyable aspect, and very hard to avoid.
The game is such impressive that you could do all three endings all together... sneak to activate the bomb, then talk to master so he activate.. the already activated.. bomb. .then fight it full on while the time is ticking to nuclear explosion. Man, what a great first run of Fallout, never forget that :)
I recently started playing Fallout 2 and I can’t stop hearing enough of this guy. I’m so happy I get to learn about him from my one of my favorite content creators!
There is just one thing. Why did the Master just give up when he found out the new mutagen also sterilized the mutants? Could he not just keep working on it until he managed to make a version that didn’t? Wasn’t he made virtually immortal by all his consumption and merging with technology?
@Mister Majestic I just don't know if I buy that he would even still be rationalizing _anything_ at this point. I thought his morality was lost long ago.
The wonderful writing of the Master is the fact that while he's hideous in form and goals, it's hard to argue that he's downright evil. He genuinely believes that his plan will save mankind from itself, and he's got a good argument in favor of this belief. With everyone being super mutants, they will no longer be plagued by the ravages of radioactive fallout, and with the Master having a telepathic link to all super mutants, he's able to soothe minds and prevent conflicts between individuals, creating, at last, peaceful co-existence for all (at the cost of some individual thought and having your physical form corrupted into being a super mutant of course) So he never set out to destroy the world or humanity or exact revenge or any other villanous tropes. He's on a quest to help humanity and stop humanity from going extinct. Further evidence for his good intentions is the fact that he doesn't lash out or attack the Vault Dweller if confronted with the proof of FEV destroying reproductive capabilities in Super Mutants. Instead he becomes wracked with guilt as his sense of self-righteousness is shattered by the undeniable proof before him. So as a main villain he manages to be horrifying, but at the same time NOT evil, and that's pretty genius when a writer pulls it off in a story.
You'd like Aquinas. All evil comes from seeking the good, because it's impossible to be motivated by anything except what we perceive as good. Even if that perceived good is just a selfish desire for personal gain. Where evil arises is valuing a lesser good over a higher good, or misinterpreting something evil as good because it might have some beneficial effects.
Thank you so much for this video. Fallout 1 is still probably my most played game ever. I also felt for the master when it came to the endings, it took a very long time to get there haha my first time making it to the master I realised I'd stuffed up when I fell victim to his charisma and joined the mutant army haha 1000s of hours and a story line that still resonates to this day. I actually still have the old windows 95 cd of the game still in awesome condition
The only recent villain I've seen that approaches the Master's goopiness was Ted Faro, and even then they only hinted at how fucked up he got...the cowards.
Absolutely incredibly made video. Like wow. Better than watching a documentary. So beautifully edited with a well-written script, plus the pacing is perfect. Seriously, good job man. Impressed would be an understatement
The diplomatic ending was by far the best one, still it is insane how you even have several ways to defeat him. Even diplomatic characters that chose violence or forgot the holo-disk somewhere were able to defeat it with EMP grenades. The master was half machine so he was vulnerable to EMP. Yet, the diplomatic ending was the true one. In no other game you defeat such a perfect villain completely. Yes you can kill villains, you can put them in prison and everything. But you break the master by revealing the flaw in his plan. All the time, sheming, gathering troops and followers... and in the end you crush his idea, his vision so hard he decides to nuke himself. That is by definition, the perfect defeat of the perfect villain.
I wouldn't mind seeing one on the dark genie. Even though he doesn't have much presence in dark sould his design is just really cool. It'd probably be a short video
This was very well produced! The Master really is a fascinating character where, despite doing objectively horrible things to innocent people, you can absolutely see how in his mind he is the savior of humanity.
One of the most prominent voices actors of the 80's through today. His name is Jim Cummings and he's most likely the voice of your childhood. He's been Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, Pete from the Mickey Mouse group, Tigger, Cat from CatDog, and so many more. One of my heroes growing up, and an absolute legend.
One thing I never understood with Bethesda is just how many supermutants they implemented into all the games they had primary control over. Post fallout 2 (aside from New Vegas). Assuming that the only known FEV source was at the military base and any other ones are still hidden (Aside from the Institute). Why are there so many mutants found in the wasteland? New Vegas has a couple but they are fewer and further between and usually conctrated for a purpose of a side quest/plot. But as the mutants are humanoid and cannot naturally reproduce, surely they would age and die (assuming they are not killed fighting). Making no sense in the sheer numbers you see a hundred + years later. I understand about the potential for extended life spans but that is not a guaruntee with mutations. Therefore, I wish Bethesda would stop using supermutants in games now unless they are Intelligent or for story purposes like Strong in Fallout 4. Even in Fallout 76 you see super mutants in great numbers, even though it predates the Master. Yes I know that the government was testing on some humans but no where near the numbers that you see in game, and they did kill the super mutants to prevent a scandal.
I feel like the Master is the epitome of Fallout, both in flesh and in action. I specify both in flesh and action because all Fallout games don’t shy from the actions, the body horror is far rarer nowadays. Nothing against it, I wish there was more, but I understand why. But… I wish there were more “villains” like him in the modern games. I feel like they’ve made them less… *evil* evil, and more human evil, if that makes sense. Angry, violent, but they were more trained by environment, you can see why they’d do certain things. But what this man wants to do, what he does, how he warps, how he becomes the antithesis of how humans used to be, is utterly horrific, and terrifying, and fascinating. He came up with this shit all on his own, not warped by wars and stuff, rather he just saw some of the world, and ended up mutating and warping on his own. It just shows an epitome of fucked up we don’t really see otherwise, cause most of the people are connected, SOMEHOW, with someone or something else that relates to their goals. This man was his own foundation, and this man was his own downfall. Instead of pure anger, or agony, it was a moral crisis, something purely human, he became human again, even if just for a second. And… I think how you can beat him is something beautifully well done. And I also love Harold. I dunno why, I just find him so interesting, and I love characters like Harold. Been around forever, has seen a lot of shit, and just shoots the shit with you, even in a horrible time.
This was beautiful. The game designer in me is going into overdrive trying to think of how to make something that rivals a character like this as a Villain. Also, sorry to ask. But, what music do you play at 18:00? I know I've heard it before and it's going to drive me nuts trying to remember
@@foxhound2118 If you mean the song at 18:00 I finally remembered. It was Vangelis - La petite fille de la mer. As for how to make a villain as good as the Master, unfortunately the search continues. But one day I hope to crack it
Loved this video. You have my respect and subscription. Richard is one of my favourite tragic hero/villain characters of all time. Decade ago or so I was considering making a short comics series about earlier life of Richard Moreau aka Richard Grey. Pretty much since his banishment from Vault 8, his life in Hub and eventual visit of Mariposa Military base. This character and setting got insane amount of potential to tell compelling and chilling tales.
The Master is such a great character, that even all these years later, Bethesda has to make mention of him whenever Super Mutants are involved, even though they really seem to want to have you forget that anything outside of Fallout 3, 4, and 76 exist.
![ลองสุ่มไอโฟน 990 โกงมั้ย? [ โกงมั้ยครับ ep.101 ] | DOM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfsWe0j492k/mqdefault.jpg)
Frank Horrigan video here -> th-cam.com/video/HI8V2WfqzHI/w-d-xo.html
how
@@bigfootbuthesmokesweed6766 membership reward
Did you add the part in FO3 where Marcus confirmed that the Mutants eventually became fertile??
The next one needs to be frank Horrigan, dudes a legend
The Master also takes a lot of inspiration, especially his physical appearance, from the movie "From Beyond".
Of course, that movie was inspired by a Lovecraft story, and Fallout has a bunch of Lovecraft other references... but the "absorbing" and mutating mass of flesh stuff is pretty much directly from the film.
BTW: Mariposa is Spanish for "butterfly". A bit nail-on-the-head naming there.
I love the fact that the Lieutenant actually knew there was something wrong in the mutant reproductive process but didn't have enough courage to tell the Master about it. This is what happens when you control people with fear too much; your subordinates tend to lie to you to keep you happy, and in the end you are completely unaware of the whole situation.
Sounds like what’s going on with Russia and Ukraine rn
Indeed. That's what you get when you punish those who speak the truth and surround yourself with yes men who are only capable of stealing and lying.
seems like a plot hole though, with his "intellect" how could he be ignorant so something so simple to see through basic observation? why wouldnt/couldnt he simply initiate a SM preg through invitro to make sure his "master race" was viable.
@@devlincarnate7809 The world economic forum controls both of them
@@erpherp4047 Okay champ, and where are you getting the sperm for the invitro fertilisation? Because it certainly isn't from the sterile mutants.
The main reason I love the master is that when you show him the proof that the mutants are sterile, he feels so terribly bad for every terrible action hes done, because he did those things in the name of the unity, but the unity was ultimately going to fail, and seeing him become sad and depressed as he kills himself is actually quite sad.
It's indeed rare and interesting to see a main villain who isn't just some narcissistic and arrogant psychopath but someone reasonable and with some humanity left despite his horrific form who, when presented with solid facts and evidence, quickly realizes the harm he caused and decides to redeem himself.
Its hilarious 😂😂😂
@@Sextus70 saren from ME1 comes to mind. He did it to try and save them from the reapers.
@@IL0909 ...
It's just weird to me because it's like... you haven't dipped nearly everyone dude, just stop the dipping for now and start work on a new strain, and then don't start full production until it's confirmed to work. What sort of scientist are you, man?
“Leave now, Leave.. while you still have hope” will always hit hard
The Master deserved every last bit of that despair.
Vault Dweller: *doesn't move*
Especially considering that when he was still a human he himself couldnt leave while he 'still had hope', instead becoming what he is now
@@NemFXthe fallout 1 equivalent to the fev choice in 3.
I have never played Fallout and this guy was my introduction to the series. And having him say THAT as his last words is probably gonna haunt me forever. Having to realize that your inhuman efforts were all for jackshit is - extremely depressing to go out with. Especially without any other option, given - well, his condition.
I genuinely spit my drink laughing at 1:50, where you're introducing The Master, but the filler footage is you SPRINTING up to some dude in his house and caving his fucking skull in with a giant hammer
Lmao
The Fallout experience.
Dude I didn't notice that 🤣
"Makes pretty good sense"
spat
That part when the Master realizes he messed up and that female voice says, "All my work" in that shocked and dismayed tone always sticks with me. Amazing voice acting.
I think he's voiced by Jim Cummings too! Amazing emotive vocal work! He sounds genuinely distraught! "Leave while you still have... hope."
32:50
@@Phoebe5448 I love the fact that the voices are personified emotions, the computer-like voice is the neutral one, about statistics, scientifical facts, etc...Then you have the angry male voice, for all that is violence authority, angriness, wish of killing, and the female voice, for good emotions, protrction, caring. Aded to the master own voice, it give an exceptionally complex character.
@@Areldil it's like there is an inner debate between the various personalities inside the Master: The "angry" voice at first is enraged, but after that he sounds confused, as when after moment of immense rage you feel astonished and wonder what you have done, the "computer" voice is more logical and cold towards all the horrors that were done, asking for proof, calculating the information and proposing to continue while the "female" voice is genuinely tormented and horrified by all the actions done seeking the Greater Good
@@Phoebe5448 What I love about voice acting. Winnie the Pooh, and The Freaking Master can be both perfectly portrayed by the same guy. What a world!
I really want more villains like The Master. He’s so grotesque but he has a way about him that he knows what he’s doing, and that he truly believes it’s for the greater good. I especially want more villains that can be talked to, eventually showing them reality and that they’ve been doing wrong, not right, to the point that they just give up.
The tau race from warhammer 40k is similar
I find kind of underwhelming how, at least according to his journal of Fallout 2, the path where the Vault Dweller opens The Master's eyes with hard evidence and makes him redeem himself with self-destruction is not canon and what actually happened in the lore was just a generic battle to the death with no nuance.
That's what I loved about Halo 2, you get to see both paths of a villain who believed they were right but were shown they were wrong. The Arbiter accepts reality at a great cost, the character Tartarus can't bear the truth and continues in denial.
@@Sextus70 Wasn't that left up to interpretation? Vault dweller says in his journal that he doesn't want to talk about what happened there other than the fact that what he saw there was grotesque, depressing and that he still doesn't feel ready to talk about it.
@Jerma985_Enjoyer Just reread the memoirs, and he says that indeed.
However, there's a picture in them of what seems the Dweller firing at The Master with some kind of anti-material rifle. That seems to imply he was so disturbed with what he found out (or if there was some dialogue attempt, it failed) that he decided to fight to the death.
It's a shame that fallout will never be dark and strange again. Master is just not something we'd ever see in modern fallout.
Sadly yeah. I would recommend Wasteland 3 it's reasonably close to that even if the game is a little bit shorter than the fallout games were it shares so much DNA with the original games that it's as close as you'll probably get. I wish Bethesda would take Fallout 5 and go really dark and twisted with it.
@@infernaldaedra Yeah I've played Wasteland 3,great game.
@@infernaldaedra Sincerely, having them "going back" in the timeline opens them so many possibilities to tie in facts and events loosely quoted in tge games, as well for leaving a dreadful desert-like wasteland, and even make a dark, sinister, revolting place to live in.
The institute in Fallout 4 have the opportunity to be dark story but it still solid.
that's because the theme of the franchise moved from "no-matter how advanced or savage it is, humanity will always manage to both adapt, and be awful",
to just "war bad, apes together strong" with a shitty cultural underlying "theme".
and i believe New-Vegas is reponsible for that,
because it's entire theme was about how radically differents-cultures can't help reform society as long as one isn't more powerful than others.
and don't get me wrong, F:NV is one of my favorites games, and i absolutely love it's theme, but bethesda missed the fucking point while trying to recreate it again and again.
Fallout 1 and 2 were about the slow reconstruction of humanity after a cataclysmic-event,
Fallout: New-Vegas was about differents cultures with their uniques outlook on how society should be rebuilt,
fallout 3 and fallout 4 were about "war-bad, don't commit war" and "don't be mean to others, we should all be friends".
I love his talking-head, truly one of the best villain designs
Kinda ironic that a guy with such a complicated background could be a talking head
Fun fact. The talking heads in Fallout 1 & 2 are actual stop motion props and claymation
@@warlordofbritannia what do you mean by this?
@@ungabungus01 I think "talking head" is also used to describe puppet like people on TV and Caesar is saying that it's weird that someone so interesting is a talking head. Think that was also what they called the models when making the game :) not 100% sure though.
And his voice was perfect
The Master is voiced by the same guy who voices Winnie the Pooh, an equally compelling villain
He also voiced Don Gizmo and Pete from Mickey Mouse
😂😂
And the Lt. is Judge Frollo from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame - one of Disney's best and darkest villians!
WHAT?? JIM CUMMINGS??? REALLY?? WOW!!
And Cat from CatDog
To me, the Master is the ultimate expression of the Wasteland: he’s a monstrous twisted creature horrifically impacted by the technology and radiation that makes the Wasteland so hostile. Once a mere man, he’s become a Frankenstein’s monster intent on bringing a destructive peace-just as, in a way, the Great War did.
Yet, when he’s shown to be wrong, he fails into despair and destroys himself, rather than use all his knowledge and power to find another way to help the devastated world. In essence, he’s the epitome of self-destruction that both led to the apocalypse and is too often the norm for life within the Wastes itself.
Its amazing that fallout is such a crazy series that you could come to your conclusion and i came to a completely seperate conclusion of “too much rat brain apparently”
I think he likely understood he was a treat to life, as he could make other terrible misjudgments as he did before. Better to destroy himself to save the remaining life from him.
Perfectly said.
Quite poetic
@@austinsavage5962 you can’t stop me from eating more rat brain
The true horror is the master realizes his mistake in the end.
Thats my favorite thing about the Master, he genuinely believed that his actions were for the good of all society. He genuinely believed that by turning everyone into super mutants and killing anyone who got in the way, peace would actually reign and the ends justified the means. When you keep trying to tell him the Super Mutants are sterile and, will eventually all die out, he keeps disagreeing. He doesn't want to imagine that every awful thing that he did was completely meaningless and his entire plan was thwarted by just one mistake he never thought to calculate for. Eventually when you finally provide enough evidence for him to believe it all, he kills himself. Not because he would rather die than let you beat him, but because he's sorry. He genuinely wanted to help everyone and bring peace in the only way he knew how. When you tell him that his entire plan has failed, he sees suicide as the only true form of justice to make up for the actions he committed.
aha i knew you were a cultured man
Whoever voiced The Master couldn't have done a better job. Especially with the dialogue where you prove his plan will fail. "I cannot continue to do the things I have done in the name of progress and healing. Leave now, while you still have hope." Gives me chills every time.
Making you?
It’s interesting. There are two types of antagonists. Those who can be reasoned with, and those who cannot. And finding out after which is which adds a retrospective context to what interactions you’ve had. And teaches you about what’s been done and it’s effect. The interesting thing is you can’t really tell most of the time which is which. It makes characters like Vader compelling.
33:20 the way that the slightly angry voice just says “madness?” Pierced my heart.
He sounded so enthusiastic, but in that moment it’s just confusion and possibly sadness towards all of his work being useless.
he questions madness? like very curiously and in intruginess.. i find that really cool
I feel bad that Harold never learned the true fate of his old friend, he knows about the Master by Fallout 2, but he never found out he was Richard, and Richard likewise thought Harold must have died because otherwise he would have helped him out of the vat he fell into.
I kinda wish there had been an option to tell Richard and/or Harold about the truth at least as an Easter egg rewarding players who put two and two together, even if just to have one or two extra lines of dialogue.
Also, if you do another Fallout 1 Villainpedia, I’d love to see one for the character Set cause he is so bizarre as a character but surprisingly multifaceted, I think he’s highly underrated. I guess technically he’s not a villain but he is a resentful pawn of the Master and not a nice fellow.
Fallout itself is literally a gold mine of videos for this channel. Fallout has 100s of villains with ridiculous backstories.
Doesn't Set *hate* the master? Like, even mentioning him makes Set angry.
@@SSD_Penumbra It’s one of those details that isn’t super obvious, but some of Set’s dialogue and a note from the Lieutenant in a desk that’s out of the way confirms that the Master put some super mutants into Necropolis to force the ghouls to be on the lookout for humans that the super mutants can take, but Set isn’t interested in following along, hence why he asks you to kill the super mutants at the watershed.
So basically, Set isn’t a minion on the level of the super mutants or children of the cathedral, he was only intended by the master to be a watchdog in Necropolis, but Set is not having any of it.
Honestly for villains of Fallout in general, I think Frank Horrigan would be a pretty cool villain to cover.
Wasn't Harold
Like
THERE
When the player finds all the Logs on the Master, on who he is
And sees
Who he's become
I just love how the game doesn’t end when you beat the master. You have to beat him AND the lieutenant, because the game is aware that the lore implies that he would continue with the mission, even if the master was gone. It’s so rare to see a game respect secondary villains in this way.
And I love how the game itself almost believes that the master would have been in the right, had his plans not been doomed to fail from the beginning, due to the reproduction issue.
gives me Legate Lanius vibes
@@nikolatesla9246 same here. Lanius really thinks that he's in the good by following the Legion, but can still be reasoned with. I love it
The Master: *rambling about superior races and unity*
Vault Dweller: *preparing to Facts and Logic the fuck out of gooey boi*
Just start the self-destruct and run the hell out of there!
I killed the Lieutenant first when I played for the first time.
"The Master wants to capture pure humans."
The Game Over screen: *mutants gunning down every single person*
Those are, presumably, unpure humans, who wouldn't become mutants
@@TheVoidIsCold they’re vault dwellers though, the purest humans there are
@@skeletonking2501 i always see them as the security force of the vault, a small sub faction trying to protect the rest of the vault in bane
@@soyhugo390 Aren't they all unarmed though? Like they visibly run away and almost never fight back. The one guy who does is (implied) the Overseer.
@@skeletonking2501 as i say, i see them that way, they drop the guns to flee maeby?
Another unique thing about the Master, is that the Master, *knows* that he is wrong.
The Master just sees it as simply the only way humanity can go on, he thinks he has to do it, because demise would come to them otherwise.
Which is the only reason he kills himself, all the evil he had done, was supposed to save humanity in the long run, and his plan failed.
The only super ai dystopian antagonist I know to have done that
I always wondered why, after such a long time, he would just give up his plan in an instant, instead of trying to fix FEV in not sterilising the individuals that are brought in contact with it.
It's critique on a very high level, I know. I'm a Fallout fan of the first hour btw =b
The thing that sticked with me is the rawness and harshness this game slaps things around and I love it till today.
@@homerp.hendelbergenheinzel6649He did fold quick but it was still a cool ending right?
@@EdMcStinko indeed it was. I thought it was pretty neat to have the option to talk him out of his plan! It's not like I discovered it on my first playthrough, since the speech threshold is rather high to get the option and then you still would have to follow the right path in the conversation. I guess I stumbled across the option by accident one time and was I was flabbergasted.
reminds me a bit of Leto II.
I was traumatized the first time I walked into the master’s room without the helmet protecting you from his psychic abilities, reading about the terrifying horror show going on in the vault dwellers scrambled mind as he tries to take a single step, losing massive HP along the way
You have tanked horrifying Psychic Assaults upon your mind through your Stats alone!
...but at what cost?
Drugs is key
@@mitchellalexander9162 A true battle of wits
I played Fallout when I was way too young. The scene where you get dipped in the FEV vat and the Super Mutants kill everyone in the Vault scared me. The Master terrified me. I had nightmares for months after meeting him.
rats we're rats.. we're the rats.. we prey at night we stalk at night.. we're the rats! i'm the giant rat that makes all of the rules.. let's see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into..
This, bro, even the soundtrack was freaking me out I had to turn it down or off to even go to do the business down there.
So you admit to being weak boy, and caving into the darkness?
@@alyssarasmussen1723The rats in the walls…
My first play i come to military base and was oneshot and cut in 2 parts by mutant with laser rifle.
This shocked me so much so i deleted the game😂 my next attempt was only in few months
The Master: Through the great Unity we will achieve peace and progress
Vault Dweller: I just wanted to fix the heating for our water...
haha, they fucked with the wrong plumber!
Omg… it was Super Mario Brothers the whole time…😮
it’s an iceberg issue
It's especially more hilarious if you play as a 1 intelligence Vault Dweller.
Overseer tells you to deal with the mutants, and you just whack the master with a hammer and call it a day.
I love how they chose probably the most recognizable children's voice actor to portray The Master. Someone who's voice we grew up with and and is so familiar, but not like this. It freaked me out in a way that can probably never be repeated.
Who is it?
@@matthewmcguire224 Tigger from Winnie the Pooh
@@LedZedd I believe you mean Pete from Good Troop, bruh. 😐
@@LedZedd not just tigger, winnie himself as well
Also pretty sure he did eggman in one of the sonic cartoons
The saddest thing is, much later on, i think it was in Jacobstown in Fallout NV, you will learn from Marcus that the reproduction system of supermutants actually started to heal... and since they can live for hundreds of years, it would in the end work out. Master DID really have a master plan.
I'm quite sure this was added to justify existance of super mutants in Fallout 3. Bethesda is so out of touch with this lore and it makes me sad they've done a stupid fan service with their games instead of actually doing proper writing and world building.
@@shiverr1337I rather think in that case it was more of a freak accident than anything, like for fallout 4 the reason why we don't see chimera anymore is because they've either been all wiped out or there isn't much fev left and the wasteland there is more stable now thanks to the past actions of others, atleast that's my interpretation of things
I don’t remember that being the case at all. Mutants are sterile and have been that way forever. It’s even explained in fallout 3 and 4. That’s why the mutants in 3 capture humans. What dialogue did you get from Marcus in FNV? Never heard him say it healed.
@@TRP_7022yeah mutants are still sterile, there is a big misconception from a single line from Marcus in fallout 2 we’re he jokes that it takes some time to get the juices flowing again after visiting a brothel. Chris avellone confirmed it was a joke
@Rencol666 actually it was fallout 2 where Marcus said it healed but it was said by developers that he was kidding so to this day supermutants can't reproduce
It's a shame that no other really lived up to this kind of legend. He was some big shoes to fill in the franchise.
New Vegas came the closest I think. Mr. House is just a Capitalistic Master without the mutations. The man was so forward thinking that he predicted the Nuclear Apocalypse and built a robot army, a personal vault with a super computer to upload his brain across all his machines. The Vegas Strip would survive under his watch and through hundreds of years of carful planning he will make a new empire under his own name and further humanity, United under his immortal mind.
@@Broomer52 The question is this though... The Master clearly has a flawed plan that we can see the problems with, not to mention the direct threat of turning every human person into a mutant hybrid. Mr. House, on the other hand, while he's cold and doesn't regard human life with much respect outside of his own ends... does his idea of what New Vegas can be NOT work? Is he doomed to fail or can he actually accomplish his goals successfully with our help? The Master's plan, as we saw in the Brotherhood research, would never have been realized, because it didn't work. But with Mr. House it isn't so obvious where his point of failure is, even if you disagree with his ideas. So I think that makes him a bit more complex when compared to the Master. The reason the Master tends to win out, is just how memorable your encounter with him really is and that (unlike Mister House) you can actually win out against him in a social confrontation, a battle of logic and reason, because he's actually wrong and much less ambiguous.
@@Gakusangi tbh Mr House doesn't see himself as a god like the master does. He's just the House of the wasteland. He doesn't tolerate any bad folk such as raiders. Well only that time where he had to start back New Vegas with the families.
Frank Horrigan, the super mutant cyborg purifier came close. He was the sword of the Enclave.
Love this!
It's interesting to compare The Master to Dagoth Ur. They have a few important similarities. Both were corrupted through the discovery and attempted destruction of something powerful, in Ur's case the heart of Lorkhan. And both attempted to unite people by making them "one" through corruption, in Ur's case via Corprus. They're both tragic figures that seem more like victims the more of their story you hear.
The path to hell is paved with good intentions.
Shouldn't stare into the darkness long, lest you desire becoming the darkness yourself.
That’s the best kind of villain, imo.
I’m a sucker for Shakespearean/Greek tragedy falls from grace 😂
The Master and dagoth Ur are two of the best videogame antagonists ever.
The difference is that Dagoth Ur was a god, and how can you kill a god?
feel sorry for Voryn Dagoth, not Dagoth Ur.
Voryn was betrayed/corrupted
Ur was a corrupted psychotic anti-god
What ultimately made the difference between the master as a truly evil villain, and the master as a tragic villain really does come down to trying out the diplomacy option. If you don't take that route he is nothing ever but a evil maniac, albeit a really cool and perfect fallout one.
But the diplomacy option to defeat him shows that like you said he truly always meant to be the savior, and the moment he chose to die and end his reign instead of riding the madness and trying to conquer anyways is the moment he proved everything he claimed he wanted, that he didn't lie, and that when we found out he was wrong, he accepted it, and chose to end it, rather than perpetuate it. It's a very very powerful moral backbone that is disturbing if you think to be present in such a monster of a man, yet lacking in so many wastelanders that are absolutely human. The master, the practical father of mutants was honest, if anything.
The characters backstory reminds me of "I have no mouth and I must scream"
Pls explain
@@b42charlie "I have mouth and I must scream" is a dreadful, haunting story that i truly reccomend
@@b42charlie funny how Internet historian has a channel all about "i must expleeeene" based in the "I have no mouth and I must scream" and you asked to explain.
@@b42charlie about gaming pc with too much power like glados but 10k IQ, and 4 protagonist who only want death as a reward. You should give it a go.
thanks, i looked on internet and now i doubt i would slepp fine within 5 days :"D
Considering the Master had already merged with the base's computer when he was moved to the vault, I imagine four supermutants carrying the computer all the way across the west coast.
Lmao
it's the coffin dance but with the computer.
@@TheBonkleFox GENIUS ❗❗❗❗
Or one behemoth
@@Tommybouy666 i dont think west coast supermutants become behemoths i think that was a special trait for the east coast vault strain
Sad that Fallout 4's villian, Father, wasn't as well rounded. If you ask him why he even made synths and what their purpose is, he just says "you wouldn't understand" and then dies. Very poor writing.
You sure that lore isn't found in terminals or log entries found in the wasteland?
But you still don't understand so he's right
I'd like to think it's something up to interpretation. Usually individuals such as himself keep things vague and isolated. He's cruel and separated from others so you could guess it could be a deep reason. Regardless, I do wish that his reasoning will eventually be revealed.
@@alchemyty yes, all terminal entries and data logs in all of fallout 4 are catalogued online, zero of them give any reason for the synths
welcome to bethesda’s writing lmao
I miss the old days of RPGs where you could smooth talk the villain into killing themselves lol
yeah that's fun
I like that they kept that
*SPOILERS*
In F:NV, if you have enough speech you can convince the Legate that even if he wins and takes over the dam, he wouldn't be able to hold it, as his army had already suffered many loses and all it would take for any of the factions to re take it would be to send reenforcements. He sees this and admits that he never wanted the dam, that he thougth Cesar's obssesion with it would break the legion, and that they would return with greater streght.
You can do this in Fallout 3 with Eden.
@@nintendoman12111 They made a dogshit version of it that completely betrays the character we have been presented throughout the game
@@hunterblue7816 nah, Legate Lanius is a monster, not an idiot
Just a fun point of trivia; the Master's male voices are Jim Cummings, AKA Winnie the Pooh. The Lieutenant is Tony Jay as well, Shere Khan from the animated Jungle Book. Two of the all time greats giving these characters some incredible presence!
Could you please look at the evolution (or devolution) of an icon of PC gaming; the enigmatic Kane of Command and Conquer?
Nice! Oh, by the way, your idea is so refreshing to see. I grew up with Command and Conquer, and it's one of the very first games I played. Glad to know that there's still someone out there who recognize (and appreciate) the influence of Kane!
The female voice from The Master is Kath Soucie. Who played characters like Kanga from "Winnie the Pooh", Phil and Lil from "Rugrats", and Dexter's mother from "Dexter's Laboratory".
@@CartoonEric Oh man, some serious prestige all around on the Master!
@@Gigas0101 Awesome, huh? :D
@@CartoonEric And also was the voice for Sally Acorn for Sonic SATAM.
The time limit made it hard for players that really like to be thorough, with a completionist mindset, but it made so much sense story wise
It drilled into my mind, sometimes when I’m playing a more modern game I find myself focused hard, hurrying to the next objective cos that would “make sense”
Then I check myself, I usually end up realising “this isn’t fallout” I reload a much earlier save and take my time getting around to things, ensuring I set myself up as thoroughly as possible
A little more realism wouldn’t hurt, maybe developers could add it to a “hardcore” mode for realism
Imagine if fallout new Vegas had a 100 day limit for the courier to set things up, like wouldn’t the ncr and legion face off happen without the players input? Wouldn’t easy Pete, just chilling out front of the saloon hear the distant gunshots, the rolling of artillery and see the dust slowly rise over the horizon?
Hardcore mode would have been more relevant with a time limit
Hardcore mode is the only way to play nv
I agree. Fallout 1 is one of those rare games which doesn't handhold you at all. It doesn't even tell you what direction to go half the time, and you have to be exceptionally observant and listen to the clues. To actually get to necropolis you end up going through a ton of dead ends.
The time limit for the water chip makes sense I guess, but having another one for the Master just as quick is too much. Fallout imo is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace, worrying more about learning the ropes and surviving than achieving a campaign victory quickly. After all, if you fail, that's game over...You'll have to reload a very old save if you've not managed your time. And NOBODY wants to undo like 5+ hours worth of game time to rush an ending.
Legitimately one of the best villains ever.
One that you can kinda understand why he does the things he does but is also unforgivable because of those every same things.
Also the fact that you can talk him down and reason with him (much like legate lanius in New Vegas) is so cool and I wish more games did this
Mariposa means "butterfly" I guess that's a dark nod to the "transformation" that was going on there at the MB. Very Silence of the Lambs
I thought this was "The Strain" Master. Another good villain.
Cool to know that Mariposa in spanish means Butterfly. I Speak Portuguese, and this exact same word (Mariposa) means "Moth" in my language. Which i think it fits better to the whole trasnformation thing.
That's pretty cool. I actually used to live nearby Mariposa and still have some friends that live over there. Its a neat town but it's just like many other small town in California. Its not a desert like pictured in the games except for the last decade or so due to drought. But normally it's a beautiful place
It's also a slur. So...
@@jacobuponthestone9093 yes. But not in this context.
@@jacobuponthestone9093 there are like 50 millionslurs for gay in Mexico and Latin America
I sincerely wish more games had villains this well thought out. You can really tell how much passion and dedication went into this game
The solution to the sterility problem is twofold.
First, just don't convert all humans, keep a healthy-sized population around.
You don't even have to force them into the vats, just foster a culture of understanding and brotherhood/hero worship of the super-mutant among the population, and make becoming one an honour, maybe even the prize of a festival or something.
Second, just keep researching and experimenting, you only need one breeding pair of supert-mutant to start the ball rolling after all.
It's the same with necromancers in fantasy, why do you kill everyone, when everyone is going to die in time regardless !
Just wait, and use the powers of propaganda and narrative, and manufactured consent, just like the real-life demons !
I feel the same way about The Master's plan. In fact looking back on it and what you have stated here it seems to me that The Master could have done what The Emperor of Warhammer 40K did with his space marines, making the super muntants into a elite force of valiant warriors using examples like Lou to try to convince people that they are a force of protection and order against the raiders and mutated creatures of the wasteland able to rebuild human civilization out of the destroyed world.
The problem with this is that both the Master and his Liutenent had no idea the mutants were even sterile. They only find out at the very end of the game because frankly neither checked to see if their super mutant armor even had genitals and each of them assumed they were "unique" among the mutants.
@@gelmorn18 Well, the thing with the Emperor is that his plan was much better for humanity, and hinges on actual understanding and abolishing of dogma that historically held humanity back. What tanked everything were his idiot sons.
@@fireflocs But it was a problem he knew of and worked to improve in the first place. His entire plan was about continuous evolution and unity. I dont get why he’d suddenly forget the most central aspect of being a mutant: change.
the fact they never stop to think of failsafes like this is in my opinion part of the point. The master was so broken and twisted and focused on achieving his one goal that as soon as the first real roadblock in that path is exposed he descends down a self destructive spiral and takes his own life, showing his failings as a being.
Also i realy find interesting that . In Fallout 1 main antagonists wanting to make everyone mutant but in Fallout 2 main antagonists wanting to kill everyone who is mutant .
They are kinda opposite side of each other i think developers intentionaly did this .
Also in both plans it would ensure there'd exist only one faction anymore and hence everlasting peace would be an option.
@@NephritduGrey mmmmmm I don't know about that the whole reason the planet was nuked was because of humans lol if the planet was just full of humans again the same thing would prolly happen just many years later
It’s also cool, that in the second game you can go to brothel with Marcus, and he says that he’s afraid of making the hooker pregnant. You can ask about the infertility of mutants, and he answers that it takes a few decades for “everything to get on its place”. So, virtually, if the vault dweller wouldn’t have killed Master, his paradise could come to fruition.
One of the writers later backtracked this by going “UUUUHHHH ACTUALLY MARCUS WAS JUST JOKING NEVER MIND ABOUT THAT LINE” cause I guess they realized later on that they didn’t want the possibility for the Master to be right all along.
Thats just Marcus trolling the player.
@@ozythewise7411 so his junk didn't grow back!? :( fck being a super mutant lmao
@@madmorgo6233 The junk is fine, just the stuff is useless.
@@madmorgo6233 that was the flaw in the Master's plan. His tweaked FEV ensured that the reproductive organs were preserved... ... ...just he didn't bother to check whether they still still produced gametes.
The dominant mind probably got a boost from the rat's survival instincts maybe that first rat has alot of influence? Like wonder where he got the idea to spread across the wasteland? rat's can also sense bad genetics making them reject mates with genetic flaws perhaps this created his view of humans being unacceptable and flawed?
All of this things are present in humans, just less instinct and more thought based.
That is a legitimately awesome idea and does explain why the master is kinda stupid
Feeling bad for genetically ibfeior rats now
@@JonatasAdoM I think it could apply to not spreading stds like all the other rats would just know same with cancer it wouldn't get passed on. Nature can be harsh sometimes but ant colonies came from a mother insect producing oodles of infertile young but a weakness can be a strength like jurassic park and mimic said "life finds a way"
are you a rat?
"I journeyed, long in walking, far beyond the place of stopping where there was no more returning to the people i had known. I saw the world forgotten, where the grass gives up on growing. And I knew that 1 would never make another journey home. Upon that fleshy plain, below the final rock outcropping (outcroppings) stretched the vast and empty desert of the hungry (HUNGRY!) bleeding thing (THING!). Encompassing the earth to the horizon, all-consuming (all-consuming), crying in a thousand voices to its desolate god-king (god-king desolate god-king). And the MUSIC of its crying never dead, ever dying, sent me running in a madness I can scarce compare to fear (fear), not to safety, but to silence (silence) unto my own unmaking. And yet now, upon awaking, once again the song I hear. (The song) I long to taste (TASTE!) the fruit of the earth, (Earth) i long for water quenching (water quenching...) Of my thirst, unending, (unending) nothing that remains can satisfy. (SATISFY!) For my voice (voice..) has joined the chorus (CHORUS!) ever more, ever mourning Ever singing. Ever hungry. Ever dying. Never die.
The Master has the same voice actor as Tigger in Winnie The Pooh, I always appreciated the contrast between the two
He also voices Gizmo in Junktown
And Minsc!
Jim Cummings took over the roll of Tigger in 2000, but played Winnie the Pooh himself as well as over 400 other roles! He does lots of singing double work too, Scar in "Be Prepared" and Rasputin in Anastasia being the most iconic.
@@chereaj7891 Jim Cummings beeing the voice of Minsc and Buzz Lightyear made me cry with laughter😂 But now that I know that he was the voice behind so many so drasticly different characters I'm impressed beyond belief😯👍
Tigger in winnie the pooh? How does one remember this, but forget he voiced Winnie the pooh in winnie the pooh?!
Jim Cummings is a legend. Other than the Master he also voices Gizmo and Set. As well as many characters in Fallout 4. Not to mention he plays Patriarch and Wreav in ME2, Barlin and Aldous in DAO and many characters in Skyrim such as Skald, Dengeir, etc.
You know what, I really like the fact that they went to the trouble of giving an explanation for the weird animals in the wasteland beyond things being made big and scary by radiation.
I always just assumed that they were a throwback to 50s b movies, so it's interesting to see it reinterpreted through a more hard sci fi/anti-authoritarian lens
Anti-authoritarian? What does that mean? But I like the explanation for mutants other than "rads done did it" I wish the modern fallouts would use more actual science and less magic.
@@whitegluestick6039 In fallout 3-4 isn't magic and witchcraft confirmed to exist :?
@@therealestmannyt1029 i know there is some supernatural elements. Like that quary that is alive or huanted. I know it's connected to the dunwich building in fo3. in nuka world isn't there a huanted house with a little girl ghost? But I was referring to radiation turning creatures into mutants like ghouls, ghouls were originally created by a mixture of FEV and radiation but now its just radiation.
@@whitegluestick6039 it's anti-authoritarian in the sense that the explicit reason that the world is only so dangerous is because of the government and the corporations that it contracted out to overstepping ethical boundaries.
The government of the pre-war society had no regard for its people, only showing interest in furthering its imperialist agenda, and that's why the wasteland is so hostile. There isn't really anything external to the US military-industrial complex that really gets any attention beyond the implication that mutually assured destruction was preferable to the alternative and having even the incidental mutation of the local fauna be due to the government of the USA trying to create supersoldiers, rather than being an incidental effect of the radiation, is further evidence of that.
50s b movie monsters are really often explained as "the radiation did it lol."
To anyone possibly thinking about trying the first two fallout games, if you enjoyed the modern fallout games and you enjoy a well written story and slow but sure progression then you owe it to yourself to play through these games. They are masterpieces.
There are open source engines available to get them working on any device as well.
Fallout 2 has the worst Tutorial of all time
Ever
It's all the slow dragged out-ness of fallout 3, and it's not friendly to new players
While also not even teaching you enough of the game
And if you're a non combat character.... Yeah, good luck
Besides that
It's amazing
@@jidk6565 the tutorial filters out the meek and weak willed. its genius and hysterically evil hahaha
My god those "he consumes them" shots had me in tears. 🤣
The Master's ultimate downfall evokes much that of a classical tragedy, like Hamlet or Tamberlaine. His core traits--his scientific perspective, charisma, desire to improve the wasteland, and heal the world--all evoke those of a hero. However, circumstances & personal failings gradually twist those ideals--they mutate--into self annihilation and damnation. Something that's actually kind of difficult to write for an antagonist, and give the protagonist sufficient agency. The traits that make him heroic end up destroying him and his soul.
My favorite piece of lore is that even the Master was reluctant to use nuclear weapons against his enemies, while since Fallout 3, we as the players have been blowing them for giggles
That's why in Lonesome road DLC. I always have Ed-E prevent a nuclear disaster with all these talks of history and seeing what damage was done to the Divide. Preventing a nuclear strike against the NCR and Legion seems more logical to someone having to explore and survive the Divide.
The average fallout player does not pick up on the games core themes or messages at all tbh
I always giggle when I blow someone
For a hyperevolved supercomputer, you’d think he would have actually tried to breed a couple and test his hypothesis at some point.
So in game he had no idea super mutants were sterile? Seems like a major oversight for a supercomputer hive mind genius.
@@whitegluestick6039 but like how tho
@@povotaknight2063 indeed.
@@whitegluestick6039 He didn't know because his mutants were lying to him because they didn't want to upset him
@@floridaball4896 huh, so he didn't grow suspicious when he never saw any giant green babies?
I remember my first encounter with the Master in the late 90s as a kid. This guy made of goop blew my mind, and is one of the many reasons I have become a life long fan of the Fallout series
cute pone
@@DemonPrinceofHell Thanks
Holy shit. I never played the the first two games in the series but this video made me want to. Just the way he crumbles as he realized his work was all for naught. Perfection indeed
You definitely should, but don’t give up during the first part of Fallout 2!
@@Looking4HopeAnywhereThat first fucking rat...
@@Looking4HopeAnywhereWhere can I play it? Do I need an emulator or something and if yes, which one?
Fallout 1 and 2 are on steam
I like to think that The Master was unfairly kicked out of his vault or framed, just like the Soul Survivor, as a way of making them better foils of each other.
I think you meant the vault dweller
I belive its the lone wanderer
Fallout 1- vault dweller
Fallout 2-chosen one
Fallout 3-lone wanderer
Fallout 4-Sole survivor
New Vegas- courier
Well it was Vault 8. That is the vault that sprung Vault City. If you played Fallout 2 you know they are a bunch of a-holes.
The best. The GOAT retelling of The Master. This is the finest exploration of this character and I'll be using this vid to explain my 28+ years of interest from here on out. Amazing. No notes.
I love that you used Vangelis at 18:37. Amazing composer.
L'apocalypse des animaux (1973),
my father would play it on beautiful mornings when i was a child.
@@Judge_Zionit’s a great album to look at stars too.
The best fallout villain period
fallout 2 villain is the enclave in its whole and they want to rid the land of "mutants" (frank on the oil rig is just a final tough mob at the end game)
fallout 3 villain is basically the same but without a tough opponent cuz you just fight through footsoldiers
fallout NV the final boss can be either general oliver (a puss) or lanius but lanius is just a bloodthirsty sociopathic warmonger he has no end goals he just wishes to conquer think of it as a dog chasing the mailmans van like what would the dog do even if he caught it
Fallout 4 villain is the Institute...this secret secluded organisation of scientists who use people outside of the institute to test their sick experiments (ofc you can be join the institute but i aint talking about that)
like none of the fallout games have such a thought through villain who actually wants to make everyone equal and just better the world (through some cutthroat methods) but he actually has a end goal and ambitions but he had not forseen one singular flaw that destroyed his whole plan (that being sterilization) and thats what makes him such an interesting and actually a tragic character
he didnt choose to become the master he just fell into the vat of the FEV accidantally and was "corrupted by it"
Jim Cummings was great at this role.
Edit: also forgot the second in command was voiced by Tony Jay. Man. Legends.
And Morpheus is voiced by David Warner
What if the thought “what if I used another rat” was actually the rat brain taking over and the biggest baddie is all of Fallout is just nuclear ‘Ratatouille’ with a psycho Remmy?
If you want to do another Fallout character I think Robert House would be a fantastic one. Truly one of the few "antagonists" in the franchise to come close to The Master in quality.
Edward Sallow aka Caeser would be a pretty good character worth analyzing as well.
Yeah the master and mr house are easily the best antagonists in the series they’re just such interesting characters that manage to be really convincing and charismatic. It is kind of crazy just how many amazing villains there are in the fallout series thinking about it now
The problem is that Mr. House isn't a villain
House always wins, chump
Agreed, House is a Catalyst to the events and a potential story ally. He's a neutral in the story if anything. A greedy control freak money grubbing neutral but one that kinda want's stability and diplomacy. He doesn't even want direct involvement in the Hoover Dam war, its business!!!
time to learn about a completely new character i’ve never seen before
Whaaaa
Dude. It is worth playing fallout 1. I was a guy that had the 1.0 version so I literally lost because I hit 400 days. My middle school brain was so blown away that I could fail by not finishing the quest in time
@@aj1218 i’ll consider it but i’ve got a lot of random games i still gotta play haha
@@brooksy_ it's a small game. You can beat it in 20 hours without feeling cheated.
However, there's a reason why it started a mega franchise and all the old heads miss the writing from the pre Bethesda days
@@aj1218 I played it a few years ago because I wanted to get into the fallout series so I decided to start from the beginning and was shocked to see what the first two were like. I was pretty skeptical at first but the writing ended up being so great I ended up liking them more than the 3d games
It is so sad that, in cannon, the Vault Dweller never even talked to him. He either used the nuke or he just shot the Master up without talking to him.
SERIOUSLY 😢
Who says that? Bethesda? 😂
In my walkthrough I talked to him, left his secret base, found a water chip, few months later returned to him, activated the bomb and tried to tell him about that, but he was so sad that didn't even talk to me again :(
No. It's said that no one know how The Vault Dweller kill Master.
@@sukauser yes
The Master is pure Chad-nerd euphoria. I remember as a teen thinking it was cool that you could convince Sarah to off himself in Mass Effect, but then I discovered this game and it just doesn't compare.
I laughed way too hard at that you misspelled Saren as “Sarah” 🤣🤣
Idk about that bro… I but I biased I guess because mass effect trilogy to me was the greatest story ever told movie book or game..
Sarah the the turian 😳
@@finnermakesyouseethewithra3134 Best. Typo. Ever.
The reapers had the potential to be as amazing as the master villian wise but Bioware went and half assed the ending, ruining them.
Jim Cummings, Keith David, Tony Jay, Clancy Brown, Ron Perlman, Frank Welker, David Warner. This game had such great voices.
The best part about the master, as with all good villains, is that, if you scrape away our instinct to call something inhumane on the surface because we haven’t experienced the wasteland ourselves, the master’s ideas are very agreeable, to the point where I think it’s a bit of a detriment to the game that he is so well written, yet you can’t side with him. Yes, you can let him win, but it’s against your character, and the wasteland’s, will. The only way to unite the world after the bombs and feasibly survive, thrive and rebuild it in more harmony than we’ve ever achieved in real life, would be to have the master go through with his plan and see it to the end. Also, the only problem that can stop the plan other than a godlike, plot-armored player character is reproduction. However, with our new knowledge of how synths get made, I think it’s actually safe to assume they could become Super Mutants, entirely solving the repoduction problem.
you can willingly become a supernatant in FO1 and join him
The Master looks like a Courage the Cowardly Dog Villain
"You're not perfect" lookin ass
Very big "Ulcer" vibes
Ive spent my life engaged in fantasy, i love this game but i never would have imagined id actually feel anything for it beyond the basic joy of entertainment. This was well thought out and beautifully put. Kudos
I was explaining The Master to my little sister but she asked why he doesn't just make farms to breed humans. That broke me.
He’s a psycho obsessed with creating a master race. Humanity is beneath him, and human farms would almost inevitably entail either using vaults which could lead to revolts, or using mutated wasteland humans, which have a really hard time mutating “properly”
I don’t think you understand at all the human farms probably wouldn’t work. I mean I could be wrong as well but I’d say it’s safe to assume that the irradiated FEV caused some sort of molecular mutation that could possible be carried on to offspring. Just theorizing here but it holds up in my head cannon (obviously lol)
@@Xnvasxveexcept all the vaults hold unmutated humans so he could just as easily use those. Either way he could probably see an eventual human uprising followed by war between races, which is exactly what he wants to avoid in the long run.
Sure it could work, but you gotta realize this isn't a practical problem, it's a philosophical problem. And if you still need humans to breed, then humanity didn't evolve, there's merely a two class system now.
FEV is chemical based, meaning that at one point the necessary ingredients will run out and he can’t make more mutants
Arcanum (made by the OG fallout devs) is rich with nuanced narratives like this and definitely warrants exploring.
I started 4 times now. I can't simply decide what class or race to play. There's so much combinations.
One became a mass of flesh and metal, the other, a mass of tree and earth. The former wishes to live, and the latter wishes to die. Both stationary, mutated, and leaders of humans.
Am I winning yet? Am I deep? Me so smart.
It's a little poetic that the Vault Dweller in Fallout 1 convinced the Master to die for the sake of others where as the Lone Wanderer in Fallout 3 convinced Harold to live for the sake of others.
The conclusion to both their stories end up opposite to each other- especially since Harold finds himself to be a reluctant leader as opposed to the Master who was obsessed with imposing that he was the leader of humanity-at least the future of humanity.
@@UbinTimor burn it
This was such a good character profile I watched the whole thing twice and will probably watch it again.
The Master is indeed a masterclass of “villainy” in general.
I find it invredible how he and his old friend Harolds storry seem to have Mirrored each other.
Think about it.
One technology and the other nature
One wanting a cult but needed help, the other didn't but gpt one anyways
One seeking evolution in life the other stagnation and death
Honestly pretty intresting if you ask me.
I feel like fallout tends to have extremely underrated villains. From the Master to the Enclave, to Caesars legion, and hell even the institute is a extremely cool concept
Mr. Tenpenny, The Brotherhood of Steel, All of the pre-war people that destroyed the world. The politicians and pre-war CEOs and scientists, and just tragic tales you often find are quite interesting as well.
Cool concept, poor execution
In fallout, The Villain Characters tend to be the type to think they are saving the world with a solution and they are salvation but the practice makes them monsters instead or a Villain with an actual solution that's implying said solution in the worst way possible. Even in the cancelled Van Buren, A Scientist was trying to wipe out a disease terrorizing the Midwest by flying up to a space station and laser beaming the whole planet not before imprisoning a wastelander infected with said virus to try to cure it and if that prisoner escaped then he sends out a killer robot to chase them across the map to retain them and actively destroying towns in game to purge the Virus.
There is something to be said about the style; and I couldn't tell you for certain if this was an intentional art choice, or a matter of technical convenience, or some other third category; of Fallout 1 and 2, especially with it's talking portraits. The fact that so many of the characters have this hideous, uncanny, ghastly, and/or creepy look to them, and that they're faces are pushed up so close to your face when you're talking to them, it gives you this choking sense of claustrophobia and unease. And of course, The Master, is the best/worst example of all of them. The fact that he's been reduced to a slimy, gory mess of flesh and machine, one with schizophrenic tendencies and an unnerving, inconsistent cadence, all the while his hideous visage dominates half your entire screen... it's fucked up, to be honest.
I remember being a pretty young kid, in the early 2000's (way before the Bethesda Fallout's), watching my step father play through the end of Fallout 1, I remember him entering into The Master's chamber, and I remember finding him so creepy. I was obviously too young to understand anything that was going on, and I knew nothing about the story of Fallout, but even still, I remember sitting there, uneasy but unable to look away, completely enthralled by this insane character design.
I really wish they'd do a (respectable) remake of the first game. The story and setting are stellar. But even as someone who can appreciate old games, they are very hard to approach from a modern gameplay mechanic. The combat system is especially a drudge, almost nore a chore than an enjoyable aspect, and very hard to avoid.
He gives me chills every time, everything about him is powerful.
The game is such impressive that you could do all three endings all together... sneak to activate the bomb, then talk to master so he activate.. the already activated.. bomb. .then fight it full on while the time is ticking to nuclear explosion. Man, what a great first run of Fallout, never forget that :)
I recently started playing Fallout 2 and I can’t stop hearing enough of this guy. I’m so happy I get to learn about him from my one of my favorite content creators!
You played Fallout 2 without having played 1?
@@Dawg.Wit. Yeah, always been told Fo2 is the better game so I started with that one
@@ryankeith2712 They're wrong then,
But even if f2 was better, f1 is still worth playing.
There is just one thing. Why did the Master just give up when he found out the new mutagen also sterilized the mutants? Could he not just keep working on it until he managed to make a version that didn’t? Wasn’t he made virtually immortal by all his consumption and merging with technology?
Because he realized he did the exact thing he set out to stop but worse.
@Mister Majestic I just don't know if I buy that he would even still be rationalizing _anything_ at this point. I thought his morality was lost long ago.
The wonderful writing of the Master is the fact that while he's hideous in form and goals, it's hard to argue that he's downright evil.
He genuinely believes that his plan will save mankind from itself, and he's got a good argument in favor of this belief. With everyone being super mutants, they will no longer be plagued by the ravages of radioactive fallout, and with the Master having a telepathic link to all super mutants, he's able to soothe minds and prevent conflicts between individuals, creating, at last, peaceful co-existence for all (at the cost of some individual thought and having your physical form corrupted into being a super mutant of course)
So he never set out to destroy the world or humanity or exact revenge or any other villanous tropes. He's on a quest to help humanity and stop humanity from going extinct.
Further evidence for his good intentions is the fact that he doesn't lash out or attack the Vault Dweller if confronted with the proof of FEV destroying reproductive capabilities in Super Mutants. Instead he becomes wracked with guilt as his sense of self-righteousness is shattered by the undeniable proof before him.
So as a main villain he manages to be horrifying, but at the same time NOT evil, and that's pretty genius when a writer pulls it off in a story.
You'd like Aquinas. All evil comes from seeking the good, because it's impossible to be motivated by anything except what we perceive as good. Even if that perceived good is just a selfish desire for personal gain. Where evil arises is valuing a lesser good over a higher good, or misinterpreting something evil as good because it might have some beneficial effects.
Can't wait for Lavos from Chrono Trigger as you will have to explain temporal mechanics to explain the villain.
Thank you so much for this video. Fallout 1 is still probably my most played game ever. I also felt for the master when it came to the endings, it took a very long time to get there haha my first time making it to the master I realised I'd stuffed up when I fell victim to his charisma and joined the mutant army haha 1000s of hours and a story line that still resonates to this day. I actually still have the old windows 95 cd of the game still in awesome condition
The only recent villain I've seen that approaches the Master's goopiness was Ted Faro, and even then they only hinted at how fucked up he got...the cowards.
Tony Jay elevated every single game he was in.
This writing and his vocal cadence together makes this one of the best channels I've come by. Well done.
Ghost at it again with masterpiece after masterpiece. Gotta say i love learning about villians i've never even heard of before. Baller shit
Absolutely incredibly made video. Like wow. Better than watching a documentary. So beautifully edited with a well-written script, plus the pacing is perfect. Seriously, good job man. Impressed would be an understatement
Please let me know if you have a paypal, venmo, or cashapp bc I wanna donate but Patreon is being wacky for me
32:36 Best and most chilling dialog in all media. Period.
I work nightshifts as a nurse in a hospital. U helped me trough me some long/difficult nights. Thanks bro for all the effort u put in ur videos!
My videos are small potatoes compared to the work of a nurse, thanks for all you do as well!
Night shift nurse tech here! I’m right here with you buddy
The diplomatic ending was by far the best one, still it is insane how you even have several ways to defeat him. Even diplomatic characters that chose violence or forgot the holo-disk somewhere were able to defeat it with EMP grenades. The master was half machine so he was vulnerable to EMP. Yet, the diplomatic ending was the true one. In no other game you defeat such a perfect villain completely. Yes you can kill villains, you can put them in prison and everything. But you break the master by revealing the flaw in his plan. All the time, sheming, gathering troops and followers... and in the end you crush his idea, his vision so hard he decides to nuke himself. That is by definition, the perfect defeat of the perfect villain.
I wouldn't mind seeing one on the dark genie. Even though he doesn't have much presence in dark sould his design is just really cool. It'd probably be a short video
This was very well produced!
The Master really is a fascinating character where, despite doing objectively horrible things to innocent people, you can absolutely see how in his mind he is the savior of humanity.
One of the most prominent voices actors of the 80's through today. His name is Jim Cummings and he's most likely the voice of your childhood. He's been Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, Pete from the Mickey Mouse group, Tigger, Cat from CatDog, and so many more. One of my heroes growing up, and an absolute legend.
The master asked a very good question. How to unify everyone for greater progress? I love villains that have really solid points.
You dont. You leave the puny humens alone.
Now you should do a Heropedia on Randall Clark from the NV DLC Honest Hearts
One thing I never understood with Bethesda is just how many supermutants they implemented into all the games they had primary control over. Post fallout 2 (aside from New Vegas). Assuming that the only known FEV source was at the military base and any other ones are still hidden (Aside from the Institute). Why are there so many mutants found in the wasteland? New Vegas has a couple but they are fewer and further between and usually conctrated for a purpose of a side quest/plot. But as the mutants are humanoid and cannot naturally reproduce, surely they would age and die (assuming they are not killed fighting). Making no sense in the sheer numbers you see a hundred + years later. I understand about the potential for extended life spans but that is not a guaruntee with mutations. Therefore, I wish Bethesda would stop using supermutants in games now unless they are Intelligent or for story purposes like Strong in Fallout 4. Even in Fallout 76 you see super mutants in great numbers, even though it predates the Master. Yes I know that the government was testing on some humans but no where near the numbers that you see in game, and they did kill the super mutants to prevent a scandal.
I started with fallout 1 over 20 years ago, but the more i play it and read about it the more i appreciate it. True masterpiece.
You’re voice is great for this franchise. Imagine getting a analysis of Caesar as narrated by Benny
I feel like the Master is the epitome of Fallout, both in flesh and in action. I specify both in flesh and action because all Fallout games don’t shy from the actions, the body horror is far rarer nowadays. Nothing against it, I wish there was more, but I understand why. But… I wish there were more “villains” like him in the modern games. I feel like they’ve made them less… *evil* evil, and more human evil, if that makes sense. Angry, violent, but they were more trained by environment, you can see why they’d do certain things. But what this man wants to do, what he does, how he warps, how he becomes the antithesis of how humans used to be, is utterly horrific, and terrifying, and fascinating. He came up with this shit all on his own, not warped by wars and stuff, rather he just saw some of the world, and ended up mutating and warping on his own. It just shows an epitome of fucked up we don’t really see otherwise, cause most of the people are connected, SOMEHOW, with someone or something else that relates to their goals. This man was his own foundation, and this man was his own downfall. Instead of pure anger, or agony, it was a moral crisis, something purely human, he became human again, even if just for a second. And… I think how you can beat him is something beautifully well done.
And I also love Harold. I dunno why, I just find him so interesting, and I love characters like Harold. Been around forever, has seen a lot of shit, and just shoots the shit with you, even in a horrible time.
Ghostcharm + Fallout = phat ass win, i thank you sir; keep up the quality content.
This was beautiful. The game designer in me is going into overdrive trying to think of how to make something that rivals a character like this as a Villain.
Also, sorry to ask. But, what music do you play at 18:00? I know I've heard it before and it's going to drive me nuts trying to remember
if you find out tell me cause i am having the same problem
@@foxhound2118 If you mean the song at 18:00 I finally remembered. It was Vangelis - La petite fille de la mer.
As for how to make a villain as good as the Master, unfortunately the search continues. But one day I hope to crack it
A villain that thinks he's the hero, and the protagonist has something/is something/knows something important.
I always imagined the FEV vat being more akin to lime jello, somehow imagining green Nutella makes it seem 500 times more unnerving.
Loved this video. You have my respect and subscription. Richard is one of my favourite tragic hero/villain characters of all time.
Decade ago or so I was considering making a short comics series about earlier life of Richard Moreau aka Richard Grey. Pretty much since his banishment from Vault 8, his life in Hub and eventual visit of Mariposa Military base. This character and setting got insane amount of potential to tell compelling and chilling tales.
The Master is such a great character, that even all these years later, Bethesda has to make mention of him whenever Super Mutants are involved, even though they really seem to want to have you forget that anything outside of Fallout 3, 4, and 76 exist.
Bethesda's Fallouts mentioned the Master?
@@turricanrocks1552 i think dog/god from dead money mentions the master, also maybe some refrences from jacob.
@@dylanlawrence5261 Yeah Dog/God is from New Vegas(which had most of Black Isle on the game), not 3, 4, or 76.
@@dylanlawrence5261 I'm sure New Vegas is from Obsidian.
@@dylanlawrence5261 1) there is no character named Jacob who mentions the master
2) New Vegas is not made by Bethesda but Obsidian
The Master is the embodiment of "You are what you eat"
Or the flood