it would be funny if later on (season 2 or so) we see that the snake oil salesman is at the brotherhood base, conversing with the doctors or something, or maybe healing brotherhood members
I'm remembering back to what one of the nukaworld gouls said in a note, about how they had messed up their ankle, and after the first massive rainstorm they had, his leg healed almost immediately. To me, this indicates that in the first stages of goulism, they might have some temporary mutations like healing that eventually stabilize. Which is why we don't see gouls(sentient at least) that are charged or gooey. Their skin is burned by radiation, but also mutated to toughen and become durable. I don't think this is what is happening to Thaddeus. When he pulls the arrow from his neck, the wound instantly heals and the skin around the area turn(in my oppinion) grayish green. It matches the color of the (obvious) supermutant we see on the covered cart when they show the enclave base.
Thaddeus, in the bible, is the one who preachers something no one wants to hear and gets beatern for it. They might be taking his story this way as he has already done the betrayal part. I think the drug is an "elixr of life" which the player can get a hold of in Tactics.
I think it's more like any ghouls can be healed by a sufficient amount of radiation, which is something you can see when fighting a group of ghouls alongside a glowing one. If you don't take out the glowing one first, they can emit a pulse of radiation that revives the other ghouls that are seemingly dead. You can see that easier in your first fight against Oswald, if you go into the theater there are a number of dead ghouls that you can approach and they don't wake up, shoot them and they don't react, and they don't show up as targets in VATS, but when Oswald finishes his monologue he'll release a green pulse of radiation and they all get revived and attack you.
To me, when he pulls the arrow out, the flesh that grows back looks like scar tissue. Which would fit Maximus saying he was turning into a ghoul, because the scar tissue kind of resembles ghoul skin.
"goulism" You meant ghoulification? Their skin isnt burned by radiation it's rotted off and smells like a pile of shit. WE know that because of raul. What happened to Thaddeus is that his body got exposed to radiation within the water and it was high amounts of radiation (10sv) causing him to eventually turn into a ghoul as it was HIS FEET that were in the water making that area firstly effected. The Jet/Rocket hybrid wasn't going to fix him - it just had a large dose of radiation. Which ghouls are healed by but a biproduct is that they loose their minds. SuperMutants are also not a greyish green.. unless they're old like Marcus, that Mutant looked fresh but Thaddeus's skin is a light-pinkish color albeit belnding in with the rest of his body. It's the same type of shade you'd probably find with someone turning into a ghoul.
@@RobotWithHumanHair. There are so many different one of a kind things, many that turn up not to be one of a kind, why assume the narrator of a story always knows all the facts?
I got to meet Ella Purnell. She was super nice just like her character. She suggested I make “Ghoul-Aid” for my Halloween party. Maybe once I figure out what will go into it, I’ll update this post.
The ghouls body still regenerated when he sewed on Lucy’s finger. His finger was basically immediately healed and functional once sewed back on. So they have some type of regeneration abilities in the TV show. Just not to the point of regenerating limbs, and digits. Let’s hope in season 2 we get some live action FEV lore, since it wasn’t touched upon at all in season 1.
Refresh my memory. In FO3 There is a Ghoul doc that says some contradictory things. That ghouls both fall apart but also heal? There is a ghoul named patches where his body is rotting and falling apart but the doc attaches new parts and they work? Not sure if the doc is juts putting Patches old arm back on or if he is sewing donor parts.
It is a concoction, probably a mix of ghoul and fev stuff ? With that said, ghoul do regenerate and are immune to radiation to a limit. Think ghoul regeneration like Deadppool's regeneration - he still had cancer and technically would die if his regeneration stopped. Same with ghouls, they lost the cartilage and peeling skin and hair loss because they are still taking the side effects of radiation but regen back like a hellish you can't die but suffer loop.
You wouldn't need a full regeneration type healing factor to survive a crossbowbolt to the neck. A fast healing type would still work. Ghouls have fast healing type abilities, especially in high radiation areas. I want say in some games their health bars replenish over time if you give them too much of breather Also the only way The Ghoul's crude surgery technique would work is if he had a healing factorof some type. Fast Healing is a lower tier healing factor severed limbs won't grow back and extreme wounds like .50 BMG might be too much for fast healing, but overall, it's a powerful ability.
@@randallmoe13historically they only heal while getting radiated, which is why some intelligent ghouls live in heavily radiated areas. And they get left alone. Many don't because they think the radiation might make them go feral quicker.
I also think the scarring on Thaddeus neck looks ghoul-ish in the part that healed. It's definitely a different texture after healing in that part of the neck.
I think the snake oil salesman has taken the elixir himself, and probably tries to kill himself regularly, unsuccessfully, which is probably why he’s crazy. I do think he gave it to Thaddeus as a punishment. I wouldn’t be surprised if Thaddeus tracks him down in season 2 for an explanation so we can learn more. But I’m not convinced yet that it was FEV or that Thaddeus is becoming a super mutant. Keeping FEV in an unsealed jar in a briefcase strains credulity. I think it will be downright silly if he becomes a ghoul though.
I thought he could have been Harold in disguise and watched the show a second time just to see if he ever took that hat off and sadly it falls off in his first introduction. There's still a lot of hair for a small plant to be growing but nothing obvious.
But if he has taken it himself and regularly tries to kill himself would he not have lots of scars that look kinda ghoulish like thaddeus got after pulling the arrow out?
One other theory I heard was that it could be the Healing Factor serum from 76. The healing factor mutation increases health regeneration while not in combat to +300%. Since mutation serums are made with nuked flora, which is harvested in nuke zones, they may not be found much outside of Appalachia and that's why people don't see them much or even know what they are.
Not unless they wanna get sued by marvel for stealing wolverine's ability. That's the most obviously non Canon name I've ever heard for the fallout universe... 76 isn't Canon btw...
that was my thoughts as well Healing factor.. the radiation protection could be a lie. since if you use radaway with healing factor, you instantly heal.
"serum" is definitely a more appropriate term than "elixer". elixir implies something wonderful or amazingly good, like "elixir of life". "serum" just implies it was something he might have dabbled in experimenting with and thought he found something "healing" in nature. sadly, it made him into a bit of a mutation and therefore an enemy of the brotherhood.
The fact that the snake oil salesman was contemplating suicide mere moments before he stumbled upon Thaddeus and his extremely sought after commodity (working fusion core), suggests that whatever injuries the snake oil salesman had himself (I think he was limping a bit?) he chose *not* to treat with said “serum”, certainly knowing there must be some unreasonably high cost for the rapid healing factor it bestowed on Thaddeus. This tells us with pretty much certainty that whatever the serum was, it was *not* merely a standard healing-factor serum, and brought with it some severe side effects that the salesman himself would rather have chosen death than have resorted to… I’m guessing it’s FEV, particularly since the name “Thaddeus” is often associated with Frankenstein-type monsters/abominations, which would be even more fitting if his final form resembled that of a super mutant…
Dr. Blackburn breathes in a huge cloud of gas and turns instantly into a Supermutant. Thadeus uses an inhaler to breathe in something that looks like a diluted FEV, and starts a slower transformation. Seems reasonable to me... which doesn't make it correct, just something I'm willing to go with.
This is why I hate when we get down to super details like this. Blackburn turning instantly is a game mechanic. It's a cliched MMO boss fight. It has to be instant because it's time to shoot the monster now. I think in legit storytelling anyone would choose a slow transformation. I think we really need to be careful when using 76 for lore explanations. Like I can't stand how because it is an MMO they have to introduce new monsters all the time. There are more varied monsters in 76 than the rest of the Fallout universe combined. Don't get me started on the fact that all the monsters are also pre war urban legends( also all our real world urban legends or "cyrptids") Why would radiation make wendigos?
Can I point out Blackburn isnt just immersed in gaseous FEV, it seems to be charged as well, seeing the green bolts. Of course this could be for "gameplay" but it would have to be explained at some point like other "game mechanics" ie VATS, special, etc. i think blackburns FEV was a modified version hence when we get there were told theyve started recreating it but it wasnt a 1:1 form.
@@xtremejay2000 idk bout that there is a bunch of Alien/cult/paranormal/eldritch themes and stories that existed before fallout 76 like the Lovecraftian cultists who were praying to ancient evils before the bombs fell Children of Atom pray to Atom, theories that the Atom Bombs were dropped to prevent said ancient evil from arising. This is covered in fallout 3 and 4 Dunwich locations to a certain extent they seemingly mined way to deep into the earth and this was happening before Atom. That being said we have no idea if the show will ever touch on these aspects I personally think it would add that extra layer other than just "vault tec bad"
in FO76, you’re eventually able to craft certain “serum’s” including the “healing factor serum“ which allows your character outside of combat to instantly heal at the cost of medicinal items like stimpacks to be less effective. I’m not sure if it regenerates radiation, but it’s the most plausible explanation of what the snake oil salesman had inside of his case.
The salesmen only went for his case after Thadeus paid him with the fusion core, which the salesmen looked at like it was worth a fortune! He wouldn't have wanted Thadeus to know where the good stuff was before he was paid in case Thadeus tried to rob him, and may have only decided to give him the genuine cure-all after getting such an enormously valuable payment.
@@Fightsome64-- I think the SOS had no way to truly heal the foot without it. He felt sorry for what he knew would happen, but it was the only way to heal him.
@@Mitch_Iz_Kool_12Gaming he doesn’t specifically say where it came from or where he got it from, all he says is he use to be a normal human about a decade(10 years) ago when he just arrived in goodneighbor and he was young and would do any drug he came across or anyone offered him, and loved to do the most exotic drugs, and he says one day he found an experimental radiation drug and that it was only one of its kind left and only one hit. So he took it and became a ghoul but says “the high was so worth it”.
10:25 I didn't realize that was the snake docs office. it makes way more sense now. I thought he just grabbed a bunch of chemicals off a wall and prayed it worked 😭
I think how it works is that they heal rapidly but they don’t heal perfectly. So they scar and can’t regrow body parts but they still heal incredibly quickly, which still explains why they look so scarred up.
Low-level exposure to FEV tends to take much much longer and be far less predictable than full body exposure. No telling what he'll turn into over years and years.
be even crazier if he was a scientist back in the day before the bombs fell and because he survived this long his mind shows it perks in the most crazy of moments
Sowed on a finger and then regenerated to make it fit yes he regenerates other wize he be walking around with a tone of holes in his chest 2:50 idk not your best break down 😅
Another thing is the perk in game makes it so radiation damage restores health so yet again yes ghouls self heal to a limit* can't regenerate whole limbs *
@@tod557 Well... They turned a whole town with very little FEV exposure in Fallout 76, or at least, didn't require a whole dip in a vat of the stuff... same with in Fallout 3, they exposed humans to a little that's been aerosolized
I figured the background rad count was so high that all ghouls in the area were regenerating fairly quickly. It's not been long since Hank nuked everyone after all. I think it might be the same drug that made Hancock and others into ghouls. That region seems to have a greater understanding of ghouls in general(perhaps due to enclave research?), to the point where they can intentionally prevent going feral with a drug. The increased radiation from the recent bombing would also eventually degrade and destroy the ghouls' higher reasoning,, leading to the 'everyone goes feral' mindset the local ghouls have.
Long enough neither Lucy or her brother were old enough to remember it, and it was a fairly low yield device. Likely it's only areas that collected dust immediately after the detonation would still be very radioactive
In part 4, the drug that Hancock overdosed on was also radioactive, and Nick's enemy Eddie was also turned into a ghoul due to a radiation experiment, so it seems like the basic plot is based on radiation.
There has to be more to that drug because there was also the researchers house, who was testing out a new drug that supposedly made her immune to radiation, but the drug failed, and she became a glowing one. That was three references to this mystery drug.
I've not personally played 76, but is there a reason this couldn't be a sample of the water from Huntersville (possibly mixed with stimpacks and other chems, thus a "concoction" of the salesman, but primarily FEV). alternatively it could be some kind of ghoul juice I suppose, and we do see ghouls regenerate health when glowing ones do their radiation attack. his foot doesn't heal perfectly back to normal, it's still kind of mangled and misshapen, so over time signs of damage would start to pile up and leave a person looking more like the ghouls we're used to.
@dolenore Didn't stop brotherhood from reaching Virginia, it's mentioned they lost alot of members making the journey so it's possible this is true just unlikely
@@mrplayfulshadethe brotherhood has airships. Wasteland con artists don't. If he got contaminated water from someplace, hegot it from irritated run off from the remains of either the Cathedral or Mariposa. Both are just outside of the show area
You misunderstand what high regeneration would mean in this case. The scar tissue of ghouls is them being healthy because it healed. scar tissue is one that has been regenerated. Think more of Deadpool tha Wolverine.
I assumed it was FEV. I was juat waiting for them to introduce it since its such a HUGE part of the lore..when i watched the show again is when i assumed that it was this
@@SarcasticChef83 If I'm not wrong FEV and becoming/being a super mutant also have some amount of heightened regeneration. However it's also totally possible it's closer to Hancocks story.
Also yea absolutely agreed. High speed regeneration in the real world would look more like someone being a ghoul. After the bombs there were ghouls who survived even being close enough to get burned and of course Moira. The heavier layers of scar tissue show that they are in fact healing from those wounds it's just that's how scars look if you have tons of them heal over and over and over.
The ghouls do seem to display healing factor in the show, which is new for the series. I think they're saying that mutated humans and ghouls are the same. Which explains why ghouls suddenly need to take serums, which is also new in fallout lore. People say he's supermutant, but "I think you might be a ghoul" is big hint that he might be a ghoul.
oxhorn I have to disagree with you on some points you missed: ghouls and supermutants do regenerate. we all regenerate that how we recover from wounds. The facts Ghouls and super mutants have longevity to the point their aging stops or slows dramitcally. Is a sign of enhanced regenation on a cellular level. the example of the ghoul reattaching a finger someone else finger - means his body accepted a foriegn objet and made it part of him. also the arrow to the neck isnt automatially fatal. nicpicky as it is the arrow to the thoat needed to cause enough air blockage, trauma, forma, and blood loss to be leathal...yes normal arrow to the neck fatal. but a clean shot that blocking exess blood loss could allow a person to hold out long enough to be treated plus it was from th side not front, back diagionally so his vital organ could mostly been missed. his increased healng factor likekly subisteing a stimpack or medical team. finally ghouls are possible but disappointing result for our antagonist buddy here. fev can make you a ghoul and it was you and fallout 76 . t5hat taqught me that. 0ghoul exsisted prior to the bombs falling. and while it was likely always fev. i theorize part of ghoulficat it would also explain how so many people are survivoing the world of fallout
Since it's a virus, the viral quantity affects how quickly a person turns. Maybe it will take a while for thadeus, since he took very little FEV. And maybe the regeneration only happens in the initial stages, as a side effect of the rapid cell production the body has to do to increase corporal mass to make a supermutant
yeah that was my thinking as well. also maybe the reason why dipping had the best results for the survival of the subject. the infection comes with extreme tissue growth. as seen with the failed subjects this can lead to very uneven growth probably to the point where some parts of the mutated body put such a strain on the not yet mutated parts that the whole organism collapses. by this theory dipping would cause a very rapid and even infection of a majority of the subjects outer tissue and probably they even swallow and inhale some of the liquid while getting dipped, giving them the full inside and outside load. that way everything grows somewhat evenly resulting in a stable supermutant. if the snake oil serum is diluted far enough then in could feasibly just take longer for the virus to sufficiently spread through the body to start the rapid growth. maybe also who knows what the guy punched the serum with also prevents a lot of the immediate effects but eventually the FEV wins and thaddeus will start mutating
This is one of the more accurate comments. FEV is a virus. The vats he is talking about were highly concentrated. FEV in lesser quantities is everywhere in the Fallout universe as it's gotten into the water cycle.
Well in the TV show they do, just think at the fight in Filly, the ghoul was hit many times by bullets but seemed unaffected just like Thaddeus was with the arrow. Ghouls maybe can't regrow a missing limb or finger but they heal very fast.
The ghouls are shown in the show as being very aged and needing more serum to keep from going feral. A newly turned human may just have more healing factor and can regenerate limbs.
I think it may be a more pure form of FEV, since the ones we found have had radioactive creatures and people in it. Thaddeus may be going the way of Harold and The Master with becoming a new type of mutant.
If it was FEV, the "Doctor" could be one of the scientists or assistances who worked for the government and is somehow still alive, and tinkered with the original formula to change it into what we saw in the show. He could also be a regular human who stumbled on either samples of it, and diluted it so the color is now yellow instead of green. He could have also just have stumbled into the recipe and through trial and error, developed his own strand. My final theory is he could be a cultist and using his connection to whatever he worships, developed or just received whatever this liquid is, and Thaddeus is now being transformed into some Lovecraftian creature.
It's FEV. Ghouls, Synths and Super Mutants are all made with FEV; Synths just aren't irradiated. There are so many ghouls in the Fallout Universe because all pre-war food and drink was made with FEV. FEV makes it taste better, last longer and gives Americans low level radiation resistance. That's why 200 year old pre-war deviled eggs still good.
I don't think I agree with your reading of the situation when you say that Thaddeus betrayed Maximus at the campfire. He expressed doubt whether Maximus would be able to to hide the truth from the Brotherhood, but he was still speaking from the position of someone on Maximus' side. It was then Maximus himself who realized telling him might have been a mistake and immediately turned on him and tried to kill him. If anything, it was Maximus who betrayed Thaddeus when he realized that trusting him would be too risky. Thaddeus would probably eventually betray Maximus if the brotherhood ever put enough pressure on him to threaten his own survival, but he definitely did not betray him at the campfire.
Don’t know how people don’t see Maximus actions as some evil. I was shocked to see him leave the knight to die just cause of a disagreement and different views, barely anyone bats an eye cause the dudes an ass?
Maximus was one of my fav characters near the end, but he is also a terrible person. He either kills, tries to kill, or lets them die puposefilly if it serves his own interests (becoming a knight and now getting to Lucy. Tho something tells me he's going the think she abandoned him and dig his heels into the BoS plotline). It's clear he wants to do right however much of the time. But all those times technically has a payout for him (he likes to be around Lucy so when he feels she's threatened his will condemn an entire community, stealing their power core, and effectively maim unarmed people. Then he wanted to keep the core afterward.) But I can handwaive the dissonance with him being terribly traumatized and very naive.
@@youngnat I know what you mean, but in this particular instance, I can understand why he let him die. Dude being an asshole is one thing, but he directly and repeatedly threatened to have Maximus killed. And I am pretty sure he meant it too. But other times he is clearly in the wrong, like trying to kill Thaddeus, twice.
@@CC-qx7hk It is also one of the major themes of the season, that the wasteland makes normal people do terrible things. I think Maximus' future plot line probably involves him becoming a better person, though it might also get a lot worse before it gets better.
@@youngnat Seconded! Lot of scenes also feel... forced... to give us excuses as to why Maximus can be liked. In some cases quite literally, as in Maximus is prevented from an evil act only by the intervention of other characters! The writers are taking steps to ensure Maximus will not be outright hated, but is still motivated by selfish and short-term gain. The question is - what will he be like after a complete story arch? I think Maximus also has Bloody Mess, a deliberate nod to this immoral character.
Sir, I for one am not a fan of this game nor have I ever had the urge to watch the show but they way you tell these stories from it is fascinating and I love listening to them.
You clearly don’t know what “ex machina” means… lol “Deus ex Machina” means “god from the machine” and refers to old crappy plays where god would just appear and solve all of the problems. A modern Deus ex Machina is when something solves a problem without being foreshadowed or referenced in any way, and affects the plot in a major way. It’s like if during a horror movie the marines randomly show up and kill the bad guy with no prior mention or reason to be there. The “doctor” is FAR from a Deus ex Machina as he’s been shown offering cures and medicine, and your claim that they “wrote themselves into a hole” is idiotic because you don’t even have enough information to know where Thaddeus’ story is going yet, his injury wasn’t “required” for the story to keep going and his ailment doesn’t even really affect the story. None of what you said makes any sense. It’s very clear that the writers injured Thaddeus with the intention of giving him that cure for some unknown reason right now… we don’t know what their plan is, but they clearly have one because it was laid out and foreshadowed multiple times before it happened. Having an opinion is perfectly fine, but don’t throw around objectively wrong criticism that you don’t even understand. Just say you didn’t like it… don’t try to reference literary tropes you don’t understand and lie because you didn’t get something or weren’t paying attention.
@@DanteYewToob “None of what you said makes sense!” *writes 3 paragraphs of drivel* I get it, you hate anyone that doesn’t completely ride bethesdas pole and a “brand new miracle serum that never existed in the franchise and shows up just in the nick of time to save a character from dying” has never been done in a story before. Do you feel better getting it all off your chest, or are ya mad about some other things in life and just wanted to vent on some stranger on the internet?
(Just became a member here 😎 So im "moving" my comment into the members section 😂) : I feel like this guy might have been involved with the Enclave or something else. Maybe the Institute or another faction. I'm thinking about his overall character that doesn't really make sense. Wanted to end himself right before he saw a wounded person. The cabinet thing, I'm thinking that the guy has a background as a scientist, probably one that did crazy experiments (considering the stuff he is willing to do.. chickens and yeah..). I can imagine that some former scientist might have become a bit "crazy"/traumatized from the kind of stuff different factions, group and general wasteland is. BUT! My thinking about who he might be personally. If he's a former scientist who has done bad stuff to people. What if he regrets his past? He clearly has medicine knowledge to help basically anyone. He is standing in the open trying to help anyone with any condition he sees or thinks might "sell". But we're talking about the wasteland after all. People don't care, nobody trusts and it's really just depressing stuff to see if you care about people. So he decides to end His life after many episodes, but sees a very wounded person who he finally can help. But yes, in the end he gets threatened and decides to "return the favor". Oh and the cabinet thing, I believe it might just have been a quick general looting before getting to work. You know, we go with our companions and check out stuff that might be useful in-game. I have no idea what might happen to the crazy doctor after this, but if he is a former scientist. Then I believe he is curious to watch over his "experiment". But this is all theoretical tho! Maybe we'll find out in the next season!
What doesn't make sense is that the Brotherhood would hate the Ghouls. I'd think they would take pity on them as they were unfortunate people who were changed due to the folly of the leaders of the pre-war world. I hope that makes sense. If not, then never mind. I think the BoS would try to help the Ghouls and not despise them.
Most ghouls are feral and attack Brotherhood scribes on sight, only takes a few attacks on scribes and scouts exploring ruins before they declare them all feral monsters and shoot on sight.
There’s also that Immortal Juice from the Cabot family, it keeps them young and if used on your character will both heal and make them resistant to rads.
He's a ghoul. I don't get why the sticking point is that "ghouls don't regenerate", as their entire existence is their bodies' way of fighting against radiation damage. Yes, they can die like anyone else, but their regenerative properties are less like "magical damage reset" and more like "my entire body is a wound that's scarred over". If they take too much damage too quickly/consistently, they have nothing to regenerate, so they die. They can't regrow limbs, but they can take on new ones. So long as they don't take fatal damage, they'll never deteriorate physically (also so long as they don't go feral and thus neglect their health and well-being).
Thanks for your video. I am glad you mentioned the mutant at the enclave facility. I think the snake oil seller possibly worked for West Tek. What we do know is there was minimal reference to mutants in the first season. So I think it's expected that super mutants or a super mutant will play a role in the next season. As too will perhaps west tek. It's not too far fetched to think the inhaler thaddeus used was FEV. It would be interesting how his character changes with new found abilities.
Ox the first time I watched the fallout tv show I absolutely abhorred it but hearing you’re soft spoken light hearted commentary on it makes me appreciate it a little bit so thanks
Be interesting if the salesman was actually a field agent for the Enclave to test these different chemicals, his persona either an act or the result of being stuck in the wasteland for too long.
i always figured it was like six chems mixed together or something. he seems like the type of guy to fuck around and find out with his elixirs and also has just enough knowledge about chemistry to do it without just offing himself (though he might off some others in the process). mixing stim packs with rad away and med-x would - i feel like - give you some pretty ghoul like immunity as well as regen. mixing that with mild internal fev exposure might 'imprint' those traits onto your body so it just...does that now? or it could be that its only fev, but the exposure is so mild that the infection is spending all its time repairing damage and hasnt had time to mutate him? pulling theories out my ass here, but i like the ideas.
Oxhorn, first great video as always. Second, I don't want you to dismiss the snake oil salesman as unreliable. My personal theory on him, is he was an intelligent super mutant like marcus, who spent his time trying to make a cure for a strain of fev. From time to time he tests all of his concoctions which is why he had a pipe rifle in his mouth. He wasn't trying to kill himself. He was making sure his latest concoction worked, capable of regenerating a gunshot wound to the Head. The clues are there, and if you do an analysis of every scene he is in, and his appearance, and WHERE he travels, ((wasteland, Filly, outposts)). You might see that he's no ordinary snake oil salesman.
I love how faithful to the Source Material it is. Thaddeus would be a RUclipsr if he was born before the War. Thaddeus didn't choose to betray a mentally stunted Man-Child in Power Armor, he chose Loyalty to People who don't put mentally stunted Man-Children into Power Armor.
I love the way you cover video games. I like listening to you as well, so learning theory about the people, the world and everything in between. I also loved the coverage of the show. I started a newer game called Once Human, I would love to see you cover that, eventually. let me know if that is possible or not, so I don't have to ask in every video :p looking forward to hearing from you soon :p
I would prefer to make a suggestion based on the show and not just the lore of the fallout series itself even though I am a Massive Massive fan. I think that Thaddeus was given a serum created by BIG MT. Thus bringing in a massive opportunity for the series to pivot to when we get to New Vegas next season. We all know that while the Lone Wanderer travels to BIG MT you can "upgrade" your character with new abilities and traits and this could simply Segway into that. Just my dumb thought. Thanks for another great video.
There's evidence in Fallout 4 about Swan, the super mutant behemoth, slowly changing from man to mutant. If you read the notes inside his home in the pond it shows the slow decline of their mental state affer being exposed to FEV. I'm assuming that being submerged/surrounded by FEV whether gaseous or liquid is a quicker process than minimal exposure. Not to mention that if the snake oil salesman "concocted" it he probably just mixed some FEV with pee or something else to dilute it.
If he concocted it, maybe it ia a mixture of hydra and some other stuff like x-cell or some creatures or even alien blood. I know looking at the historical snake oil salesmen of the past, they would mix together some of the strangest things and just let people drink it.
I got the vibe that the doctors clinic was just his bag, and hes a super eccentric man and found a random pharmacy. He was "searching through the cabinet" as a show, knowing that most wastelanders will threaten him first.
My theory: Dr. Chickenpumpin saw a supermutant pissing in a supermarket ruin and bottled it to further his intellectual study of the bodily humours and proclivities.
I still think it was the healing factor serum, especially considering the snake oil sales man said he had serums for sale. I know that in 76 it doesn’t heal rads but it makes more sense.
I’ve had a theory that the Snake Oil Salesmen is an ex-Enclave member, but I’m not sure if I’m entirely convinced that the elixir is some form of FEV(but I really hope it is)
Healing and then leaving a scared tissue behind is ghoul 😅 we know that handcock also took a drug that made him a ghoul so 1:50 idk what your going on about 😂
Give cooper the glowing one aesthetic with the abilities of Oswald the outrageous using radiation to bring back previously unalived ghouls would be awesome
Also maybe the fact that Thaddeus only inhaled a single breath/mist of the FEV serum, effectively exposing only his lung tissues to the virus, but not undergoing full submersion in liquid FEV, or even being encompassed in a chamber that was then deliberately flooded with the concentrated gas. This might mean that Thaddeus eventual transformation may noticeably slowed, or that he may not even take on the worst side effects (mentally and physically) of FEV while retaining some of its benefits (immune to rads), would make some sense in terms of method of exposure and rapidity of onset of symptoms from any virulent virus.
No, ghouls healing fast is a thing in fallout games. Especially when hit with radiation. Not regeneration, just healing. They also reattach lost limbs in the game.
08:01 I'm Confused? Why did he get trapped in the T-60? In Fallout 4 when a Core is removed the Power Armor automatically Opens up Right? I mean that's way you can get someone out of there PA in game and would make sense that there's a Automatic Eject if the core is removed so that Very thing wouldn't happen to the Operator! You can't get into a PA without the core installed but again that would make sense
Thaddeus could have been given a strain of the Healing Factor mutation from Appalachia. A strain that the Snake Oil Salesmen most likely took a hit of himself. The Salesmen may, or may not, have been around Appalachia at the time when this kind of mutation was commonplace. However, this is just speculation and I am willing to wait for potentially more information when season 2 of the show releases.
This is what I assumed. The Snake Oil Salesman refers to his drugs as serums so I figured they were just like the serums we can use in 76 that can give you specific mutations. I assume Thaddeus got healing factor or some other combination of mutation serums. He has mutations, but is not necessarily a super mutant.
worth noting in the west-tek research facility in Fallout 76 one of the patient logs mentions they are given injections on a constant basis and their skin was turning green. Which would mean that FEV is able to be administred through injections. So getting it in your blood circulation is enough to make you a mutant. And your lungs are a fast way to the circulatory system. Would make sense that the inhaler would work too.
Actually, Ghouls have some form of regen, but not to the point of regenerating missing limbs. Like when "The Ghoul" re-attached the girls finger to his. He just sewed it on and his body regenerated onto it which is why hes able to get it to move. Just sewing it on isn't going to allow him to bend it.
The Ghouls finger, you have to assume, did regenerate. If he was able to bend it, it connected to nerves. In both that instance, as well as Thaddeus's neck-bolt-hole, you could make the argument it is a limited ability, able to "knit up" what is intact, but not full on regrow. The bolt pierced his neck, it didn't punch a hole and remove bio-mass. Also, back to The Ghoul, he doesn't continuously leak body fluid with all the GSW's, but he does drink, blood is flowing if all the drugs he takes spread throughout his body. Maybe it's just the chems, maybe its Maybelline. Hancock and Eddie Winters were turned into Ghouls before the bombs dropped. There is a drug out there that does it, and I believe it's implied to be the first version of FEV, or at least a deliberate attempt at another super-soldier. Maybe the outward appearance ghoulification is slow. Possibly crazy Dr. Salesman is more of a crazy genius and perfected or altered the serum? Even if radiation exposure is a requirement, radiation is all around them all the time, but also, there could be a small isotope in the bottle, or it was otherwise already irradiated like almost everything else in that world. I got the impression, when watching the show, that he was already high on his own supply. I suspect he knew that GSW to the head wouldn't kill him, nor would the gun Thaddeus pointed at him. Keeping in mind "limited regeneration" I'd bet that guy could actually be pre-war or close to it, and is kooky because of the imperfect brain-heals of trying to kill himself repeatedly.
Ive been saying FEV since I saw that. Ive had so many arguments with people and their only argument is "Maximus said he is a ghoul, so he is a ghoul". Maximus, the character that has no idea how the wasteland works for the most part.
The Ghoul regenerated through getting shot in Filly, and when he sewed his finger on. It seems to vary throughout the show, so maybe its tied to chem usage or being well fed
I oddly like the snake oil salesman as a fallout character..very fitting and I agree with the FEV assumption or at the very least a varient..guess we will have to wait and see. I truly love the fallout show, amazeballs. Love the channel Ox
The physiology and healing capabilities of ghouls is not set in stone, Oxhorn. Just like the origin of "ghoulhood" is varied and not monolithic, we can say the same about whether ghouls heal or regenerate. You can find some evidence for both "yes" and "no" in canon lore. Also, we know that at least two canon characters (Hancock and Eddie Winter) took a "drug" that turned them into ghouls. We don't know exactly how quickly or slowly ghoulification happens (and that time may vary based on the method by which someone becomes a ghoul). And we don't know exactly what happens at each particular stage either. So I think it's still possible that the drug given to Thaddeus has started the ghoulification process.
This is how I read it, when I saw Thad regenerate. The whole Chekov's Gun had me watching closely for the "reveal" of some Super Mutant in one way or another. So it might be confirmation bias, it might be something new they've decided to make for the show, or it could just be that the Snake Oil Salesman stumbled onto a cache. Weirder, what if he was a scientist working on it, back in the day and is as old as The Ghoul? What if he did perfect it, and used it on himself a handful of others, but it either had deleterious effects on their mental faculties or all they had left was the regular FEV? His whole self-deletion scene makes a bit more sense, because he'd expect to either just hurt himself and feel something like a masochist of his age but saw Thaddeus and was like "oh I don't have to shoot myself out of boredom!" or really was coincidentally (see, I don't believe in coincidence) just about to off himself (since they CAN be killed) as he came past.
The Chem might have been still coursing to explain the regen. And gouls do as well, maybe not as quick and def Don't regen limbs... but when the finger was sown back on, it worked almost immediately. That is regeneration. It's possible thaddeus was given a variation of F.E.V. or he is goul and just hasn't had radiation or time to disfigure.
Seems the dunking or being immersed in FEV mist just speeds up the process. Thaddeus got such a low dose it'll probably take a lot longer to fully change him
Might be wishful thinking because I love the horror aspects of Fallout but I think Thadius has some horrific things in store for him. He strikes me as the sort of character that would be setup for a grim future.
Snake oil salesman specifically says "serums" when he's hawking his stuff outside Filly 9:46 "Serums to energize - serums to invigorate-" sounds suspiciously like the mutation serums available in Fallout 76. I think "serum" is the key here. Language is super important.
I'm not the only one saying this, but FEV wasn't only created to make Super Mutants that is 1000% canon. FEV has quite a few different strains of the virus, some for humans and many more for animals (like Floaters, Wanamingos, and Deathclaws, among others). The human side of the virus is especially interesting, as it doesn’t only produce Super Mutants. For instance, Richard Grey fell into the FEV vats at Mariposa, becoming a post-human cybernetic FEV mutant, later known as the Master. Harold, who was with Richard, was also infected by a low dose of FEV. He was already mutating when he woke up outside the Mariposa base. A tree seed landed on or near his head, and over time, this transformed him into a sort of FEV-based ghoul for much of his life. Eventually, in the Capital Wasteland, the tree took root and began mutating him further, turning him into a living tree. These examples show how FEV can change people into various forms, not just Super Mutants.
Heck, it could have been a drug someone made after the war just threw random things together and created this cocktail of a thing. Or, it could be something a completely different company was working on before the war, left sitting on a shelf for all those years until someone came by and found it. As we have to remember, we don’t know every single company in Fallout or the projects they were working on at the time. Hell, it could even be from a Vault-Tec vault, for all we know. Based on the wording used by the "Doctor," it seems like he's used the same thing on someone else before.
I might not remember very well, but as soon as Thaddeus gets hit by the arrow in the neck, the others characters actually declare him as a Ghoul, not a Supermutant. When I watched the series it did make sense, but now I don't know what is real anymore.
I theorized FEV when watching with a friend, but immediately felt like I might've been having a me moment. I'm glad I wasn't (or at least that a lot of people are also having a me moment). I wanna see FEV take somewhat of a spotlight in the show.
One giant hole in this logic: 1. Look at his neck where the wound healed. It’s obviously rough scar tissue, not his original skin. 2. Fallout lore states there are Ghouls who don’t look ghoulified. 3. It’s likely that the ghoul’s disfigurement is just scar tissue resulting from hundreds of years of life/skin being nearly completely ripped off by nuclear blasts and all returning as scar tissue. It would also explained the singed vocal cords. I believe it was healing factor, and that those who survived as ghouls had somehow come in contact with the healing factor serum.
FEV has multiple strains, that affects people differently. The Master didnt became a supermutant, neither did harold.
I see Thaddeus becoming more like Harold. FEV mutation that seemed like ghoulification but isn't.
I think people forgot Floaters existed in fallout 2.
They had a notorious revive mechanic.
One master. One Harold. One Frank. These are *exceptions* and exceptions prove the rule.
76 also added the Snallygaster and Grafton Monster to the list too.
@@TortillaChip521 plenty of super mutants were more than just Fallout Orcs.
And when are we getting sentient death claws?
The snake oil salesman is my favorite background character so far.
So weird. So unpredictable. VERY "Fallout" kind of person.
He tapped those chickens for science
it would be funny if later on (season 2 or so) we see that the snake oil salesman is at the brotherhood base, conversing with the doctors or something, or maybe healing brotherhood members
I'm remembering back to what one of the nukaworld gouls said in a note, about how they had messed up their ankle, and after the first massive rainstorm they had, his leg healed almost immediately. To me, this indicates that in the first stages of goulism, they might have some temporary mutations like healing that eventually stabilize. Which is why we don't see gouls(sentient at least) that are charged or gooey. Their skin is burned by radiation, but also mutated to toughen and become durable. I don't think this is what is happening to Thaddeus. When he pulls the arrow from his neck, the wound instantly heals and the skin around the area turn(in my oppinion) grayish green. It matches the color of the (obvious) supermutant we see on the covered cart when they show the enclave base.
Thaddeus, in the bible, is the one who preachers something no one wants to hear and gets beatern for it. They might be taking his story this way as he has already done the betrayal part.
I think the drug is an "elixr of life" which the player can get a hold of in Tactics.
I think it's more like any ghouls can be healed by a sufficient amount of radiation, which is something you can see when fighting a group of ghouls alongside a glowing one. If you don't take out the glowing one first, they can emit a pulse of radiation that revives the other ghouls that are seemingly dead.
You can see that easier in your first fight against Oswald, if you go into the theater there are a number of dead ghouls that you can approach and they don't wake up, shoot them and they don't react, and they don't show up as targets in VATS, but when Oswald finishes his monologue he'll release a green pulse of radiation and they all get revived and attack you.
To me, when he pulls the arrow out, the flesh that grows back looks like scar tissue. Which would fit Maximus saying he was turning into a ghoul, because the scar tissue kind of resembles ghoul skin.
The real question is how much of the budget would it take to bring a supermutant into live action while having it look "realistic" 🤔
"goulism" You meant ghoulification? Their skin isnt burned by radiation it's rotted off and smells like a pile of shit. WE know that because of raul. What happened to Thaddeus is that his body got exposed to radiation within the water and it was high amounts of radiation (10sv) causing him to eventually turn into a ghoul as it was HIS FEET that were in the water making that area firstly effected. The Jet/Rocket hybrid wasn't going to fix him - it just had a large dose of radiation. Which ghouls are healed by but a biproduct is that they loose their minds.
SuperMutants are also not a greyish green.. unless they're old like Marcus, that Mutant looked fresh but Thaddeus's skin is a light-pinkish color albeit belnding in with the rest of his body. It's the same type of shade you'd probably find with someone turning into a ghoul.
I would assume this would be the same "experimental radioactive drug" that Hancock took to become a Ghoul.
Nick's enemy Eddie also turned into a ghoul due to a radiation experiment, so it seems like the basic plot is based on radiation.
Nah, that was a one of a kind drug
@@RobotWithHumanHair. Unless it's using ultra rare ingredients, there's no such thing as a one-of-a-kind drug.
@@Edax_Royeaux well Hancock says he got mega high and we don’t see that happen in the show, I’d also prefer that be unique to Hancock.
@@RobotWithHumanHair. There are so many different one of a kind things, many that turn up not to be one of a kind, why assume the narrator of a story always knows all the facts?
I got to meet Ella Purnell. She was super nice just like her character. She suggested I make “Ghoul-Aid” for my Halloween party.
Maybe once I figure out what will go into it, I’ll update this post.
Cool!
She is so pretty
Ella Purnell is such a sweetheart, really kind
She's awesome. Best choice for a "Goody-two-shoes" character
Ok that is cool
The ghouls body still regenerated when he sewed on Lucy’s finger. His finger was basically immediately healed and functional once sewed back on. So they have some type of regeneration abilities in the TV show. Just not to the point of regenerating limbs, and digits.
Let’s hope in season 2 we get some live action FEV lore, since it wasn’t touched upon at all in season 1.
Refresh my memory. In FO3 There is a Ghoul doc that says some contradictory things. That ghouls both fall apart but also heal? There is a ghoul named patches where his body is rotting and falling apart but the doc attaches new parts and they work? Not sure if the doc is juts putting Patches old arm back on or if he is sewing donor parts.
It is a concoction, probably a mix of ghoul and fev stuff ?
With that said, ghoul do regenerate and are immune to radiation to a limit. Think ghoul regeneration like Deadppool's regeneration - he still had cancer and technically would die if his regeneration stopped. Same with ghouls, they lost the cartilage and peeling skin and hair loss because they are still taking the side effects of radiation but regen back like a hellish you can't die but suffer loop.
You wouldn't need a full regeneration type healing factor to survive a crossbowbolt to the neck. A fast healing type would still work.
Ghouls have fast healing type abilities, especially in high radiation areas. I want say in some games their health bars replenish over time if you give them too much of breather Also the only way The Ghoul's crude surgery technique would work is if he had a healing factorof some type.
Fast Healing is a lower tier healing factor severed limbs won't grow back and extreme wounds like .50 BMG might be too much for fast healing, but overall, it's a powerful ability.
@@randallmoe13historically they only heal while getting radiated, which is why some intelligent ghouls live in heavily radiated areas. And they get left alone.
Many don't because they think the radiation might make them go feral quicker.
I also think the scarring on Thaddeus neck looks ghoul-ish in the part that healed. It's definitely a different texture after healing in that part of the neck.
I think the snake oil salesman has taken the elixir himself, and probably tries to kill himself regularly, unsuccessfully, which is probably why he’s crazy. I do think he gave it to Thaddeus as a punishment. I wouldn’t be surprised if Thaddeus tracks him down in season 2 for an explanation so we can learn more. But I’m not convinced yet that it was FEV or that Thaddeus is becoming a super mutant. Keeping FEV in an unsealed jar in a briefcase strains credulity. I think it will be downright silly if he becomes a ghoul though.
The only comment with reason
It's fallout of course it's gonna be either goofy or oh shit I think I just committed a war crime that's just how it's always been in the series
I thought he could have been Harold in disguise and watched the show a second time just to see if he ever took that hat off and sadly it falls off in his first introduction.
There's still a lot of hair for a small plant to be growing but nothing obvious.
But if he has taken it himself and regularly tries to kill himself would he not have lots of scars that look kinda ghoulish like thaddeus got after pulling the arrow out?
@@Spectre2013 that is a fair point.
One other theory I heard was that it could be the Healing Factor serum from 76. The healing factor mutation increases health regeneration while not in combat to +300%. Since mutation serums are made with nuked flora, which is harvested in nuke zones, they may not be found much outside of Appalachia and that's why people don't see them much or even know what they are.
Not unless they wanna get sued by marvel for stealing wolverine's ability. That's the most obviously non Canon name I've ever heard for the fallout universe... 76 isn't Canon btw...
If not FEV, I'd sat maybe healing factor serum. The snake oil salesman also specifically called it a serum rather than elixir in the scene. Thoughts?
that was my thoughts as well Healing factor.. the radiation protection could be a lie. since if you use radaway with healing factor, you instantly heal.
He told the scientists he could grow his foot back with his elixir
Maybe he mixed them together with some radx or glowing blood packs
"serum" is definitely a more appropriate term than "elixer". elixir implies something wonderful or amazingly good, like "elixir of life". "serum" just implies it was something he might have dabbled in experimenting with and thought he found something "healing" in nature. sadly, it made him into a bit of a mutation and therefore an enemy of the brotherhood.
One of the original fallout super mutants was a human dipped in the fev vat, his name was Talius.
The fact that the snake oil salesman was contemplating suicide mere moments before he stumbled upon Thaddeus and his extremely sought after commodity (working fusion core), suggests that whatever injuries the snake oil salesman had himself (I think he was limping a bit?) he chose *not* to treat with said “serum”, certainly knowing there must be some unreasonably high cost for the rapid healing factor it bestowed on Thaddeus.
This tells us with pretty much certainty that whatever the serum was, it was *not* merely a standard healing-factor serum, and brought with it some severe side effects that the salesman himself would rather have chosen death than have resorted to… I’m guessing it’s FEV, particularly since the name “Thaddeus” is often associated with Frankenstein-type monsters/abominations, which would be even more fitting if his final form resembled that of a super mutant…
Good stuff!!
He‘s like Jack Sparrow 😂
The biggest evidence that it was FEV is that Thaddeus is *SUCH* a super mutant name.
real
where has there ever been a Supermutant with a name like Thaddeus?
Damn. That's a really good point.
Seems legit
Dr. Blackburn breathes in a huge cloud of gas and turns instantly into a Supermutant. Thadeus uses an inhaler to breathe in something that looks like a diluted FEV, and starts a slower transformation. Seems reasonable to me... which doesn't make it correct, just something I'm willing to go with.
This is why I hate when we get down to super details like this. Blackburn turning instantly is a game mechanic. It's a cliched MMO boss fight. It has to be instant because it's time to shoot the monster now. I think in legit storytelling anyone would choose a slow transformation. I think we really need to be careful when using 76 for lore explanations. Like I can't stand how because it is an MMO they have to introduce new monsters all the time. There are more varied monsters in 76 than the rest of the Fallout universe combined. Don't get me started on the fact that all the monsters are also pre war urban legends( also all our real world urban legends or "cyrptids") Why would radiation make wendigos?
@@xtremejay2000fallout 1 ending where you get turned into a super mutant… it’s instant there too.
Can I point out Blackburn isnt just immersed in gaseous FEV, it seems to be charged as well, seeing the green bolts. Of course this could be for "gameplay" but it would have to be explained at some point like other "game mechanics" ie VATS, special, etc. i think blackburns FEV was a modified version hence when we get there were told theyve started recreating it but it wasnt a 1:1 form.
@@joe-ov6kh True. But thats an ending cutscene. Again. It has to get to the point to show you what happened to your character.
@@xtremejay2000 idk bout that there is a bunch of Alien/cult/paranormal/eldritch themes and stories that existed before fallout 76 like the Lovecraftian cultists who were praying to ancient evils before the bombs fell Children of Atom pray to Atom, theories that the Atom Bombs were dropped to prevent said ancient evil from arising. This is covered in fallout 3 and 4 Dunwich locations to a certain extent they seemingly mined way to deep into the earth and this was happening before Atom. That being said we have no idea if the show will ever touch on these aspects I personally think it would add that extra layer other than just "vault tec bad"
in FO76, you’re eventually able to craft certain “serum’s” including the “healing factor serum“ which allows your character outside of combat to instantly heal at the cost of medicinal items like stimpacks to be less effective. I’m not sure if it regenerates radiation, but it’s the most plausible explanation of what the snake oil salesman had inside of his case.
The salesmen only went for his case after Thadeus paid him with the fusion core, which the salesmen looked at like it was worth a fortune! He wouldn't have wanted Thadeus to know where the good stuff was before he was paid in case Thadeus tried to rob him, and may have only decided to give him the genuine cure-all after getting such an enormously valuable payment.
Agree but it still could be fev
He immediatly said sorry after giving him the ''cure'' so i don't think he had his best interests at heart anyway :P
That's makes more sense to me
@@Fightsome64-- I think the SOS had no way to truly heal the foot without it. He felt sorry for what he knew would happen, but it was the only way to heal him.
This drug could be the same drug that Handcock used to become a goul. We just never figured out the name of the drug. He never told us the name
lol yeah he talks about it the first time you meet him in his office if you keep question him.
@@houstonjoker3836 what was the name of the drug and where did it came from?
@@Mitch_Iz_Kool_12Gaming he doesn’t specifically say where it came from or where he got it from, all he says is he use to be a normal human about a decade(10 years) ago when he just arrived in goodneighbor and he was young and would do any drug he came across or anyone offered him, and loved to do the most exotic drugs, and he says one day he found an experimental radiation drug and that it was only one of its kind left and only one hit. So he took it and became a ghoul but says “the high was so worth it”.
@@houstonjoker3836 well I kinda figured that because he also tells you that when you get more companion exfinity with him
@@houstonjoker3836 But Thaddeus doesn't get high. He just chokes a bit and heals.
10:25 I didn't realize that was the snake docs office. it makes way more sense now. I thought he just grabbed a bunch of chemicals off a wall and prayed it worked 😭
Honestly same
I think how it works is that they heal rapidly but they don’t heal perfectly. So they scar and can’t regrow body parts but they still heal incredibly quickly, which still explains why they look so scarred up.
There is a saying, "It's not the poison that kills you, it's the dose." Maybe FEV in small quantities makes you super human, not a super mutant.
Low-level exposure to FEV tends to take much much longer and be far less predictable than full body exposure. No telling what he'll turn into over years and years.
He got the miracle immortal serum that doctor had in Fallout 4
The Cabot serum.
Can he regenerate his head tho?
Lazarus' blood? I kinda agree
@@Covolsky Lorenzo*
@@renaigh Right, thank you
FEV has multiple strains and is supposed to be quite easy to make.
Dr ChickenLover could also have traded for a recipe
be even crazier if he was a scientist back in the day before the bombs fell and because he survived this long his mind shows it perks in the most crazy of moments
Let's face it, the Snake Oil Salesman is the best character in the show. Those who hate him are just persecuting him over his scientific theories.
He definitely looks like he bangs chickens tho...
Snake salesman reminded me of a toned down Jack Sparrow.
@@strawhatdabberIt’s important research and someone needs to do it. Do you want humanity to advance or not?
Chicken banger to snake...pharmacist, that's called character development 😂
@funsamgaming he looked like the child snatcher from chitty chitty bang bang
Sowed on a finger and then regenerated to make it fit yes he regenerates other wize he be walking around with a tone of holes in his chest 2:50 idk not your best break down 😅
Another thing is the perk in game makes it so radiation damage restores health so yet again yes ghouls self heal to a limit* can't regenerate whole limbs *
This video really shows Oxhorn never got around to doing mutations on fallout 76. The healing factor mutation is more than likely what he's got.
the most surprising thing to me, is that people actually play 76. lol
Bro got a hit of fev virus he will be a supre mutant most likely in season 2
Nah need a full dip for that lol
@@tod557 Well... They turned a whole town with very little FEV exposure in Fallout 76, or at least, didn't require a whole dip in a vat of the stuff... same with in Fallout 3, they exposed humans to a little that's been aerosolized
He could be some sorta hybrid.. I mean shit could’ve been cut with a bunch of different chems
CENTAUR!!
@@97nived perhaps similar to drinking the water, inhaling a large concentration will begin a slower transformation process.
I figured the background rad count was so high that all ghouls in the area were regenerating fairly quickly.
It's not been long since Hank nuked everyone after all.
I think it might be the same drug that made Hancock and others into ghouls. That region seems to have a greater understanding of ghouls in general(perhaps due to enclave research?), to the point where they can intentionally prevent going feral with a drug.
The increased radiation from the recent bombing would also eventually degrade and destroy the ghouls' higher reasoning,, leading to the 'everyone goes feral' mindset the local ghouls have.
Long enough neither Lucy or her brother were old enough to remember it, and it was a fairly low yield device. Likely it's only areas that collected dust immediately after the detonation would still be very radioactive
In part 4, the drug that Hancock overdosed on was also radioactive, and Nick's enemy Eddie was also turned into a ghoul due to a radiation experiment, so it seems like the basic plot is based on radiation.
There has to be more to that drug because there was also the researchers house, who was testing out a new drug that supposedly made her immune to radiation, but the drug failed, and she became a glowing one. That was three references to this mystery drug.
I've not personally played 76, but is there a reason this couldn't be a sample of the water from Huntersville (possibly mixed with stimpacks and other chems, thus a "concoction" of the salesman, but primarily FEV).
alternatively it could be some kind of ghoul juice I suppose, and we do see ghouls regenerate health when glowing ones do their radiation attack. his foot doesn't heal perfectly back to normal, it's still kind of mangled and misshapen, so over time signs of damage would start to pile up and leave a person looking more like the ghouls we're used to.
The only thing working against that thought is distance. West Virginia to California would be a very hard trip for anyone not in the Prydwyn.
@dolenore Didn't stop brotherhood from reaching Virginia, it's mentioned they lost alot of members making the journey so it's possible this is true just unlikely
@@mrplayfulshadethe brotherhood has airships. Wasteland con artists don't.
If he got contaminated water from someplace, hegot it from irritated run off from the remains of either the Cathedral or Mariposa. Both are just outside of the show area
@nicholashodges201 Yeah uhm...the brotherhood that went to West Virginia didn't come in an airship, they came on foot
You misunderstand what high regeneration would mean in this case. The scar tissue of ghouls is them being healthy because it healed. scar tissue is one that has been regenerated.
Think more of Deadpool tha Wolverine.
I assumed it was FEV. I was juat waiting for them to introduce it since its such a HUGE part of the lore..when i watched the show again is when i assumed that it was this
@@SarcasticChef83 If I'm not wrong FEV and becoming/being a super mutant also have some amount of heightened regeneration. However it's also totally possible it's closer to Hancocks story.
Also yea absolutely agreed. High speed regeneration in the real world would look more like someone being a ghoul. After the bombs there were ghouls who survived even being close enough to get burned and of course Moira. The heavier layers of scar tissue show that they are in fact healing from those wounds it's just that's how scars look if you have tons of them heal over and over and over.
Don’t ghouls regenerate when exposed to radiation, like with glowing ones.
No that is just the glowing ones and it just speeds up their healing but not full regeneration.
The ghouls do seem to display healing factor in the show, which is new for the series. I think they're saying that mutated humans and ghouls are the same. Which explains why ghouls suddenly need to take serums, which is also new in fallout lore. People say he's supermutant, but "I think you might be a ghoul" is big hint that he might be a ghoul.
This could also be a reference the Ghoulish perk.
Ghouls have always regenerated health. In every game you can look up the stats.
@@christopherjensen3034 Ghouls in the games don't have any canonical healing factor, outside of glowing ones healing other ghouls.
I thought ghouls were able to regenerate by intaking large amounts of radiation?
Can't some ghouls even revive others?
It's more likely a mutation Serum like in Fallout 76.
The idea that the enclave could’ve still been working on a super soldier serum is pretty cool!
They really want to make another Frank Horrigan.
oxhorn I have to disagree with you on some points you missed: ghouls and supermutants do regenerate. we all regenerate that how we recover from wounds. The facts Ghouls and super mutants have longevity to the point their aging stops or slows dramitcally. Is a sign of enhanced regenation on a cellular level. the example of the ghoul reattaching a finger someone else finger - means his body accepted a foriegn objet and made it part of him. also the arrow to the neck isnt automatially fatal. nicpicky as it is the arrow to the thoat needed to cause enough air blockage, trauma, forma, and blood loss to be leathal...yes normal arrow to the neck fatal. but a clean shot that blocking exess blood loss could allow a person to hold out long enough to be treated plus it was from th side not front, back diagionally so his vital organ could mostly been missed. his increased healng factor likekly subisteing a stimpack or medical team. finally ghouls are possible but disappointing result for our antagonist buddy here. fev can make you a ghoul and it was you and fallout 76 . t5hat taqught me that. 0ghoul exsisted prior to the bombs falling. and while it was likely always fev. i theorize part of ghoulficat it would also explain how so many people are survivoing the world of fallout
Since it's a virus, the viral quantity affects how quickly a person turns. Maybe it will take a while for thadeus, since he took very little FEV. And maybe the regeneration only happens in the initial stages, as a side effect of the rapid cell production the body has to do to increase corporal mass to make a supermutant
yeah that was my thinking as well. also maybe the reason why dipping had the best results for the survival of the subject.
the infection comes with extreme tissue growth. as seen with the failed subjects this can lead to very uneven growth probably to the point where some parts of the mutated body put such a strain on the not yet mutated parts that the whole organism collapses.
by this theory dipping would cause a very rapid and even infection of a majority of the subjects outer tissue and probably they even swallow and inhale some of the liquid while getting dipped, giving them the full inside and outside load. that way everything grows somewhat evenly resulting in a stable supermutant.
if the snake oil serum is diluted far enough then in could feasibly just take longer for the virus to sufficiently spread through the body to start the rapid growth. maybe also who knows what the guy punched the serum with also prevents a lot of the immediate effects but eventually the FEV wins and thaddeus will start mutating
This is one of the more accurate comments.
FEV is a virus.
The vats he is talking about were highly concentrated.
FEV in lesser quantities is everywhere in the Fallout universe as it's gotten into the water cycle.
Thaddeus is one of my favourite characters. Hope we see more of him next year 🤞🏼
Id go more for the mysterious syrum. Ghouls don't heal like that.
Agree
They do when exposed to radiation. Like, say, the lingering radiation from Hank nuking Shady Sands.
Well in the TV show they do, just think at the fight in Filly, the ghoul was hit many times by bullets but seemed unaffected just like Thaddeus was with the arrow. Ghouls maybe can't regrow a missing limb or finger but they heal very fast.
The ghouls are shown in the show as being very aged and needing more serum to keep from going feral. A newly turned human may just have more healing factor and can regenerate limbs.
I think it may be a more pure form of FEV, since the ones we found have had radioactive creatures and people in it.
Thaddeus may be going the way of Harold and The Master with becoming a new type of mutant.
Didn't Hancock become a Ghoul because of chems?
Yes. Eddie Winter also took experimental chems pre war to turn into a ghoul.
If it was FEV, the "Doctor" could be one of the scientists or assistances who worked for the government and is somehow still alive, and tinkered with the original formula to change it into what we saw in the show. He could also be a regular human who stumbled on either samples of it, and diluted it so the color is now yellow instead of green. He could have also just have stumbled into the recipe and through trial and error, developed his own strand. My final theory is he could be a cultist and using his connection to whatever he worships, developed or just received whatever this liquid is, and Thaddeus is now being transformed into some Lovecraftian creature.
It's FEV. Ghouls, Synths and Super Mutants are all made with FEV; Synths just aren't irradiated.
There are so many ghouls in the Fallout Universe because all pre-war food and drink was made with FEV. FEV makes it taste better, last longer and gives Americans low level radiation resistance. That's why 200 year old pre-war deviled eggs still good.
Thanks...was wondering about Lucy eating "Yum Yum" deviled eggs and not even getting food poisoning!
I don't think I agree with your reading of the situation when you say that Thaddeus betrayed Maximus at the campfire. He expressed doubt whether Maximus would be able to to hide the truth from the Brotherhood, but he was still speaking from the position of someone on Maximus' side. It was then Maximus himself who realized telling him might have been a mistake and immediately turned on him and tried to kill him. If anything, it was Maximus who betrayed Thaddeus when he realized that trusting him would be too risky.
Thaddeus would probably eventually betray Maximus if the brotherhood ever put enough pressure on him to threaten his own survival, but he definitely did not betray him at the campfire.
Don’t know how people don’t see Maximus actions as some evil. I was shocked to see him leave the knight to die just cause of a disagreement and different views, barely anyone bats an eye cause the dudes an ass?
Maximus was one of my fav characters near the end, but he is also a terrible person. He either kills, tries to kill, or lets them die puposefilly if it serves his own interests (becoming a knight and now getting to Lucy. Tho something tells me he's going the think she abandoned him and dig his heels into the BoS plotline).
It's clear he wants to do right however much of the time. But all those times technically has a payout for him (he likes to be around Lucy so when he feels she's threatened his will condemn an entire community, stealing their power core, and effectively maim unarmed people. Then he wanted to keep the core afterward.) But I can handwaive the dissonance with him being terribly traumatized and very naive.
@@youngnat I know what you mean, but in this particular instance, I can understand why he let him die. Dude being an asshole is one thing, but he directly and repeatedly threatened to have Maximus killed. And I am pretty sure he meant it too.
But other times he is clearly in the wrong, like trying to kill Thaddeus, twice.
@@CC-qx7hk It is also one of the major themes of the season, that the wasteland makes normal people do terrible things. I think Maximus' future plot line probably involves him becoming a better person, though it might also get a lot worse before it gets better.
@@youngnat
Seconded!
Lot of scenes also feel... forced... to give us excuses as to why Maximus can be liked. In some cases quite literally, as in Maximus is prevented from an evil act only by the intervention of other characters! The writers are taking steps to ensure Maximus will not be outright hated, but is still motivated by selfish and short-term gain. The question is - what will he be like after a complete story arch?
I think Maximus also has Bloody Mess, a deliberate nod to this immoral character.
Sir, I for one am not a fan of this game nor have I ever had the urge to watch the show but they way you tell these stories from it is fascinating and I love listening to them.
I believe the chem is called “Ex Machina”, it’s most commonly used when authors write themselves into a hole.
Whoa, a "lit major" amongst our midst!
@@chessophiler i took 'getting lit' as a minor in college.
You clearly don’t know what “ex machina” means… lol “Deus ex Machina” means “god from the machine” and refers to old crappy plays where god would just appear and solve all of the problems.
A modern Deus ex Machina is when something solves a problem without being foreshadowed or referenced in any way, and affects the plot in a major way. It’s like if during a horror movie the marines randomly show up and kill the bad guy with no prior mention or reason to be there.
The “doctor” is FAR from a Deus ex Machina as he’s been shown offering cures and medicine, and your claim that they “wrote themselves into a hole” is idiotic because you don’t even have enough information to know where Thaddeus’ story is going yet, his injury wasn’t “required” for the story to keep going and his ailment doesn’t even really affect the story.
None of what you said makes any sense. It’s very clear that the writers injured Thaddeus with the intention of giving him that cure for some unknown reason right now… we don’t know what their plan is, but they clearly have one because it was laid out and foreshadowed multiple times before it happened.
Having an opinion is perfectly fine, but don’t throw around objectively wrong criticism that you don’t even understand. Just say you didn’t like it… don’t try to reference literary tropes you don’t understand and lie because you didn’t get something or weren’t paying attention.
@@DanteYewToob “None of what you said makes sense!”
*writes 3 paragraphs of drivel*
I get it, you hate anyone that doesn’t completely ride bethesdas pole and a “brand new miracle serum that never existed in the franchise and shows up just in the nick of time to save a character from dying” has never been done in a story before. Do you feel better getting it all off your chest, or are ya mad about some other things in life and just wanted to vent on some stranger on the internet?
(Just became a member here 😎 So im "moving" my comment into the members section 😂) :
I feel like this guy might have been involved with the Enclave or something else. Maybe the Institute or another faction.
I'm thinking about his overall character that doesn't really make sense. Wanted to end himself right before he saw a wounded person.
The cabinet thing, I'm thinking that the guy has a background as a scientist, probably one that did crazy experiments (considering the stuff he is willing to do.. chickens and yeah..). I can imagine that some former scientist might have become a bit "crazy"/traumatized from the kind of stuff different factions, group and general wasteland is.
BUT! My thinking about who he might be personally. If he's a former scientist who has done bad stuff to people. What if he regrets his past?
He clearly has medicine knowledge to help basically anyone.
He is standing in the open trying to help anyone with any condition he sees or thinks might "sell".
But we're talking about the wasteland after all. People don't care, nobody trusts and it's really just depressing stuff to see if you care about people. So he decides to end His life after many episodes, but sees a very wounded person who he finally can help. But yes, in the end he gets threatened and decides to "return the favor".
Oh and the cabinet thing, I believe it might just have been a quick general looting before getting to work. You know, we go with our companions and check out stuff that might be useful in-game.
I have no idea what might happen to the crazy doctor after this, but if he is a former scientist. Then I believe he is curious to watch over his "experiment".
But this is all theoretical tho! Maybe we'll find out in the next season!
Thaddeus will be a new Super Mutant that be cool a nice mix up i did not even notice great video i love this Series.
What doesn't make sense is that the Brotherhood would hate the Ghouls. I'd think they would take pity on them as they were unfortunate people who were changed due to the folly of the leaders of the pre-war world. I hope that makes sense. If not, then never mind. I think the BoS would try to help the Ghouls and not despise them.
Most ghouls are feral and attack Brotherhood scribes on sight, only takes a few attacks on scribes and scouts exploring ruins before they declare them all feral monsters and shoot on sight.
There’s also that Immortal Juice from the Cabot family, it keeps them young and if used on your character will both heal and make them resistant to rads.
He's a ghoul. I don't get why the sticking point is that "ghouls don't regenerate", as their entire existence is their bodies' way of fighting against radiation damage.
Yes, they can die like anyone else, but their regenerative properties are less like "magical damage reset" and more like "my entire body is a wound that's scarred over".
If they take too much damage too quickly/consistently, they have nothing to regenerate, so they die. They can't regrow limbs, but they can take on new ones. So long as they don't take fatal damage, they'll never deteriorate physically (also so long as they don't go feral and thus neglect their health and well-being).
They do regenrate. Its been in the stats of ghouls since f01
Thanks for your video. I am glad you mentioned the mutant at the enclave facility. I think the snake oil seller possibly worked for West Tek. What we do know is there was minimal reference to mutants in the first season. So I think it's expected that super mutants or a super mutant will play a role in the next season. As too will perhaps west tek.
It's not too far fetched to think the inhaler thaddeus used was FEV. It would be interesting how his character changes with new found abilities.
Thaddeus going to be the new Master? Are we getting super mutants in season 2? Hype train 14:58
Ox the first time I watched the fallout tv show I absolutely abhorred it but hearing you’re soft spoken light hearted commentary on it makes me appreciate it a little bit so thanks
Kinda looks like the Chem the Ghoul takes to avoid going feral.
Be interesting if the salesman was actually a field agent for the Enclave to test these different chemicals, his persona either an act or the result of being stuck in the wasteland for too long.
i always figured it was like six chems mixed together or something. he seems like the type of guy to fuck around and find out with his elixirs and also has just enough knowledge about chemistry to do it without just offing himself (though he might off some others in the process). mixing stim packs with rad away and med-x would - i feel like - give you some pretty ghoul like immunity as well as regen. mixing that with mild internal fev exposure might 'imprint' those traits onto your body so it just...does that now? or it could be that its only fev, but the exposure is so mild that the infection is spending all its time repairing damage and hasnt had time to mutate him? pulling theories out my ass here, but i like the ideas.
Oxhorn, first great video as always. Second, I don't want you to dismiss the snake oil salesman as unreliable. My personal theory on him, is he was an intelligent super mutant like marcus, who spent his time trying to make a cure for a strain of fev. From time to time he tests all of his concoctions which is why he had a pipe rifle in his mouth. He wasn't trying to kill himself. He was making sure his latest concoction worked, capable of regenerating a gunshot wound to the Head. The clues are there, and if you do an analysis of every scene he is in, and his appearance, and WHERE he travels, ((wasteland, Filly, outposts)). You might see that he's no ordinary snake oil salesman.
I am happy you made a video about a theory I also heavily support and came up with on my own after watching the show, glad we think alike ^^
I love how faithful to the Source Material it is.
Thaddeus would be a RUclipsr if he was born before the War.
Thaddeus didn't choose to betray a mentally stunted Man-Child in Power Armor, he chose Loyalty to People who don't put mentally stunted Man-Children into Power Armor.
You have a beautiful way with words and understand people and their minds so well. Thank you for this video
I love the way you cover video games. I like listening to you as well, so learning theory about the people, the world and everything in between. I also loved the coverage of the show. I started a newer game called Once Human, I would love to see you cover that, eventually. let me know if that is possible or not, so I don't have to ask in every video :p looking forward to hearing from you soon :p
I would prefer to make a suggestion based on the show and not just the lore of the fallout series itself even though I am a Massive Massive fan. I think that Thaddeus was given a serum created by BIG MT. Thus bringing in a massive opportunity for the series to pivot to when we get to New Vegas next season. We all know that while the Lone Wanderer travels to BIG MT you can "upgrade" your character with new abilities and traits and this could simply Segway into that. Just my dumb thought. Thanks for another great video.
There's evidence in Fallout 4 about Swan, the super mutant behemoth, slowly changing from man to mutant. If you read the notes inside his home in the pond it shows the slow decline of their mental state affer being exposed to FEV. I'm assuming that being submerged/surrounded by FEV whether gaseous or liquid is a quicker process than minimal exposure. Not to mention that if the snake oil salesman "concocted" it he probably just mixed some FEV with pee or something else to dilute it.
If he concocted it, maybe it ia a mixture of hydra and some other stuff like x-cell or some creatures or even alien blood. I know looking at the historical snake oil salesmen of the past, they would mix together some of the strangest things and just let people drink it.
Love your fallout journalism! Excellent content!
I got the vibe that the doctors clinic was just his bag, and hes a super eccentric man and found a random pharmacy. He was "searching through the cabinet" as a show, knowing that most wastelanders will threaten him first.
I LOVE OXHORN THANK YOU FOR YEARS OF AMAZING CONTENT
My theory: Dr. Chickenpumpin saw a supermutant pissing in a supermarket ruin and bottled it to further his intellectual study of the bodily humours and proclivities.
This was an actually big brain video that made my eyes shoot from their sockets like a cartoon character.
I still think it was the healing factor serum, especially considering the snake oil sales man said he had serums for sale. I know that in 76 it doesn’t heal rads but it makes more sense.
I’ve had a theory that the Snake Oil Salesmen is an ex-Enclave member, but I’m not sure if I’m entirely convinced that the elixir is some form of FEV(but I really hope it is)
Healing and then leaving a scared tissue behind is ghoul 😅 we know that handcock also took a drug that made him a ghoul so 1:50 idk what your going on about 😂
Are we going to see him as a super mutant??? I will be a great twist. I love it
I had assumed it was a sort of reference to the mutation serums in 76.
Give cooper the glowing one aesthetic with the abilities of Oswald the outrageous using radiation to bring back previously unalived ghouls would be awesome
The amount of people who think the ghouls serum is just rad away is seriously concerning.
Yeah that's definitely Wild
Also maybe the fact that Thaddeus only inhaled a single breath/mist of the FEV serum, effectively exposing only his lung tissues to the virus, but not undergoing full submersion in liquid FEV, or even being encompassed in a chamber that was then deliberately flooded with the concentrated gas.
This might mean that Thaddeus eventual transformation may noticeably slowed, or that he may not even take on the worst side effects (mentally and physically) of FEV while retaining some of its benefits (immune to rads), would make some sense in terms of method of exposure and rapidity of onset of symptoms from any virulent virus.
No, ghouls healing fast is a thing in fallout games. Especially when hit with radiation. Not regeneration, just healing. They also reattach lost limbs in the game.
08:01 I'm Confused? Why did he get trapped in the T-60? In Fallout 4 when a Core is removed the Power Armor automatically Opens up Right? I mean that's way you can get someone out of there PA in game and would make sense that there's a Automatic Eject if the core is removed so that Very thing wouldn't happen to the Operator! You can't get into a PA without the core installed but again that would make sense
The power armor doesn't open when the core is taken out.
Awesome :D Glad to see your opinion on Thaddeus :)
Thaddeus could have been given a strain of the Healing Factor mutation from Appalachia. A strain that the Snake Oil Salesmen most likely took a hit of himself. The Salesmen may, or may not, have been around Appalachia at the time when this kind of mutation was commonplace. However, this is just speculation and I am willing to wait for potentially more information when season 2 of the show releases.
This is what I assumed. The Snake Oil Salesman refers to his drugs as serums so I figured they were just like the serums we can use in 76 that can give you specific mutations. I assume Thaddeus got healing factor or some other combination of mutation serums. He has mutations, but is not necessarily a super mutant.
He could’ve been testing how far he could take the healing factor when he had the gun in his mouth
Coulda been distraught over a chicken turning him down. . ".bwak, wak, wak, wakkk!"
worth noting in the west-tek research facility in Fallout 76 one of the patient logs mentions they are given injections on a constant basis and their skin was turning green. Which would mean that FEV is able to be administred through injections. So getting it in your blood circulation is enough to make you a mutant. And your lungs are a fast way to the circulatory system. Would make sense that the inhaler would work too.
Actually, Ghouls have some form of regen, but not to the point of regenerating missing limbs. Like when "The Ghoul" re-attached the girls finger to his. He just sewed it on and his body regenerated onto it which is why hes able to get it to move. Just sewing it on isn't going to allow him to bend it.
In at least Fallout 4 Ghouls do have a minor radiation healing factor, glowing ones are even able to outright revive dead ferals with radiation
The Ghouls finger, you have to assume, did regenerate. If he was able to bend it, it connected to nerves. In both that instance, as well as Thaddeus's neck-bolt-hole, you could make the argument it is a limited ability, able to "knit up" what is intact, but not full on regrow. The bolt pierced his neck, it didn't punch a hole and remove bio-mass. Also, back to The Ghoul, he doesn't continuously leak body fluid with all the GSW's, but he does drink, blood is flowing if all the drugs he takes spread throughout his body. Maybe it's just the chems, maybe its Maybelline.
Hancock and Eddie Winters were turned into Ghouls before the bombs dropped. There is a drug out there that does it, and I believe it's implied to be the first version of FEV, or at least a deliberate attempt at another super-soldier. Maybe the outward appearance ghoulification is slow. Possibly crazy Dr. Salesman is more of a crazy genius and perfected or altered the serum? Even if radiation exposure is a requirement, radiation is all around them all the time, but also, there could be a small isotope in the bottle, or it was otherwise already irradiated like almost everything else in that world.
I got the impression, when watching the show, that he was already high on his own supply. I suspect he knew that GSW to the head wouldn't kill him, nor would the gun Thaddeus pointed at him. Keeping in mind "limited regeneration" I'd bet that guy could actually be pre-war or close to it, and is kooky because of the imperfect brain-heals of trying to kill himself repeatedly.
Ive been saying FEV since I saw that. Ive had so many arguments with people and their only argument is "Maximus said he is a ghoul, so he is a ghoul". Maximus, the character that has no idea how the wasteland works for the most part.
The Ghoul regenerated through getting shot in Filly, and when he sewed his finger on. It seems to vary throughout the show, so maybe its tied to chem usage or being well fed
I oddly like the snake oil salesman as a fallout character..very fitting and I agree with the FEV assumption or at the very least a varient..guess we will have to wait and see. I truly love the fallout show, amazeballs. Love the channel Ox
The physiology and healing capabilities of ghouls is not set in stone, Oxhorn. Just like the origin of "ghoulhood" is varied and not monolithic, we can say the same about whether ghouls heal or regenerate. You can find some evidence for both "yes" and "no" in canon lore. Also, we know that at least two canon characters (Hancock and Eddie Winter) took a "drug" that turned them into ghouls. We don't know exactly how quickly or slowly ghoulification happens (and that time may vary based on the method by which someone becomes a ghoul). And we don't know exactly what happens at each particular stage either. So I think it's still possible that the drug given to Thaddeus has started the ghoulification process.
This is how I read it, when I saw Thad regenerate. The whole Chekov's Gun had me watching closely for the "reveal" of some Super Mutant in one way or another. So it might be confirmation bias, it might be something new they've decided to make for the show, or it could just be that the Snake Oil Salesman stumbled onto a cache.
Weirder, what if he was a scientist working on it, back in the day and is as old as The Ghoul? What if he did perfect it, and used it on himself a handful of others, but it either had deleterious effects on their mental faculties or all they had left was the regular FEV? His whole self-deletion scene makes a bit more sense, because he'd expect to either just hurt himself and feel something like a masochist of his age but saw Thaddeus and was like "oh I don't have to shoot myself out of boredom!" or really was coincidentally (see, I don't believe in coincidence) just about to off himself (since they CAN be killed) as he came past.
I think the "doctor" could have concocted it with FEV. His method and modifications could account for the differences in effects.
My initial thoughts exactly
I feel like the elixir was just a mixture of a Stimpak and Rad-X _🤔🤔_
Thaddeus is just turning into a new Harold lol
The Chem might have been still coursing to explain the regen. And gouls do as well, maybe not as quick and def Don't regen limbs... but when the finger was sown back on, it worked almost immediately. That is regeneration. It's possible thaddeus was given a variation of F.E.V. or he is goul and just hasn't had radiation or time to disfigure.
Seems the dunking or being immersed in FEV mist just speeds up the process. Thaddeus got such a low dose it'll probably take a lot longer to fully change him
Might be wishful thinking because I love the horror aspects of Fallout but I think Thadius has some horrific things in store for him. He strikes me as the sort of character that would be setup for a grim future.
Snake oil salesman specifically says "serums" when he's hawking his stuff outside Filly 9:46 "Serums to energize - serums to invigorate-" sounds suspiciously like the mutation serums available in Fallout 76. I think "serum" is the key here. Language is super important.
I'm not the only one saying this, but FEV wasn't only created to make Super Mutants that is 1000% canon. FEV has quite a few different strains of the virus, some for humans and many more for animals (like Floaters, Wanamingos, and Deathclaws, among others). The human side of the virus is especially interesting, as it doesn’t only produce Super Mutants. For instance, Richard Grey fell into the FEV vats at Mariposa, becoming a post-human cybernetic FEV mutant, later known as the Master.
Harold, who was with Richard, was also infected by a low dose of FEV. He was already mutating when he woke up outside the Mariposa base. A tree seed landed on or near his head, and over time, this transformed him into a sort of FEV-based ghoul for much of his life. Eventually, in the Capital Wasteland, the tree took root and began mutating him further, turning him into a living tree. These examples show how FEV can change people into various forms, not just Super Mutants.
Heck, it could have been a drug someone made after the war just threw random things together and created this cocktail of a thing. Or, it could be something a completely different company was working on before the war, left sitting on a shelf for all those years until someone came by and found it. As we have to remember, we don’t know every single company in Fallout or the projects they were working on at the time. Hell, it could even be from a Vault-Tec vault, for all we know.
Based on the wording used by the "Doctor," it seems like he's used the same thing on someone else before.
I might not remember very well, but as soon as Thaddeus gets hit by the arrow in the neck, the others characters actually declare him as a Ghoul, not a Supermutant. When I watched the series it did make sense, but now I don't know what is real anymore.
I theorized FEV when watching with a friend, but immediately felt like I might've been having a me moment. I'm glad I wasn't (or at least that a lot of people are also having a me moment). I wanna see FEV take somewhat of a spotlight in the show.
Maybe I missed it, but I didn't hear you mention Hancock.
He's a quasi-ghoul that identifies as a ghoul. He took an unknown drug to ghoulify
One giant hole in this logic:
1. Look at his neck where the wound healed. It’s obviously rough scar tissue, not his original skin.
2. Fallout lore states there are Ghouls who don’t look ghoulified.
3. It’s likely that the ghoul’s disfigurement is just scar tissue resulting from hundreds of years of life/skin being nearly completely ripped off by nuclear blasts and all returning as scar tissue. It would also explained the singed vocal cords.
I believe it was healing factor, and that those who survived as ghouls had somehow come in contact with the healing factor serum.