The Fallout TV show came at a time when successful video game adaptations were few and far between. Nevertheless, Fallout beat the odds and gave us an amazing series with new characters like Lucy MacLean and The Ghoul, who offer compelling stories and chemistry so fun many viewers ship the duo, even if a romance could never work in the show.
Lucy and The Ghoul Are Similar People
Lucy MacLean and The Ghoul, aka Cooper Howard, come from very different walks of life yet are united by the sins of their loved ones. Cooper was a famous actor whose wife worked for Vault-Tec and was the catalyst for allowing the bombs to eventually drop. Lucy’s father was one of the men who worked under Cooper’s wife in Vault-Tec and, like her, wasn’t innocent. In the end, both are betrayed by loved ones, with Lucy learning what happened to her mother and the part her father played in her fate.
When Lucy meets The Ghoul, she has no idea that her captor is aware of her lineage. In fact, Lucy is the first glimpse of hope he’s had in getting answers to what happened to his family in over 200 years. As a result, he’s not too keen on killing her as fast as his other victims. But what results is The Ghoul inadvertently showing Lucy that she can overcome the brutality of the Wasteland and be just as ruthless as him but even stronger because of her intact humanity.
By the end of the Fallout series, Lucy teams up with The Ghoul to find her father, not as a captive but as an equal. This, however, is only the first in a couple of examples of why fans on sites like X are so obsessed with shipping these two characters. The Ghoul’s charisma, coupled with Lucy’s boundless optimism, makes for possibilities that many fans have already tried to adapt in fanfictions. That said, while there’s no denying the chemistry, it’s ultimately misplaced.
Why The Ghoul x Lucy Romance Could Never Work
Chemistry comes in all shapes and sizes in Fallout. From the powerful sibling bond between Norm and Lucy to the guarded love of The Ghoul and Dogmeat, there’s no denying that when two parties get along, they get along. As the end of Fallout proves, The Ghoul and Lucy are, indeed, kindred spirits due to the sins of their past. However, Lucy also proves herself to be a selfless survivor with a similar mission as The Ghoul. As a result, he extends an offer for her to join him, not as a romantic partner but as a traveling companion.
While there are individuals who support the ship anyway, I also found some who felt it was a genuinely odd pairing, even in the world of shipping. One X user felt that they were more father and daughter in their bond rather than romantic, which makes much more sense. Another user on Reddit also questioned if those who shipped the two had properly understood their dynamic in the first place.
Even still, the answers as to why these two characters can’t be together are shown within the series itself. For starters, no matter the betrayal The Ghoul feels, he only has one mission: finding answers about his family. Not only was he patient about this, but he was also focused, and no amount of romance would ever get in the way of that. On Lucy’s end, she and Maximus have developed a strong star-crossed romance that looks to be tested and will likely get stronger as a result. So, while The Ghoul and Lucy are traveling together, it could never be more than that.
What Relationship Works Best for Lucy and The Ghoul?
Because of their ages, The Ghoul acts and appears more as a gruff father figure who has a heart of gold, albeit an underused one. Meanwhile, Lucy is a young up-and-comer in the world, looking for guidance after an awful family betrayal. As a result, she needs a pillar to lean on that’s honest with her and a totem of strength. Therefore, The Ghoul fits the perfect role of a father-like mentor to the lost and confused Lucy.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with shipping, and for many characters in fiction, it makes sense even if the show or movie never makes it happen. But in Fallout, there’s more than enough presented in the series to show not only why Lucy and The Ghoul can’t work romantically but why they shouldn’t. The Ghoul is a complex character with his own mission and demons, while Lucy has a lot of possibilities ahead of her without the proper direction. They need each other to survive but romance could never be in the cards.
Want to know more about the Fallout universe? Check out GameSkinny’s Fallout hub.
