@@taylorstratford9717 I'm convinced he is running a terrorist cell because of how he knows about these attacks. You seen a cell phone in Fallout? And I didn't install a terminal at that one Preston, I designed and built it you know.
Agreed. He was the most normal, common sense, smart, and perceptive character in the show. All the main cast annoyed me at least a few times (maximus many times), but Norm was a character i didn't care about in eps 1 and 2 and ended up being the best overall character for the show IMO.
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i took me until now to realize what the "i buried her myself" actually means, she isnt lying to norm she just phrased it differently she buried their mom in the sense she helped hank nuke shady sands.
I made that realization in this video too. I gasped and looked over at my mom while pausing the video and said the theory. She totally agreed it's a big possibility and the way hank was insisting the story wasn't quite as it seemed like not totally denying it but implying there was more to the story that would change the perspective
shes got a few good double meanings, i noticed her talking to Norm in this video too about how "Ive seen what happens when smart men get angry", and realised she could have easily been talking about the bombs being dropped at the end of the war
But the question remains ond how she got her Pípboy. I think they might have captured her and used some sort of hostage situation in order to sneak in the bomb
I knew it was a threat immediately 😂😂 what that says about me is a pretty peak at the kind of things ive endure over time as a norm-type. Aint that a kick in the head?
@@connerthewubbzler1062strength was his dump stat, intelligence and perception were his mains. Sometimes you need the smart guy able to make the connections others won’t or can’t
Considering he's the most oddball character in the show (or at least of the 31-33 vaults), I think his name is probably meant to be a cheeky little joke.
I loved Norm because you could tell he was a coward at the beginning, and that never changed. He never lost his fear, but the need to know the truth gave him the courage to keep digging. He’s my favorite type of character
Norm experienced a mentally stimulating challenge for the first time in his life. It was too appealing to resist. And I think Moldaver was right about Lucy's curiosity, too.
@@djx7134 100%. The vault provided nothing to challenge him mentally his whole life and then this mystery appears? Of course he's gonna want to figure it out.
Having fear does not make you a coward. Acting like a coward makes you a coward. Having fear and doing what needs to be done to do the right thing is courage. If we didn’t have that fear mechanism our decision to be courageous becomes meaningless
I am glad that Norm was not a throwaway character. It was very smart of them to not throw away the rest of the story in the vault as well. It adds to the depth of the series as well as keeping perfectly in line with the Fallout universe.
And they sinked up perfectly for the big reveal! I feel scared for Norm and i hope he manages to get himself out instead of someone coming for him the next season
@@t84t748748t6 You don't need strength if you aren't carrying a lot or like to fight up close. Endurance is a better stat because everyone needs more health and stamina.
The funny thing is, that as the series goes on, you realize that he HAD to stay in the vault. Had he gone with Lucy, she probably would have had an easier time of it. A lot of the things that got her into trouble, he would have seen coming. He didn't have her level of naivete so her 'fish out of water' story wouldn't have worked so well with him constantly pointing out the issues. Ironically, he would have been pretty well equipped, mentally, to handle the wasteland.
And at the same time, there would be nobody to uncover vault 31s conspiracy. Its Lucy's willpower that trumps her naivety to get her through the wasteland, with help from others. Norm had faith in his sister and turned out it meant he could stay and operate in the vault. They're a pretty great duo.
@@thedigitalrealm7155in that sense, Norm is the brains, the intellect, the raw intelligence, the superego, Lucy is the heart, the one trying to do right, impulsive to some extent, kind of an id, and Cooper would be the beaten down ego balancing the two with his practical knowledge of the outside world.
@@The-Doctor6969 my fan theory is he convinces bud to make him overseer for 32, then becomes a surprise antagonist as he gets confronted by Lucy's return and her revealing details. But that's kinda cheesy and doesn't leave much room for character development like exile would.
Took me about 30 seconds of his screen time to think "Idk if I like this dude." Took me 5 seconds of his screen time during the speech to realize I like that dude a heckuva lot.
Honestly Norms Arc is the most entertaining aspect of the show, Coopers past is interesting but it's easier to understand Norm he has to know the truth at all costs, he's gonna have alot to process when Him and Lucy reunite again and she gives him the rundown, I wonder if Cooper will tell her anything about Vault Tecs plot against humanity and what her reaction will be when she learns about Norm.
I look forward to where they take his character in season 2. I think he has the potential to become the main character. He's a man burdened with intellect.
I love Norm. He's the kid who's willing to say that the emperor has no clothes. He's the sand in the gears, the guy who doesn't just bow to peer pressure but says what he _actually_ thinks.
The thing is he is a budding strategist and leader. He has quite a bit of growing to do to get rid of his naive side, but he is also still just a boy at this point. He's going to grow into someone remarkable eventually.
@@Katharina-rp7iq Both Lucy and Norm are the product Vault 33 aimed to create: a capable young people capable of making tough decision and soldiering on during hard time. The problem is Vault-Tec also want people like that to be mindless yes-men who lived to serve their agenda.
And it was just like in game too! No long dialog leading to clues or eavesdropping sevens. Instead amazing visual story telling and hacking counsels. The whole show felt like the real game it it was amazing
The performance from Moises in itself was breathtaking in my opinion, the subtle tension between himself and Betty; lots of eye contact acting. Wordless yet perfect, his face and reaction in the final episode really knocked my socks off. I hope to see him in more serious roles in the future; I think it’s hard in Hollywood finding really meaningful roles as a shorter man just due to industry toxicity but he’s got the chops!
I was surprised to see him and I was shocked at his acting and the way he played this role. I didn’t know what to expect but he exceeded my expectations. Definitely one of my favorite characters and I’m looking forward to his story continuing.
A big part of it is how well you do during interviews. Moises seems to get very nervous and flustered during interviews which is why you don’t see him getting much of the limelight despite his stellar performance. The main 3 actors are all very outgoing and easy to talk to people so it makes for good interviews which gets them into the public eye more.
@@RoflCannon6 Wonderful point! It’s surprising somewhat because of Disneys notorious PR training but I truly think it’s just his nature. Id trip over myself no matter what on camera so I relate to being an anxious creature. Happy to see him going strong despite child stardom
@@thomaswillard6267100% agree. I love seeing a mystery unfolding within the Vault, which is a setting we very rarely ever get to see in real-time. The games always focus so much on the Wasteland its fun to see the social dynamics of Vault-Life.
@@connormclernon26that’s right, Lucy has the chance of being saved by the ghoul or by maximus but Norm is truly alone in this vault and wouldn’t make sense for him to be guns blazing. Norms situation forces the writers to make something interesting every time Norm is on screen.
The problem though is that when you select for brainpower, they start to question the narrative. Why are things the way they are? What’s going on here? And if their code of ethics is different from the one you intended to instill in them, then there’s a problem, as seen by the fact that Norm was able to deduce so much about what was going on from simple context clues
When Betty is giving Norm advice about anger, I think she’s describing what happened with Hank and Shady Sands. A clever boy got angry and she knows where that leads.
I mean based on her saying she helped bury his mother she was in on what happened to shady sands. I think she just means her experiences before the war
@@CodeeXDI agree, thought I also think it’s plausible that Hank’s actions were still not completely ideal and were perhaps unexpected for Betty, but her loyalty to him and vault tec meant she helped cover his tracks and return to their usual mission.
Honestly the Norm scenes had me deeply enthralled. His and pre-war Cooper scenes were definitely my favorite out of the entirety of the seasons I enjoy Norm's meaningful defiance and purposeful obedience - it's a perfect scale of someone who's saying everything the audience might be thinking, whilst not being "meta" or unrealistic for his character I definitely hope we see more of him. The hidden 4th protagonist
@@Sejikan honestly i wish someone would make a game based on this multi protagonist game with each character having different stats that are predetermined. It would not be an rpg basically but just an action game based on fallout. Sort of like tales of the borderlands that completely changed the gameplay
From an anoying rich ass kid character in a disney comedy, to being an edgy antagonist in other movies, to becoming the obnoxious bro in a retro postapocalyptic universe. Dude has gone trough a long journey.
I think Betty poisoned the raider prisoners because they were the only witnesses of what happened in vault 32 and after Norm and Chet learned about 32, these prisoners could be dangerous because of what they knew. By poisoning them, she was removing loose ends.
Norm really became one of my favorite characters of the show. Despite his own claims of his cowardice, he has integrity and heart, and is willing to follow his instincts even when authorities above him are basically telling him to 'stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong'. He smells a rat and has to know the truth as it maybe the key to why his Vault was raided, and like any good sleuth, he follows the clues and breadcrumbs. He may lack Lucy's upbeat attitude but he has her go-getter energy in his own sedate but equally determined way.
I like the mention of Norm having the same go-getter energy. He mentions he wouldn't be able to go to the wasteland bc he's scared or doesn't have the courage, but the story showcases that he actually does and that Both he and Lucy are quite similar as siblings in that regard.
@@reklom2334 I like to believe the reason why Norm didn't go into the Wasteland was because he lacks self-confidence. From I can tell Lucy was the favorite child outgoing, charismatic, and talented (from her opening). Leading their father to favor her more then Norm which made him compare everyone of his aspect to Lucy's which damaged his own confidence. It was only when the Raiders who killed his friends and families that he finally becomes motivated.
I think when Betty tells Norm the line about "clever boys being angry.. and being lucky enough to not see where it leads". She is most likely talking about his father Hank, and what he did to Shady Sands when he got pissed at his wife.
I just love the fact that one of the villains is an elderly, sweet black lady. Not a devilishly attractive and seductife femme fatale or hot guy, or even a mad scientist or evil old guy with PTSD.
We don't quite know if she is a villain. Only that she's part of the other likely control vault. Everything else she's done has been vague and her motives are not clear yet.
@@billbaggins7355 not quite sure about that, but i think betty is the woman who introduces "henry" to cooper when he is spying on the meeting at vaulttec
Also interesting how Mordred (the typical villain you'd expect) turns out to be... kind of a hero. They really flip the script on that. She brings power to the wasteland and starts off the NCR, one of the best forces to hold New Vegas.
Norm is the 4th main character to me. I sure hope we will see him again in season 2 because he is quite relatable and offers us an outside view into the vault - which is just as much if not more sinister than the outside. There is a different kind of horror and monstrosity to people pretending to be your friends and family whilst they kill and lie.
It’s not just you. Nobody else who stayed in the vault actually was focused on. Lucy and/or Norm are heavily involved in all but two scenes that take place in vaults 33, 32, or 31. And those two scenes weren’t even that crucial to everything that happens
@@qrowing i can see stephanie being a psycho killer ... me thinks she has the black widow perk lol STAY SAFE CHET! ... also the whole time i was like "is that seth mcfarland?"
Lucy is a Fallout first timer build. Guns and jumping and tinkering, sounds good. Norm is like a Stealth build. He can hack more terminals which gets lucrative the longer you play. He can move and be quiet at the same, which is the difficult part of stealth in Fallout and something that can surprise new players.
Agree. Lucy being super naiive and kind also made me think of all the players like me who always make the moral choice and doesn't want anyone to die etc. I loved that she was like a first character. They really knew what they were doing with the whole show.
and then there's the Ghoul who seems to be a god dang level 100 character with a high investment in Luck, Perception and Agility (given all his precise VATS-like killshots)
I think that's always like my second or third build when playing a new Fallout game, accept being really squishy to get the full lore (and stealing from everyone and everywhere, let's not forget that)
People are complex. They can be cowards in one situation and courageous in another. Norm is written well precisely because he is believably complex and his motivations and actions are believable and consistent with his personality and strengths. His character arc is leading him towards finding more and more courage and confidence, despite his self-doubts and relatively small physical size. His intelligence coupled with his ability to face his weaknesses and eventually overcome them makes him likeable. True strength of character does not come from being perfect, it comes from having weaknesses and recognizing them and working hard to overcome them and improve.
All the main characters have huge, glaring weaknesses. Lucy is hopelessly naive, despite general competence in all areas. Cooper is her mirror; he's overly cynical and tends to kill or abuse everything around even when it's detrimental to him (he got lucky Lucy gave him the drugs instead of leaving him to go feral like most would've). And Max is just kind of dumb.
@@djx7134 Yes and a key is that all their behaviors are consistent with their characters and their experiences. Cooper's change into a cynical psychopathic killer, is understandable given what he learnt about the start of the war, the behind the scenes scheming and betrayal (most painfully the betrayal his wife committed shattering his view of the world), along with what seems to be the loss of his daughter subsequently, after the bombs drop and hundreds of years of surviving the brutal wastelands. They never go the convenient route with him, they stay true to his callous lack of empathy and its only when Lucy shows mercy even after he sold her off as body parts, that he begins to slightly question what he has become, when the movie reminds him of who he used to be. its just excellent writing. But I feel like there are multiple writers on the show. One of them worked a lot on Cooper and Norm and that writer is very skilled. While the one working on Maximus a lot and the BOS story line is not as good of a writer and gets far too silly at times and is prone to overly convenient writing that even approaches Dues Ex Machina at times.
@@ScottMcMaster-er4xj I think Maximus is supposed to actually have insane LUCK. As in a nod to the attribute in Fallout games. They all have protagonist plot armor levels of luck, but his luck is just ridiculous. He defines "failing upward" like no character I've seen before. I'm pretty sure it's intentional. And Max has changed a fair bit. He's still stupid. He probably always will be. But his priorities have changed. In fact, his crazy luck is kind of bothering him these days, since it's pushing him in a direction he'd rather avoid (becoming more tied down to the Brotherhood). So, don't think ironic is the right word exactly, but interesting, at least.
@@ScottMcMaster-er4xj Also, I think we still have a lot to learn about Cooper and how he became the Ghoul. There's still a wide gap to bridge between Cooper Howard and the Ghoul. What we've seen so far doesn't quite account for everything.
@@djx7134 Fairly sure his daughter died. She was on the horse with him, then gone later. The death of his daughter definitely would mess him up, especially knowing the whole war was planned and conspired. It also explains why he's gunning for Vault Tec now and anyone he sees as responsible.
Norm clearly takes Affter his mom. The way he investigates and outwits the overseer just like how is mom did. he is very perceptive and techno savvy. just like his mom. His ending was so sad
Something tells me that norm gets into the robo brain, or the computers. Either that, or Lucy goes spelunking looking for them again to bring him out into the wasteland
I'm predicting Bud will stop him after he's informed by Betty that the water chip is broken. Fearing that his own idea for humanity's future will be doomed, he'll task Norm to find a new water chip.
Chet may be dumb, but he said one of the hardest lines on the show after Norm told him he's a coward: "We all are, Norm. That's why we live on a vault."
Norm is a prime example of a well-written character who has depth. We initially get only a brief glance at him being this possibly spoiled and lazy younger brother, then as kind of a coward during the raid of the vault. But immediately after we get to see him portrayed as angry, maybe even malicious in wanting revenge. Building this expectation that Norm would end up doing something extreme like killing all the raiders or trying to become Overseer himself. Only to once again be subverted by him going out of his way to investigate the other vault and gradually trying to uncover all these secrets despite the possible danger/horrors he could uncover. Especially as a "smart" character, who usually get stereotyped into becoming like the bitter or jealous character in most stories. But he constantly proves that he's actually one of the more courageous and good character's in the show.
I thought Norm was gonna be the boring annoying little brother but he ended up being one of my favorite characters on the show. Definitely did the "Pacifist" run challenge. Didn't fight, just used his words.
Another "different is better" portrait. Absolutely amazing casting writing and acting. Especially since he was the one to solve and get everything revealed
I definitely thought norm was a spineless loser after seeing how he handled things in the first episode. But his admission that “he’s too chicken” followed up by some genuinely good sleuthing made me really root for him by the end.
@@DapperGoth i think even in this context it’s just a very reasonable reaction. fiction still contains the real-world logic of fight-or-flight, these are still people. in fiction, people often have exaggerated skill sets. but they rarely have exaggerated flaws or weaknesses, those are usually just normal human traits. i don’t think this reaction is even something which exists on a moral scale, it’s just a biological imperative to survive. our evolutionary path has selected for communities which react in many different ways during a crisis in order to secure the survival of the species. if we all reacted the same way in every crisis, humanity would have gone extinct a very long time ago. and i think fiction usually appreciates this logic, the show certainly does. because norm thinks back on hiding and he feels ashamed, he questions why he did it. but he did it for survival, just like his sister did what _she_ did for survival. there isn’t shame in that, in a crisis situation. sustained decision-making is where moral judgment lies.
At the start, I didn't know what to make of Norm. Half way through, I couldn't wait to see what he was uncovering. The growth of his character was great. He's the hero of the Vaults.
My friends and I had an interesting discussion and one of us brought up that the characters in the show parallel the characters in Wizard of Oz. Lucy is Dorothy on her journey, Maximus as the Tin Man at least superficially with his Power Armor, the Ghoul/Cooper as the Scarecrow but again superficially, and Norm as the Lion finding his courage
Maximus starts the series getting angry at his friend for becoming a scribe, letting Titus die because he "doesn't deserve" to be a knight, and tried to kill that one guy when he planned to tell the Brotherhood what Maximus did. All in all, Max was ultimately really selfish for the first half of the season. It was through his journey with Lucy that he started acting selflessly, like giving the vault the power core back, and giving himself in to the Brotherhood in hopes he could get them to help her. He believed Brotherhood Knights should be brave, kind people who help those who need it, and he found the heart for that. As for the Ghoul, I don't have as thorough an analysis for him as the Ghoul, but all his stuff as Cooper in the flashbacks are about him trying to figure out more about Vault-Tec and their plans and whatnot. In other words, he wanted information, which could connect to Scarecrow wanting a brain. If you want something for him as the Ghoul, the stuff with that drug that keeps ghouls from going feral could be him trying to keep his brain/sanity.
@@noahdean9685 Deactivating Bud would be too much a rouse. Outwitting Bud, convince his cousin Chet to start a revolt against Betty and revealing the truth to the remaining Vault dwellers is more likely. Can't wait to see his showdown against Betty.
My guess is he’s going to hack bud He would probably need atleast expert level of hacking and a base skill in robotics to hack bud. He hacked and overseers computer and com link so that probably puts him at around expert to master level as that’s usually what their at in none desolate/half done vaults. Robotics thou is tricky. Didn’t see a mister handy type bot in there. This makes sense as the whole line of products suck at lying. they would have accidentally outed 31 long before even if programmed be it with actual information or just observation from being old. The thing is he did do practically every job in the vault so he probably has a point into repair and that could be enough for him to figure out the robotics. Especially because buds probably one of the weakest robobrains (robotics wise) we have ever come across so the level for rebooting should be minimal
@@mewletter he will never actually kill anyone he might actually be attack by betty and his squirrely nature willw cause her to trip and she will die from her own weapon
In a better world, he would have been an excellent detective much like Nick Valentine. His innate skill at reading the room, piecing things together, he would make a great PI if any city in the post apocalypse requires someone with his skillset.
Betty giving Norm the clever boys speech takes on some new meaning when you take into account what she and her father did when he was angry. Atleast that’s how I read her meaning in her delivery of the line “I buried her myself with your father”
Yes, exactly. And note - it wasn't just nuking Shady Sands, which I assume Betty knew about. It was the cover up also. Lucy thinks that her mom died of starvation during the "Great Plague of '77". But there was no "Great Plague" ... it was a cover up to hide the fact that Rose left Vault 33. Hank (and Betty?) made up this plague to force everyone into quarantine, so they couldn't work the farms together, and people died of starvation. During this coverup, Hank lost a lot of weight, making Rose's faked death plausible. Lucy says "people" starved, so Hank let at least one other person starve to death for the coverup. Upon hearing this story, The Ghoul dismissively taunts Lucy, telling her that he bets Hank ate Rose. He had no idea that what Hank and Betty actually did was way worse.
Norm was as courageous as his sister. They are definitely blood related. “Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt
I feel Betty is definitely antagonist-ish; she definitely split up Chet and Norm, and I agree that I think she was the one to kill the Raiders, but I honestly think Betty likes Norm. Something about her interactions to me gives me an inkling she may be trying to protect him, or deviate him so he doesn't get int trouble, or that she may want to get him on her team.
Or, she kept him at her vault because "keep your enemies closer." This way she can keep a closer eye on him. If he was in the other vault, he'd go digging for more info with no supervision..
I think there might be some 'worthy opponent' feelings there. I think Betty enjoys the fact that she actually has to put a bit of effort into dealing with Norm and can't just manipulate him as easily as the rest of the vault. Any game's more fun when winning is a challenge and she likes that the 'Norm' sub-plot of her playthrough isn't stuck on 'easy' like everyone else's.
The intrigue of norms story line was fantastic. Having a vault dweller figure things out from the inside of the vault is awesome to see pan out in a show. He was my favorite character and also the one I kept watching the show for.
I also enjoyed a lot of his "Eye acting", you can tell what's going on in his mind just with his eyes. the actor and the director who guided him, did a phenomenal job. He doesn't say much, but his eyes tells a lot
Norm was a very refreshing character who worked so well for people new to the world of fallout getting that feeling of exploiting a vault for the first time coming to the understanding that something is very wrong and solving the mystery of what happened 10/10
It's so funny to me that Norm is the little brother but clearly LOOKS like the older sibling when the actor is actually 2 years older than Ella Purnell 😂
im trying to remember, I'll have to rewatch, I only remember "Lucy" mentioning her brother, but not if he's older or younger. Its implied hes younger but not explicitly stated. He seems less mature than Lucy, so then maturity is part of Norm's character arc.
He was a kid in Hannah Montana if I remember correctly, he's got plenty of experience acting and he obviously has tremendous talent for it. His name is Moses Arias
Lucy acts like a stereotypical protective older sister towards him so I just assume she's older. Did his mom took off to shady sands with him or just with Lucy? I can't recall but if he was out of the vault with her, I think he would at least remember being outside if he's the older sibling.
@@GRA5S definitely lucy is older. throughout the show lucy constantly remembered her mother in a bright area while we never get any of those moments with norm, which implies he might not even have been old enough to remember her face since moldaver mentioned that when hank found out where rose was living and tried to get her back in the vault, he "took the kids and dropped a bomb"
This video really gives me a deeper appreciation for Norm and Lucy. I feel like their characters were fleshed out so lovingly. The way the "kids" all stick together and understand each other feels so warm, and I feel like we dont get that a lot in media, certainly not characters understanding each other so well. Like as you pointed out, Lucy hides Norm because she knows he isn't a fighter, she listens to him because she knows he's smart and perceptive, she tells their cousin to look after Norm till she gets back, meaning she has taken on the responsibility of his protection as his sister, and she doesn't mind doing so or see him as lesser because of it. They support each other in a way that's honest to who they are.
15:56 I'm inclined to agree. She was already there, he was in charge of the food, he was the one to suggest killing them etc. She's taunting him and letting him know she can frame him if she wants to.
I think Stephanie is flying under the radar and Betty is a Red Herring. We know Stephanie can fight, and she's from Vault tech like Betty. She manipulates Norm and Chet...easy so why can't she be the one to poison the Raiders?
That's what I was thinking too, she seems to be the coldest character and by, "doing the right thing" it's ELIMINATING the competition. Her character will NOT have a redemptive arc, in other words you can "stick a fork in her"
@@wadevanduyn6316 Absolutely agree on your take on her character. She did appear to have gotten a bit unhinged after her husband died, she really did seem to have loved him. So she's a bit of a wildcard compared to the other 31ers from my perspective, Betty is just management. But Stephanie isn't just management, she is "angry", and so far we haven't seen her outright piss on the walls to take out her anger, also she was seemingly in disagreement with Betty on how to handle the prisoners. My guess is that Betty and brain-bot decided to keep them alive because they needed the genetic diversity as the vault had too few inhabitants left, but Stephanie chose anger over "the plan" and killed them, leading to her reassignment to vault 32 in hopes she doesn't cause more trouble. It also ties into why they never tried to get rid of Norm as they simply couldn't afford to lose any more people. And Betty wanting to keep Norm in 33, partly because she could keep an eye on him there but maybe also because she didn't trust Steph enough to have her and Norm together, imagine having two troublemakers unsupervised in the same vault! Maybe Steph and Norm will team up in the future, causing a downward spiral of violence and ultimate destruction, as is the fate for many vaults... (A super-mutant Chet and Norm duo entering the wasteland at the end of season 2 would honestly be f***ing epic)
Norm is one of my favorite character he does alot of his exploring alone.. that takes courage expecially knowing that he most likely he can not defend himself.
Lucy is Dorothy. Max is the Tin Man. Even him being stuck in the armor is a Fallout 2 reference and random encounter where you come across a BoS Brother who needs help out of his armor. Coop is the Scarecrow. CX404 is Toto Both Hank and Moldaver can interchangeably be The Wicked Witch and The Wizard of Oz
Now I need to go back and rewatch the Wizard of Oz. . . this is interesting, and I don't know that as well as I know Fallout, it's been ages since I saw it. . .
For next season, the Overseer of Vault 31 mentions to Norm that radroaches occasionally get into the vault. I'm sure it'll play a role into how he escapes.
Or just blackmails him, he can sabotage pods, systems, and play football with Bud, removing his brain from the drone. Or just makes a deal... you know a deal deal.... if something Bud is a manager who always want to manipulate things. I hope they don't go with the he gets frozen and someone else must save him arc.
Every scene with Norm were arguably the best scenes to me. Filled with tension and mystery. Freaking loved him! I really really hope he is a major, major character in the following seasons.
Thank you for covering why Norm was probably my favorite character in season one. His insight and careful calculations is probably one of the best ways I've seen the "Apathetic Intellectual" portrayed. Just as the events in the vault hooked Norm's curiosity his storyline hooked mine for sure.
Honestly, the more I watched Norm the more I liked his character. The sheer bravery it took to go into the depths of 32 not once, but Every Single Time is amazing.
Yeah dude went into the other two volts not even knowing 100% what he was going to find. And even when he went to vault 31 like his overseer was going to find out about that.
I didn't see an annoying little bro in Norm. Especially in the walk to the connection door. I saw someone obsessing over negative possibilities. A worry wart. He cared about Lucy and her big day. He just couldn't help running through all the possible problems. The annoyance to those around him was because he did it out loud.
Norm is definitely a underrated character. They say he's a coward but really he's a smart guy that isn't really pushed into activating his motivation. When he is finally pushed he shows that he won't let anything stop him.
Clearly has the [small frame] perk/trait Gotta erk out those extra points for intelligence (hacking) and perception (noticing things), and agility (for stealth). Possibly also has high charisma because he constantly gets people to do what he asks (chet sneaks around with him) (as well as stephie agrees with him to kill prisoners). Him and chet lie about where they were hiding, and says they planted tatos. The person thought it was weird but couldn't prove it was a lie.he also got the prisoners to tell the truth It's "possible" that norm also has the [child at heart] perk, which makes him seem "awkward" but people mistake that for social awkwardness and just give him alot of passes for dialogue checks
As a fan of the fallout series and having played a ton of it, I found norm's section to be BY FAR the most interesting and compelling to the point I caught myself saying "hurry up and get back to the vault" love his pov.
Norm ended up being my favourite character by the end. I love the way they slowly reveal how perceptive he is, and that he was probably just bored by the tasks he was given before. By episode three I was thinking "wow, he'd be a great leader" and it was such a great shock when they revealed he's genetically engineered for it. 😂
@@redrasegardenI don't think so I think he's going to cryogenically Freeze himself or somehow destroy or deactivate the robobrain of bub and unfreeze everybody, I don't know we'll just have to wait and see what happens in season 2.
@@noahdean9685 it's just, if he freezes himself we'd have to see a jump into the future to see him again, and I should hope we don't have to deal with that.
It could be from his upbringing by his dad, as Lucy has it too. Specifically their values come from the values and character of who Hank *presented* himself to be. Even though it was false, it’s shown he was able to consistently maintain this mask. So the kids are the real versions of Hank’s constructed persona.
He reminds me of my brother so much. I found it so easy to read his body language and to understand his personality. It reminded me of my childhood with him which made the show so incredibly engaging to me.
I absolutely adore how Norm's plot was handled in season 1. The writers did a fantastic job adding slow-burn tension through his investigation without his scenes feeling boring in juxtaposition to the action in the wasteland. And his storyline is basically just as important and interesting as Lucy's, since his discovery of what's in Vault 31 is a big part of what fully ties the pre-apocalypse and post-apocalypse timelines together.
love how they write a hole story for whats going on in vault 33, 32 and31 in this series instead of write it of like "Its just another side story thats not important for the show" like many other would have done . Norm and the story in vault is so intrasting to follow beside the main characters and I love it.
One day I had Fallout playing on one TV while I was playing Fallout 4 on another TV, While I had Fallout shelter on my phone, While an Oxhorn lore video was playing on background play on my phone and my wife walked in and just said “You have a problem”. Got me feeling like I need Falloutholics Anonymous! 😭
You know, when I saw this, I thought that when the terminal said ‘31 to 33’, I thought it meant that the Overseer was the, well Overseer, of Vaults 31, 32 and 33 and not them being transferred.
I love that they created the characters and their arcs with the SPECIAL stats in mind. You can tell in the first episode that norm is a passive build with high INT/PER. Lucy is pretty much 5s across the board and the ghoul is a high agility/endurance build.
Norm is a great character. I loved watching hin and his advantures in the Vault the entire time. I hope we get more of him in the next season, but we probably won't since he might just stay fronzen for some time. Unless he can somehow hack his way out of Vault 31.
His admission of his own flaws is the seed of greatness. He understands his weaknesses, but he works towards improving them in spite of that. You could say he is burdened with above or well above intelligence. He is aware of this himself, and in some ways, he sees himself as somewhat responsible to pay attention to things that others might miss. He is perceptive, intuitive, and is defiant to authority. He is a character with immense potential, he has a strong family name, and potentially comes from a lineage of powerful individuals. What I appreciate most about norm, is that underneath it all, he seems almost duty bound to do everything it takes to ensure the safety and longevity of his people. You may disagree given his work history, and that's fair, but when a legitimate existential threat presents itself, Norm is the only one that attempts to intercede on behalf of the people who do not understand the evil they have been subjected to their whole lives, that being vault tecs insidious mind bending experiment.
Norm is the only character to complete a quest without getting sidetracked
I mean... Not many settlements within a vault
@@taylorstratford9717 you made me think about Preston garvey.
@@GSUS-fc6ss Good! Because another settlement needs your help! I'll mark it on your map!
that's because he did it in the vault, so the wasteland's golden rule did not apply
@@taylorstratford9717 I'm convinced he is running a terrorist cell because of how he knows about these attacks. You seen a cell phone in Fallout? And I didn't install a terminal at that one Preston, I designed and built it you know.
Norm was a sleeper-hit character.
I agree. Initially, I thought his story was going to be the less interesting.
@@Redrgon25his is a detective’s tale, of using guile, wit, and a complete understanding of his foes to win
Absolutely. I hope we see more from him.
@@SwearMY same! i really hope thaddeus shows up again too,in full ghoul form,either in a game or season 2 lol,it would be hilarious
Agreed. He was the most normal, common sense, smart, and perceptive character in the show. All the main cast annoyed me at least a few times (maximus many times), but Norm was a character i didn't care about in eps 1 and 2 and ended up being the best overall character for the show IMO.
Norm is every middle manager's nightmare. Intelligent, perceptive, and a self-thinker.
Hey! I'm a middle manager and I find this comment to be insubordinate. I will be reporting this to upper management.
(I'm sorry it has come to this the manager has been telling me to cut staff pls don't hate me xoxo)
Yeah, I usually have trouble with middle managers for that exact same reason.
I love that he’s worked ALL the jobs so he has ALL the talents.
Well he is pretty smart so he probably gained quite a lot of XP points each time
@@catslino5037i love how y’all treat the show like its the game. It’s silly 😂
@@789syrus789todd say it, this show its fallout 5
@@789syrus789 Because they're awesome.
@@789syrus789 Considering how the show operates, you can literally see many checks being done.
i took me until now to realize what the "i buried her myself" actually means, she isnt lying to norm she just phrased it differently she buried their mom in the sense she helped hank nuke shady sands.
I made that realization in this video too. I gasped and looked over at my mom while pausing the video and said the theory. She totally agreed it's a big possibility and the way hank was insisting the story wasn't quite as it seemed like not totally denying it but implying there was more to the story that would change the perspective
shes got a few good double meanings, i noticed her talking to Norm in this video too about how "Ive seen what happens when smart men get angry", and realised she could have easily been talking about the bombs being dropped at the end of the war
But the question remains ond how she got her Pípboy. I think they might have captured her and used some sort of hostage situation in order to sneak in the bomb
@@catslino5037 have you watched the whole series yet?
I knew it was a threat immediately 😂😂 what that says about me is a pretty peak at the kind of things ive endure over time as a norm-type. Aint that a kick in the head?
I liked the surprise of Norm being a fourth main character I also liked how it wasn’t annoying seeing his POV his story was interesting.
To me it was one of the best parts of the show I was realed in
Yeah, it was my favoruite part. I loved the mystery and the way he grew during the show
Wow. Why do people think they are expert critic of the world? Just say thanks for your hard work Ox
@@Torriotorreswho are you responding to? Everyone is just saying they like the character. Are they not allowed to express that opinion?
I was more invested in the 33 scenes than I thought I would.
Norm has potentionally the highest Perception out of all the characters in the show
Or the entirety of fallout
What he lacks in charisma, strength, agility and luck, he more than makes up for in Perception and Intelligence.
@@connerthewubbzler1062strength was his dump stat, intelligence and perception were his mains. Sometimes you need the smart guy able to make the connections others won’t or can’t
And intelligence
he wouldn't seen the cracks in the walls back in rep conn HQ
I love how a character named Norm is the one breaking the vault's norm
Get out. Please leave the vault.
Considering he's the most oddball character in the show (or at least of the 31-33 vaults), I think his name is probably meant to be a cheeky little joke.
*[extremely Enclave power armor voice] Exit the Vault immediately.*
for me he was on of the few likable characters so far in this episodes.
😐
Betty's actress did a great job at the subtle sinister vibes and acting
Reminds me of Mom from Futurama.
Leslie Uggams is a solid actor, and a decent singer too.
She plays Blind Al I think so it makes sense, even Blind Al knew things
She always kills it
Exactly. Both Betty's and Norm's actors nailed the subtle 400 IQ warfare going on between these two.
I loved Norm because you could tell he was a coward at the beginning, and that never changed. He never lost his fear, but the need to know the truth gave him the courage to keep digging. He’s my favorite type of character
Norm experienced a mentally stimulating challenge for the first time in his life. It was too appealing to resist. And I think Moldaver was right about Lucy's curiosity, too.
@@djx7134 100%. The vault provided nothing to challenge him mentally his whole life and then this mystery appears? Of course he's gonna want to figure it out.
Having fear does not make you a coward. Acting like a coward makes you a coward. Having fear and doing what needs to be done to do the right thing is courage. If we didn’t have that fear mechanism our decision to be courageous becomes meaningless
I am glad that Norm was not a throwaway character. It was very smart of them to not throw away the rest of the story in the vault as well. It adds to the depth of the series as well as keeping perfectly in line with the Fallout universe.
Makes it feel like the world itself is alive, not just the stories of the lead characters. It’s great!
@@samwwrl98ifyExactly, well said.
Of course, contrasting the vault with the wasteland and seeing that things actually explain each other is satisfying.
Well that vault is a key plot point so they need someone to drive that part of the story , being norm
And they sinked up perfectly for the big reveal! I feel scared for Norm and i hope he manages to get himself out instead of someone coming for him the next season
Norm’s introverted trait boosts his perception to 10
when hey levels a bit more hey should invest in strength hey got to much intellect and sneak
Charisma set to 0
@@t84t748748t6 You don't need strength if you aren't carrying a lot or like to fight up close. Endurance is a better stat because everyone needs more health and stamina.
Well no id say 1 or 2 for charisma he managed to get around Betty
"Lacks Enthusiasm"
The funny thing is, that as the series goes on, you realize that he HAD to stay in the vault. Had he gone with Lucy, she probably would have had an easier time of it. A lot of the things that got her into trouble, he would have seen coming. He didn't have her level of naivete so her 'fish out of water' story wouldn't have worked so well with him constantly pointing out the issues. Ironically, he would have been pretty well equipped, mentally, to handle the wasteland.
And at the same time, there would be nobody to uncover vault 31s conspiracy. Its Lucy's willpower that trumps her naivety to get her through the wasteland, with help from others. Norm had faith in his sister and turned out it meant he could stay and operate in the vault. They're a pretty great duo.
I'm betting he is gonna get sent after a water chip or something so Betty can kick him out of the vault, that is if he escapes 31.
@@spacecowboy1438I hope he has enough balls to leverage bud's buds, it's the only way he gets out I think
@@thedigitalrealm7155in that sense, Norm is the brains, the intellect, the raw intelligence, the superego, Lucy is the heart, the one trying to do right, impulsive to some extent, kind of an id, and Cooper would be the beaten down ego balancing the two with his practical knowledge of the outside world.
@@The-Doctor6969 my fan theory is he convinces bud to make him overseer for 32, then becomes a surprise antagonist as he gets confronted by Lucy's return and her revealing details.
But that's kinda cheesy and doesn't leave much room for character development like exile would.
my dude is 5'1 you CANNOT blame him for hiding, dude knew he'd die instantly
Well maybe he can pull out a stealth attack or two
Norm is so perceptive, he is aware of his own crappy stats 🤣
I watched a 5’ guy tap out a 6’2” guy in the marines. Speed ain’t no joke.
@@Kilroy098 sadly norm doesnt have MILITARY TRAINING
Small Frame boosts his AC by 1
Took me about 30 seconds of his screen time to think "Idk if I like this dude."
Took me 5 seconds of his screen time during the speech to realize I like that dude a heckuva lot.
Honestly Norms Arc is the most entertaining aspect of the show, Coopers past is interesting but it's easier to understand Norm he has to know the truth at all costs, he's gonna have alot to process when Him and Lucy reunite again and she gives him the rundown, I wonder if Cooper will tell her anything about Vault Tecs plot against humanity and what her reaction will be when she learns about Norm.
The actor is great as well,I was rooting for him the entire season.
Courage isn't the absence of fear, its the ability to do what you must even if you're scared to death. Norm is an interesting character.
I look forward to where they take his character in season 2. I think he has the potential to become the main character. He's a man burdened with intellect.
That reminds me of the speech the Third Doctor said in Doctor Who when he was in his final story before regenerating.
As john Wayne puts it , Courage is being afraid but saddling up anyway.
@@dazzwsmith I still wonder how he will get out of vault 31?
Courage isn't just a matter of not being afraid you know, it's being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway
I love Norm. He's the kid who's willing to say that the emperor has no clothes. He's the sand in the gears, the guy who doesn't just bow to peer pressure but says what he _actually_ thinks.
The thing is he is a budding strategist and leader. He has quite a bit of growing to do to get rid of his naive side, but he is also still just a boy at this point. He's going to grow into someone remarkable eventually.
I do too. I didn't, at the very beginning, but he quickly won me over.
Them Vault 31 genes @@Katharina-rp7iq
@@Katharina-rp7iq Both Lucy and Norm are the product Vault 33 aimed to create: a capable young people capable of making tough decision and soldiering on during hard time. The problem is Vault-Tec also want people like that to be mindless yes-men who lived to serve their agenda.
@@korawitbuttramee618 They got that Buds Buds manager DNA
Norm's part actually covers my most favorite part out of a Fallout game. Exploring and solving mysteries, especially those involving vaults.
And it was just like in game too! No long dialog leading to clues or eavesdropping sevens. Instead amazing visual story telling and hacking counsels. The whole show felt like the real game it it was amazing
Brings me back to the fantastic experience exploring The Glow in Fallout 1.
@@R3GARnator YES! It's that slow build that goes from shock to horror
The performance from Moises in itself was breathtaking in my opinion, the subtle tension between himself and Betty; lots of eye contact acting. Wordless yet perfect, his face and reaction in the final episode really knocked my socks off. I hope to see him in more serious roles in the future; I think it’s hard in Hollywood finding really meaningful roles as a shorter man just due to industry toxicity but he’s got the chops!
I was surprised to see him and I was shocked at his acting and the way he played this role. I didn’t know what to expect but he exceeded my expectations. Definitely one of my favorite characters and I’m looking forward to his story continuing.
A big part of it is how well you do during interviews. Moises seems to get very nervous and flustered during interviews which is why you don’t see him getting much of the limelight despite his stellar performance. The main 3 actors are all very outgoing and easy to talk to people so it makes for good interviews which gets them into the public eye more.
@@RoflCannon6 Wonderful point! It’s surprising somewhat because of Disneys notorious PR training but I truly think it’s just his nature. Id trip over myself no matter what on camera so I relate to being an anxious creature. Happy to see him going strong despite child stardom
Tom Cruise doesn't struggle with that, he just forces them to use SFX so he's at least as tall as his female co-stars, lol.
@@DomR1997 no way 💀💀
I hope Norm gets a gamer tag name intro thing next season to highlight the fact that he is one of the 4 main characters.
“Stealthboy”
That’s actually a great idea
Bro was honestly the most interesting to me, not sure why but everytime he showed up on screen after Lucy left the vault, I was glued to the screen.
It might be because every scene he is in is filled with tension.
I think it's because we so rarely get drama within the vaults as it happens
@@thomaswillard6267100% agree. I love seeing a mystery unfolding within the Vault, which is a setting we very rarely ever get to see in real-time. The games always focus so much on the Wasteland its fun to see the social dynamics of Vault-Life.
Because unlike everyone else who resorts to fists or guns, he is using the tools between his ears to solve his problems
@@connormclernon26that’s right, Lucy has the chance of being saved by the ghoul or by maximus but Norm is truly alone in this vault and wouldn’t make sense for him to be guns blazing. Norms situation forces the writers to make something interesting every time Norm is on screen.
They wanted to breed the ultimate manager. Norm is the only person in vault 33 with any brainpower at all. I really think he will be the one.
The problem though is that when you select for brainpower, they start to question the narrative. Why are things the way they are? What’s going on here? And if their code of ethics is different from the one you intended to instill in them, then there’s a problem, as seen by the fact that Norm was able to deduce so much about what was going on from simple context clues
IT IS THE LISAN AL GAIB! AS WRITTEN!!
@@thekillerprawn
IS NORM THE LISAN AL GAIB?!?!?
And after when they get that what then
@@UndeadSlayer5 Norm become management and manage all over the vault.
When Betty is giving Norm advice about anger, I think she’s describing what happened with Hank and Shady Sands. A clever boy got angry and she knows where that leads.
I mean based on her saying she helped bury his mother she was in on what happened to shady sands. I think she just means her experiences before the war
@@CodeeXDI agree, thought I also think it’s plausible that Hank’s actions were still not completely ideal and were perhaps unexpected for Betty, but her loyalty to him and vault tec meant she helped cover his tracks and return to their usual mission.
I thought what she had in mind was what happened in vault 32, but maybe she meant Hank
I don't believe Hank is clever but maybe Betty does
@@tessa63627 Lucy says she good at science but not as good as her dad
Honestly the Norm scenes had me deeply enthralled. His and pre-war Cooper scenes were definitely my favorite out of the entirety of the seasons
I enjoy Norm's meaningful defiance and purposeful obedience - it's a perfect scale of someone who's saying everything the audience might be thinking, whilst not being "meta" or unrealistic for his character
I definitely hope we see more of him. The hidden 4th protagonist
I feel like cooper is the 5th protagonist
@@SejikanI mean he is the same guy as the ghoul so I would count them as one
@@AgentN-s5u i mean literally yes, but in the context of how the show is presented they are basically different characters that are just connected
@@Sejikan honestly i wish someone would make a game based on this multi protagonist game with each character having different stats that are predetermined. It would not be an rpg basically but just an action game based on fallout. Sort of like tales of the borderlands that completely changed the gameplay
@@AgentN-s5u kinda like gta 5 where the 3 main characters had different abilities and different quests
From an anoying rich ass kid character in a disney comedy, to being an edgy antagonist in other movies, to becoming the obnoxious bro in a retro postapocalyptic universe. Dude has gone trough a long journey.
Been hoping he'd get a break for a long while, especially after he kinda dropped after enders game
He’s amazing and I liked everything I saw him in after Disney, glad he’s seeing more opportunities
How is he obnoxious in this show?😂
Probably cuz he’s always casted as the younger brother 💀 but he killed it this time around
he truly has such range!
I think Betty poisoned the raider prisoners because they were the only witnesses of what happened in vault 32 and after Norm and Chet learned about 32, these prisoners could be dangerous because of what they knew. By poisoning them, she was removing loose ends.
Great theory!
Yeah, that actually makes sense.
I thought norm poisoned them
I thought Norm poisoned them.
That's a good theory. I thought it was Norm, but Betty would make sense.
Norm surprised me. I didn't realize he was going to have such an important role in the story.
Great casting for the character, too.
Who thought Rico from Hannah Montana would land such a big role
@@MT-zw1tiRIGHT???
@@MT-zw1tihe’s landed several large roles over the years where have you been? His characters are consistent fan favourite main characters
@@randomyoutuber0524really? Haven’t seen him in anything else 😮
@@normalgirlcvcoendersgame. He plays the bully. Hes actually a very versatile actor 😂
Norm really became one of my favorite characters of the show. Despite his own claims of his cowardice, he has integrity and heart, and is willing to follow his instincts even when authorities above him are basically telling him to 'stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong'. He smells a rat and has to know the truth as it maybe the key to why his Vault was raided, and like any good sleuth, he follows the clues and breadcrumbs.
He may lack Lucy's upbeat attitude but he has her go-getter energy in his own sedate but equally determined way.
I like the mention of Norm having the same go-getter energy.
He mentions he wouldn't be able to go to the wasteland bc he's scared or doesn't have the courage, but the story showcases that he actually does and that Both he and Lucy are quite similar as siblings in that regard.
@@reklom2334 I like to believe the reason why Norm didn't go into the Wasteland was because he lacks self-confidence. From I can tell Lucy was the favorite child outgoing, charismatic, and talented (from her opening). Leading their father to favor her more then Norm which made him compare everyone of his aspect to Lucy's which damaged his own confidence. It was only when the Raiders who killed his friends and families that he finally becomes motivated.
The nonchalant go-getter attitude 😂
I think when Betty tells Norm the line about "clever boys being angry.. and being lucky enough to not see where it leads". She is most likely talking about his father Hank, and what he did to Shady Sands when he got pissed at his wife.
are you a bit of a wall flower?
I just love the fact that one of the villains is an elderly, sweet black lady. Not a devilishly attractive and seductife femme fatale or hot guy, or even a mad scientist or evil old guy with PTSD.
We don't quite know if she is a villain. Only that she's part of the other likely control vault. Everything else she's done has been vague and her motives are not clear yet.
@@billbaggins7355 not quite sure about that, but i think betty is the woman who introduces "henry" to cooper when he is spying on the meeting at vaulttec
Okay baba yaga fan
Also interesting how Mordred (the typical villain you'd expect) turns out to be... kind of a hero. They really flip the script on that.
She brings power to the wasteland and starts off the NCR, one of the best forces to hold New Vegas.
I mean she's a very unassuming villain. But pretty much everyone in vault TEC were villains.
Our guy Norm decided to stick to the main quest all season long 😂
Only person in Fallout history to do that
Norm is the 4th main character to me. I sure hope we will see him again in season 2 because he is quite relatable and offers us an outside view into the vault - which is just as much if not more sinister than the outside. There is a different kind of horror and monstrosity to people pretending to be your friends and family whilst they kill and lie.
It’s not just you. Nobody else who stayed in the vault actually was focused on. Lucy and/or Norm are heavily involved in all but two scenes that take place in vaults 33, 32, or 31. And those two scenes weren’t even that crucial to everything that happens
I'm hoping my guy Chet has a change of heart, and comes looking for Norm once he realizes he's missing.
@@noahperkins4716 Stephanie and Chet will be big in Season 2 I bet.
Stephanie is from 31, so she knows as well. She's pretending to be dumb.
@@qrowing i can see stephanie being a psycho killer ... me thinks she has the black widow perk lol STAY SAFE CHET! ... also the whole time i was like "is that seth mcfarland?"
Lucy is a Fallout first timer build. Guns and jumping and tinkering, sounds good. Norm is like a Stealth build. He can hack more terminals which gets lucrative the longer you play. He can move and be quiet at the same, which is the difficult part of stealth in Fallout and something that can surprise new players.
Maximus is most players - rushing to power armor headlong. I know that's what I did. Fk if that thing doesn't make me feel powerful.
Agree. Lucy being super naiive and kind also made me think of all the players like me who always make the moral choice and doesn't want anyone to die etc. I loved that she was like a first character. They really knew what they were doing with the whole show.
and then there's the Ghoul who seems to be a god dang level 100 character with a high investment in Luck, Perception and Agility (given all his precise VATS-like killshots)
I think that's always like my second or third build when playing a new Fallout game, accept being really squishy to get the full lore (and stealing from everyone and everywhere, let's not forget that)
@@stankobarabata2406 Fr, all while making questionable moral decisions.
My favorite segment from Norm was when he called all of the council memebrs overseer to watch them fight over the title
People are complex. They can be cowards in one situation and courageous in another. Norm is written well precisely because he is believably complex and his motivations and actions are believable and consistent with his personality and strengths. His character arc is leading him towards finding more and more courage and confidence, despite his self-doubts and relatively small physical size. His intelligence coupled with his ability to face his weaknesses and eventually overcome them makes him likeable. True strength of character does not come from being perfect, it comes from having weaknesses and recognizing them and working hard to overcome them and improve.
All the main characters have huge, glaring weaknesses. Lucy is hopelessly naive, despite general competence in all areas. Cooper is her mirror; he's overly cynical and tends to kill or abuse everything around even when it's detrimental to him (he got lucky Lucy gave him the drugs instead of leaving him to go feral like most would've). And Max is just kind of dumb.
@@djx7134 Yes and a key is that all their behaviors are consistent with their characters and their experiences. Cooper's change into a cynical psychopathic killer, is understandable given what he learnt about the start of the war, the behind the scenes scheming and betrayal (most painfully the betrayal his wife committed shattering his view of the world), along with what seems to be the loss of his daughter subsequently, after the bombs drop and hundreds of years of surviving the brutal wastelands. They never go the convenient route with him, they stay true to his callous lack of empathy and its only when Lucy shows mercy even after he sold her off as body parts, that he begins to slightly question what he has become, when the movie reminds him of who he used to be. its just excellent writing.
But I feel like there are multiple writers on the show. One of them worked a lot on Cooper and Norm and that writer is very skilled. While the one working on Maximus a lot and the BOS story line is not as good of a writer and gets far too silly at times and is prone to overly convenient writing that even approaches Dues Ex Machina at times.
@@ScottMcMaster-er4xj I think Maximus is supposed to actually have insane LUCK. As in a nod to the attribute in Fallout games. They all have protagonist plot armor levels of luck, but his luck is just ridiculous. He defines "failing upward" like no character I've seen before. I'm pretty sure it's intentional.
And Max has changed a fair bit. He's still stupid. He probably always will be. But his priorities have changed. In fact, his crazy luck is kind of bothering him these days, since it's pushing him in a direction he'd rather avoid (becoming more tied down to the Brotherhood). So, don't think ironic is the right word exactly, but interesting, at least.
@@ScottMcMaster-er4xj Also, I think we still have a lot to learn about Cooper and how he became the Ghoul. There's still a wide gap to bridge between Cooper Howard and the Ghoul. What we've seen so far doesn't quite account for everything.
@@djx7134 Fairly sure his daughter died. She was on the horse with him, then gone later. The death of his daughter definitely would mess him up, especially knowing the whole war was planned and conspired. It also explains why he's gunning for Vault Tec now and anyone he sees as responsible.
Norm's character was important for the show to portray the feeling of going into a vault and learning about the atrocities that took place there
Norm clearly takes Affter his mom. The way he investigates and outwits the overseer just like how is mom did. he is very perceptive and techno savvy. just like his mom. His ending was so sad
Well did we really see his ending? I feel like he has a trick up his sleeve. Maybe like waking up all of bud’s buds?
@@AliAkbar-gq6ed I hope so, I think he going to get woken up in like season 3 or something, maybe near the end of season 2,
He could threaten to shut off their life support
Something tells me that norm gets into the robo brain, or the computers. Either that, or Lucy goes spelunking looking for them again to bring him out into the wasteland
I'm predicting Bud will stop him after he's informed by Betty that the water chip is broken. Fearing that his own idea for humanity's future will be doomed, he'll task Norm to find a new water chip.
Norm + Chet = 1 functional person.
Hell yeah
Master blaster vibes
Norm on chets shoulders and uses ears as joysticks
I really liked their dynamic. They are like the polar opposite. Norm is small, smart & skeptical. Chet is tall, dumb & gullible.
Chet may be dumb, but he said one of the hardest lines on the show after Norm told him he's a coward: "We all are, Norm. That's why we live on a vault."
Norm is a prime example of a well-written character who has depth. We initially get only a brief glance at him being this possibly spoiled and lazy younger brother, then as kind of a coward during the raid of the vault. But immediately after we get to see him portrayed as angry, maybe even malicious in wanting revenge. Building this expectation that Norm would end up doing something extreme like killing all the raiders or trying to become Overseer himself. Only to once again be subverted by him going out of his way to investigate the other vault and gradually trying to uncover all these secrets despite the possible danger/horrors he could uncover. Especially as a "smart" character, who usually get stereotyped into becoming like the bitter or jealous character in most stories. But he constantly proves that he's actually one of the more courageous and good character's in the show.
I thought Norm was gonna be the boring annoying little brother but he ended up being one of my favorite characters on the show. Definitely did the "Pacifist" run challenge. Didn't fight, just used his words.
And his stalth of course
Another "different is better" portrait. Absolutely amazing casting writing and acting. Especially since he was the one to solve and get everything revealed
I definitely thought norm was a spineless loser after seeing how he handled things in the first episode. But his admission that “he’s too chicken” followed up by some genuinely good sleuthing made me really root for him by the end.
Me too. I didn’t expect to like him, but now he's one of my favorites!
@@zxyatiywariii8 same
what, for hiding when people are attacking his community? i think that’s pretty normal. no use judging people for their fight-or-flight responses.
@@tonoornottono you can when they're not real 🤣
@@DapperGoth i think even in this context it’s just a very reasonable reaction. fiction still contains the real-world logic of fight-or-flight, these are still people.
in fiction, people often have exaggerated skill sets. but they rarely have exaggerated flaws or weaknesses, those are usually just normal human traits. i don’t think this reaction is even something which exists on a moral scale, it’s just a biological imperative to survive. our evolutionary path has selected for communities which react in many different ways during a crisis in order to secure the survival of the species. if we all reacted the same way in every crisis, humanity would have gone extinct a very long time ago.
and i think fiction usually appreciates this logic, the show certainly does. because norm thinks back on hiding and he feels ashamed, he questions why he did it. but he did it for survival, just like his sister did what _she_ did for survival. there isn’t shame in that, in a crisis situation. sustained decision-making is where moral judgment lies.
20:31 "Some are strong. Some are agile. Some are lucky. Some are smart. But no one is useless."
I was expecting: "But everyone is S.P.E.C.I.A.L."
That line was something I didn't know I needed to hear tbh
Norm is just tagged in energy weapons, that's why he hasn't been able to fight just yet. Won't get that reliably until about mid game.
At the start, I didn't know what to make of Norm. Half way through, I couldn't wait to see what he was uncovering. The growth of his character was great. He's the hero of the Vaults.
My friends and I had an interesting discussion and one of us brought up that the characters in the show parallel the characters in Wizard of Oz. Lucy is Dorothy on her journey, Maximus as the Tin Man at least superficially with his Power Armor, the Ghoul/Cooper as the Scarecrow but again superficially, and Norm as the Lion finding his courage
thats a cool connection i never thought of that
Maximus starts the series getting angry at his friend for becoming a scribe, letting Titus die because he "doesn't deserve" to be a knight, and tried to kill that one guy when he planned to tell the Brotherhood what Maximus did. All in all, Max was ultimately really selfish for the first half of the season. It was through his journey with Lucy that he started acting selflessly, like giving the vault the power core back, and giving himself in to the Brotherhood in hopes he could get them to help her. He believed Brotherhood Knights should be brave, kind people who help those who need it, and he found the heart for that.
As for the Ghoul, I don't have as thorough an analysis for him as the Ghoul, but all his stuff as Cooper in the flashbacks are about him trying to figure out more about Vault-Tec and their plans and whatnot. In other words, he wanted information, which could connect to Scarecrow wanting a brain. If you want something for him as the Ghoul, the stuff with that drug that keeps ghouls from going feral could be him trying to keep his brain/sanity.
Who is Toto? The head?
@Skootfairy Four, obviously!
@@Skootfairy Toto is Dogmeat, Wilzig's Head is the Ruby Slippers
I wonder if Norm’s hacking skill is sufficient to spring him from Vault 31.
That's what I think too and he'll somehow deactivate bub the brain on a Roomba lol and maybe on freeze everybody
@@noahdean9685 Deactivating Bud would be too much a rouse. Outwitting Bud, convince his cousin Chet to start a revolt against Betty and revealing the truth to the remaining Vault dwellers is more likely. Can't wait to see his showdown against Betty.
@@mewletter vault 32 is basically a death sentence for those who do not meet the requirements of buds buds!
My guess is he’s going to hack bud
He would probably need atleast expert level of hacking and a base skill in robotics to hack bud.
He hacked and overseers computer and com link so that probably puts him at around expert to master level as that’s usually what their at in none desolate/half done vaults.
Robotics thou is tricky. Didn’t see a mister handy type bot in there. This makes sense as the whole line of products suck at lying. they would have accidentally outed 31 long before even if programmed be it with actual information or just observation from being old. The thing is he did do practically every job in the vault so he probably has a point into repair and that could be enough for him to figure out the robotics. Especially because buds probably one of the weakest robobrains (robotics wise) we have ever come across so the level for rebooting should be minimal
@@mewletter he will never actually kill anyone he might actually be attack by betty and his squirrely nature willw cause her to trip and she will die from her own weapon
In a better world, he would have been an excellent detective much like Nick Valentine. His innate skill at reading the room, piecing things together, he would make a great PI if any city in the post apocalypse requires someone with his skillset.
See this is what I think. I hope there is a small reference to nick or dima
I dunno, there is a certain level of danger that comes with that job. He'd definitely need a partner.
@@thecpmr6276Sole Survivor:" We will sort that out. Strong you follow Norm."
Strong:" Strong protects little human."
@@chengkuoklee5734also strong: [STRONG DISLIKED THAT]
@@chengkuoklee5734 A Super Mutant Thaddeus/Norm teamup would literally be the best timeline in my opinion
Betty giving Norm the clever boys speech takes on some new meaning when you take into account what she and her father did when he was angry. Atleast that’s how I read her meaning in her delivery of the line “I buried her myself with your father”
Yes, exactly. And note - it wasn't just nuking Shady Sands, which I assume Betty knew about. It was the cover up also. Lucy thinks that her mom died of starvation during the "Great Plague of '77".
But there was no "Great Plague" ... it was a cover up to hide the fact that Rose left Vault 33. Hank (and Betty?) made up this plague to force everyone into quarantine, so they couldn't work the farms together, and people died of starvation. During this coverup, Hank lost a lot of weight, making Rose's faked death plausible. Lucy says "people" starved, so Hank let at least one other person starve to death for the coverup.
Upon hearing this story, The Ghoul dismissively taunts Lucy, telling her that he bets Hank ate Rose. He had no idea that what Hank and Betty actually did was way worse.
@@IsaacKuo fantastic!
Dude could be a great detective in the wasteland with that level of Perception.
Norm was as courageous as his sister. They are definitely blood related.
“Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Courage is a courier of charging toward the unknown.
def only from the moms side considering that hank is a coward
I thought he was cowardly when he hid in the floor, but his courage manifests in quieter ways, which are nevertheless courageous.
Norm is the secret 4th main character. POV for the deeper investigator of the Fallout secrets
I feel Betty is definitely antagonist-ish; she definitely split up Chet and Norm, and I agree that I think she was the one to kill the Raiders, but I honestly think Betty likes Norm. Something about her interactions to me gives me an inkling she may be trying to protect him, or deviate him so he doesn't get int trouble, or that she may want to get him on her team.
I think she realizes that Norm is the perfect type of person to be a manager with Vault-Tec lmao
Or, she kept him at her vault because "keep your enemies closer." This way she can keep a closer eye on him. If he was in the other vault, he'd go digging for more info with no supervision..
I think there might be some 'worthy opponent' feelings there. I think Betty enjoys the fact that she actually has to put a bit of effort into dealing with Norm and can't just manipulate him as easily as the rest of the vault. Any game's more fun when winning is a challenge and she likes that the 'Norm' sub-plot of her playthrough isn't stuck on 'easy' like everyone else's.
I feel like she doesn’t want to make Hank upset. Hank seems to have a lot of power, so Betty is trying her best to not get Norm into danger
@@stevedowdy1 I could definitely see that!
The intrigue of norms story line was fantastic. Having a vault dweller figure things out from the inside of the vault is awesome to see pan out in a show. He was my favorite character and also the one I kept watching the show for.
Tbh, I didn't think Norm was obnoxious maybe because I find him too relatable lmao
Of all the characters, he grew on me the most.
Me too, I disliked him right away but at the end I liked him most.
i'd give him an extra point of charsma because of how he was able to subtley manipulate the 3 people running for overseer
That was a really sly move, I loved it!
I'm really liking Norms character, I love his subversion and disillusionment of being the perfect vault dweller.
I also enjoyed a lot of his "Eye acting", you can tell what's going on in his mind just with his eyes. the actor and the director who guided him, did a phenomenal job. He doesn't say much, but his eyes tells a lot
13:24 The answer Betty gives Norm takes on a whole other meaning when you've seen the entire show. I swear the writing just keeps on giving.
Norm was a very refreshing character who worked so well for people new to the world of fallout getting that feeling of exploiting a vault for the first time coming to the understanding that something is very wrong and solving the mystery of what happened 10/10
It's so funny to me that Norm is the little brother but clearly LOOKS like the older sibling when the actor is actually 2 years older than Ella Purnell 😂
im trying to remember, I'll have to rewatch, I only remember "Lucy" mentioning her brother, but not if he's older or younger. Its implied hes younger but not explicitly stated. He seems less mature than Lucy, so then maturity is part of Norm's character arc.
it's never implied he's her little brother, he's just her "little" brother 🤣
He was a kid in Hannah Montana if I remember correctly, he's got plenty of experience acting and he obviously has tremendous talent for it. His name is Moses Arias
Lucy acts like a stereotypical protective older sister towards him so I just assume she's older. Did his mom took off to shady sands with him or just with Lucy? I can't recall but if he was out of the vault with her, I think he would at least remember being outside if he's the older sibling.
@@GRA5S definitely lucy is older. throughout the show lucy constantly remembered her mother in a bright area while we never get any of those moments with norm, which implies he might not even have been old enough to remember her face since moldaver mentioned that when hank found out where rose was living and tried to get her back in the vault, he "took the kids and dropped a bomb"
I do love how they highlight each character's strengths and weaknesses, to understand that they aren't good at everything.
This video really gives me a deeper appreciation for Norm and Lucy. I feel like their characters were fleshed out so lovingly. The way the "kids" all stick together and understand each other feels so warm, and I feel like we dont get that a lot in media, certainly not characters understanding each other so well. Like as you pointed out, Lucy hides Norm because she knows he isn't a fighter, she listens to him because she knows he's smart and perceptive, she tells their cousin to look after Norm till she gets back, meaning she has taken on the responsibility of his protection as his sister, and she doesn't mind doing so or see him as lesser because of it. They support each other in a way that's honest to who they are.
Seeing Moises Arias go from Disney Channel shows to Fallout is a hell of a thing. He absolutely nailed this role.
Norm is actually my favorite character. I usually play a character almost identical to him in every one of my first playthroughs.
15:56 I'm inclined to agree. She was already there, he was in charge of the food, he was the one to suggest killing them etc. She's taunting him and letting him know she can frame him if she wants to.
I kinda don't think he did it. . . although if he did, I LOVE that he did.
I think Stephanie is flying under the radar and Betty is a Red Herring. We know Stephanie can fight, and she's from Vault tech like Betty. She manipulates Norm and Chet...easy so why can't she be the one to poison the Raiders?
That's what I was thinking too, she seems to be the coldest character and by, "doing the right thing" it's ELIMINATING the competition. Her character will NOT have a redemptive arc, in other words you can "stick a fork in her"
@@wadevanduyn6316 lol I see what u did there.
@@wadevanduyn6316 Absolutely agree on your take on her character. She did appear to have gotten a bit unhinged after her husband died, she really did seem to have loved him. So she's a bit of a wildcard compared to the other 31ers from my perspective, Betty is just management. But Stephanie isn't just management, she is "angry", and so far we haven't seen her outright piss on the walls to take out her anger, also she was seemingly in disagreement with Betty on how to handle the prisoners.
My guess is that Betty and brain-bot decided to keep them alive because they needed the genetic diversity as the vault had too few inhabitants left, but Stephanie chose anger over "the plan" and killed them, leading to her reassignment to vault 32 in hopes she doesn't cause more trouble.
It also ties into why they never tried to get rid of Norm as they simply couldn't afford to lose any more people. And Betty wanting to keep Norm in 33, partly because she could keep an eye on him there but maybe also because she didn't trust Steph enough to have her and Norm together, imagine having two troublemakers unsupervised in the same vault! Maybe Steph and Norm will team up in the future, causing a downward spiral of violence and ultimate destruction, as is the fate for many vaults...
(A super-mutant Chet and Norm duo entering the wasteland at the end of season 2 would honestly be f***ing epic)
Norm is one of my favorite character he does alot of his exploring alone.. that takes courage expecially knowing that he most likely he can not defend himself.
i absolutely adore the dude they chose to play norm. he looks wonderfully distinct. something leading/supporting characters usually lack
Has anyone noticed that the show hits a lot of the beats of The Wizard of Oz? Norm is the lion.
Lucy is Dorothy.
Max is the Tin Man. Even him being stuck in the armor is a Fallout 2 reference and random encounter where you come across a BoS Brother who needs help out of his armor.
Coop is the Scarecrow.
CX404 is Toto
Both Hank and Moldaver can interchangeably be The Wicked Witch and The Wizard of Oz
Now I need to go back and rewatch the Wizard of Oz. . . this is interesting, and I don't know that as well as I know Fallout, it's been ages since I saw it. . .
Love it
My brain is already thinking of fanfic thanks to this comment
Even the projector is a projection of a field in Kansas
It works so well, I love it!!
For next season, the Overseer of Vault 31 mentions to Norm that radroaches occasionally get into the vault. I'm sure it'll play a role into how he escapes.
Or just blackmails him, he can sabotage pods, systems, and play football with Bud, removing his brain from the drone.
Or just makes a deal... you know a deal deal.... if something Bud is a manager who always want to manipulate things.
I hope they don't go with the he gets frozen and someone else must save him arc.
Yes. . . I want to know HOW those radroaches are getting in, too.
Didn’t they get into 101
@@zxyatiywariii8 if they can get in Norm can probably get out
Norm have high score in P=Perception and I=Intelligent
Lmao. P.I., Norm, the Vault's Private Investigator. It fits.
😂😂
Slightly below charisma, but definitely high int. and high per. He definitely has the small frame perk. Im thinking he also has skilled as well.
@@luvondaroxonly needs an overcoat, a cigarette and a snubnose revolver
His sneak is above average also.
Every scene with Norm were arguably the best scenes to me. Filled with tension and mystery. Freaking loved him! I really really hope he is a major, major character in the following seasons.
Thank you for covering why Norm was probably my favorite character in season one. His insight and careful calculations is probably one of the best ways I've seen the "Apathetic Intellectual" portrayed. Just as the events in the vault hooked Norm's curiosity his storyline hooked mine for sure.
He one of my favorite characters, letting the introvert shine, true genius shines on a spectrum of light that most overlook, Betty knew he was smart
He was on some sort of spectrum alright xD
If anyone could recognize Norms potential it’s mr. house
Honestly, the more I watched
Norm the more I liked his character. The sheer bravery it took to go into the depths of 32 not once, but Every Single Time is amazing.
Yeah dude went into the other two volts not even knowing 100% what he was going to find. And even when he went to vault 31 like his overseer was going to find out about that.
On a unrelated note, I can't get over how much the actress for Steph Harper looks Amazing and really great with the Fallout Era look !
He may be my favorite. I love the “in that respect he could be a cannibal” and just how much he pushed through his fear.
I didn't see an annoying little bro in Norm. Especially in the walk to the connection door. I saw someone obsessing over negative possibilities. A worry wart. He cared about Lucy and her big day. He just couldn't help running through all the possible problems. The annoyance to those around him was because he did it out loud.
Norm is definitely a underrated character. They say he's a coward but really he's a smart guy that isn't really pushed into activating his motivation. When he is finally pushed he shows that he won't let anything stop him.
Clearly has the [small frame] perk/trait
Gotta erk out those extra points for intelligence (hacking) and perception (noticing things), and agility (for stealth).
Possibly also has high charisma because he constantly gets people to do what he asks (chet sneaks around with him) (as well as stephie agrees with him to kill prisoners).
Him and chet lie about where they were hiding, and says they planted tatos. The person thought it was weird but couldn't prove it was a lie.he also got the prisoners to tell the truth
It's "possible" that norm also has the [child at heart] perk, which makes him seem "awkward" but people mistake that for social awkwardness and just give him alot of passes for dialogue checks
Norm goes from an awkward character to an absolute BADASS. The moment he calls Chet a coward I about fell out of my chair.
As a fan of the fallout series and having played a ton of it, I found norm's section to be BY FAR the most interesting and compelling to the point I caught myself saying "hurry up and get back to the vault" love his pov.
Norm ended up being my favourite character by the end. I love the way they slowly reveal how perceptive he is, and that he was probably just bored by the tasks he was given before. By episode three I was thinking "wow, he'd be a great leader" and it was such a great shock when they revealed he's genetically engineered for it. 😂
A hero we needed but the hero we never knew we needed until it was too late!
Don’t tell me he’s dead.
@@redrasegardenI don't think so I think he's going to cryogenically Freeze himself or somehow destroy or deactivate the robobrain of bub and unfreeze everybody, I don't know we'll just have to wait and see what happens in season 2.
@@noahdean9685 just as long as he’s alive
@@noahdean9685 it's just, if he freezes himself we'd have to see a jump into the future to see him again, and I should hope we don't have to deal with that.
Just imagine that the "person" that poisoned the prisoners was Bud Askins in his little roomba and that little syringe 😂😂
It could be from his upbringing by his dad, as Lucy has it too.
Specifically their values come from the values and character of who Hank *presented* himself to be. Even though it was false, it’s shown he was able to consistently maintain this mask. So the kids are the real versions of Hank’s constructed persona.
He reminds me of my brother so much. I found it so easy to read his body language and to understand his personality. It reminded me of my childhood with him which made the show so incredibly engaging to me.
I absolutely adore how Norm's plot was handled in season 1. The writers did a fantastic job adding slow-burn tension through his investigation without his scenes feeling boring in juxtaposition to the action in the wasteland. And his storyline is basically just as important and interesting as Lucy's, since his discovery of what's in Vault 31 is a big part of what fully ties the pre-apocalypse and post-apocalypse timelines together.
Norm will probably threaten to kill bud. Dude is a Roomba and norm has all the advantages
That or he could threaten to compromise the cryo pods and those still in it. And he would do it and be able to do it.
@@petemadrona2252 that too
I love how the closed captions even called him "Brain-on-a-Roomba" 😂
@@zxyatiywariii8 missed chance to call him budba or brainba
He'll probably just get in the pod, not wishing to bet his life on a bicentennial brain to buy his intimidation
love how they write a hole story for whats going on in vault 33, 32 and31 in this series instead of write it of like "Its just another side story thats not important for the show" like many other would have done . Norm and the story in vault is so intrasting to follow beside the main characters and I love it.
One day I had Fallout playing on one TV while I was playing Fallout 4 on another TV, While I had Fallout shelter on my phone, While an Oxhorn lore video was playing on background play on my phone and my wife walked in and just said “You have a problem”.
Got me feeling like I need Falloutholics Anonymous! 😭
You know, when I saw this, I thought that when the terminal said ‘31 to 33’, I thought it meant that the Overseer was the, well Overseer, of Vaults 31, 32 and 33 and not them being transferred.
If Norm makes it to the surface in season 2, the first person he'll encounter from season 1 will be either Thaddeus or the Snake Oil Salesman.
Norm with a nearly immortal ghoul/super mutant version of Thaddeus would be great but any scene between Norm and Snake Oil would be absolute peak
I love that they created the characters and their arcs with the SPECIAL stats in mind. You can tell in the first episode that norm is a passive build with high INT/PER. Lucy is pretty much 5s across the board and the ghoul is a high agility/endurance build.
Norm is a great character. I loved watching hin and his advantures in the Vault the entire time. I hope we get more of him in the next season, but we probably won't since he might just stay fronzen for some time. Unless he can somehow hack his way out of Vault 31.
3:00 Can we just appreciate the dedication from the stunt actor LITERALLY flipping on his neck?!
His admission of his own flaws is the seed of greatness. He understands his weaknesses, but he works towards improving them in spite of that. You could say he is burdened with above or well above intelligence. He is aware of this himself, and in some ways, he sees himself as somewhat responsible to pay attention to things that others might miss. He is perceptive, intuitive, and is defiant to authority. He is a character with immense potential, he has a strong family name, and potentially comes from a lineage of powerful individuals. What I appreciate most about norm, is that underneath it all, he seems almost duty bound to do everything it takes to ensure the safety and longevity of his people. You may disagree given his work history, and that's fair, but when a legitimate existential threat presents itself, Norm is the only one that attempts to intercede on behalf of the people who do not understand the evil they have been subjected to their whole lives, that being vault tecs insidious mind bending experiment.