Well, this serum was in fallout 4...nuka world. Rachel went out looking for a cure to keep from turning feral. Roger the ghoul that is turning said it's been 28 years since started to change...turn feral. So he didn't need the drug until he started turning feral.

My head-canon is that feralism is caused by certain areas of the brain not receiving enough stimulation for extended periods; the kind of stimulation that ghoul brains need can come from community, interaction, and hopefulness; it can come from having intense, personal goals; it can also come from drugs that stimulate certain areas of the brain; many of the ghouls that don’t go feral across all the games tend to be the ones that are part of a community or have strong goals and personal interests that they pursue, like scientific enquiry

Glowing ghouls can heal other ghouls around them with radiation, which implies ghouls heal from rads

A lot of fans seem to be taking Maximus' guess as fact. Wouldn't be out of the question for him to be incorrect over Thaddeus' new healing factor.

The Snake Oil Salesman looked as surprised as Thaddeus that his 'elixir' did something.

I also love that in E2 the snake oil salesman claims to have medicine that can regrow a foot. But yeah, it would be so fitting if that stuff was a scam. I was wondering why the ghoul starts coughing when he doesn't get it. That doesn't seem like a symptom of becoming feral to me. Wanna bet it's cough syrup and he's just dependent on it and starts coughing when he doesn't take it and phlegm starts building up?

I watched the show thinking Cooper was really just a chem addict - and experiencing withdraw symptoms as a ghoul made you go feral.

I completely thought it was a hallucination until Lucy and Maximus saw Thaddius heal. It even seemed like the snake oil salesman was either surprised it worked or making himself scarce before thaddius came down and realised his foot was still mangled

I have been hoping it's a scam. Cooper's reaction to being without the chem seemed more like withdrawal than "going feral." Going Feral is a massive psychotic break, and being alone makes it happen faster (so sayeth in-game experts). There is also the possibility of brain damage due to starvation that can't be regenerated, at least right away. When you starve, the body leeches the brain first. Also, becoming a Ghoul is in the genetic makeup. Not everyone has the capability, but those that were in the urban environs prewar had more of a chance due to their in-home tech, and a micro organism in their processed foods (Deinococcus Radiodurans). The Children of Atom are mostly comprised of later generations with this allele frequency. Most likely our Brotherhood Initiate friend with a bolt through his neck has this in his DNA, and when exposed to the proper conditions activated the mutation. Gonna stop there before I write an essay. It's something of a passion of mine, the Ghoulification. I have done the deep dive into actual science (and John Haldane's theories). But yeah, I think they're getting scammed and it's a placebo effect with a dash of something else to give it a kick and make it addicting. And this addiction is making things worse. Maybe it's the Enclave, maybe it's Maybeline.

I had forgotten that detail of Hancock being turned by a specific drug. Good catch.

The thugs who dug up Cooper said don Pedro would cut off parts of the ghoul and they would heal, we also watch as the ghoul stitched lucys finger to his stump and it grew motor functions. I assume it's like The mysterious serum Lorenzo makes in fallout 4

Next to The Ghoul, Norm was my second favorite character. First, he was too chicken to accompany his sister into the wasteland, then he’s sneaking into other vaults and uncovering a major conspiracy, and calling a faux Chad a coward. Loved his arc. His intelligence and perception gotta be off the charts lol

Think it’s just a narrative plot device the show has introduced to give Cooper a weakness. He is clearly the most capable character on the show, so they need a way to bring him down when it suits the story. Imagine we’ll get a season ending cliffhanger with him being left alone without the drug, “My name is Cooper… my name is Cooper…” will be haunting.

A cautionary tale about drug addiction. His wife turned out to be an evil monster. He loses his daughter after bombs fall. He becomes a ghoul. He loses hope, becomes depressed, turns to drugs. Like most junkies he makes excuses for his drug use. I need the drugs to keep me from turning feral. Outside the Super Dupet Mart, he was going through withdrawals. Not turning feral. He is a badass fighter but also a tragic character who has lost all hope and became a junkie. I think he got some hope back after meeting Lucy and discovering her last name and Hank is her father. So he may have hope now.....but is still a junkie.

It’s implied through dialogue in the games that ghouls do have some regeneration ability that allows them to reattach small parts like fingers or ears. And we see the Ghoul doing this.

We gotta remember that the show is also a decade further on the timeline than we've been yet. This drug could be NEW.

I think it's a deadpool situation where early on ghoals don't lose to much fleshy bits and rot, but the healing factor mixed with rad poison and cancer, and that's why ghoals are rotting but still together mostly. Hell fo3 had that perk were enough rads could heal your broken bones.

I always saw going feral as similar as going hollow in fallout. When you lose hope and purpose, you mind starts to deteriorate. But then Bethesda put a kid in a fridge isolate for 200 years, so who knows anymore

Eddie Winter turned himself into a ghoul to wait out the war too. Hes part of Nick’s questline

It could be a mislead. Without the drug, the ghoul did not go feral. He passed out from weakness. I think he has a fundamental difference from the other ghouls, going back 200 years.

There's also Hydra, an in-game drug, that heals limb damage

I never thought it was the same drug. Also the regeneration kinda still fits. Ghouls are walking "rotting corpus" so the rapid healing lets you keep walking but eventually gets overwhelmed enough that you are bearly not losing ground. Also, Ghouls are possibly the same thing as "robo brains" just instead of an extracted brain in a jar (that is regenerating to stay alive) it's stuck in a body with limited regeneration sharred with the meat suit

“War … continues to be invariant” lol

The ghoul turning feral has a number of empty vials in front of him and asks for one more vial implying that the serum does nothing to prevent turning feral.

I was thinking that the serum the snal oil salesman gave is FEV

I originally thought the serum was just a form of Rad-Away

Now that i think of it, going feral might also be a withdrawal symptom of the drug, that has been misinterpreted as saving ghouls from becoming feral. Meaning the ghouls are actually dependent on it Ghouls go feral more often and are thereby even less trusted then on the eastcoast. Coupled with the fact that ghouls now have a higher mortality rate, factual information about them is really scarce. New ghouls might therefore also believe they need the drug and they start taking it

I can't recall which, either Fallout 3 or New Vegas, I remember a conversation with an NPC that talks about Ghouls going feral being unknown but that some attribute it to genetics or environment but some also speculate that if the person has something to hold on to psychologically that they can keep themselves from going feral longer. If it's a cause or a vendetta or in Cooper's case looking for his family. Some people just have a focus which allows them to hold onto their humanity. Which I can see going in part with this supposed feral drug. I also had the thought that it was some kind of placebo and that what was really keeping Cooper going was the never ending search for his family. It would make the most narrative sense with how they have set up his character. Even from the beginning by leaving the chicken as the only thing alive when he's dug out it shows he's not feral, he's still holding on to his humanity. Meeting Lucy and being reminded of pre-war ethics, hitting a low point in the Super Duper Mart and realizing he's lost a lot of his dignity while watching his old self compromise his values. Which means that once he gets to the bottom of it all he won't have anything left keeping him stable, which should be sad and interesting to see. Here's to season 2 and beyond!

In FNV in the irradiated town an NCR soldier who recently turned into a ghoul refuses to go outside a house because he is afraid of going feral. You can convince him that that isn't what causes it and then he joins the ghoul ranger squad.

I think Thaddeus is a super mutant, but maximus was taking a guess on his condition

I don't think we'll see the ghoul face his fears of going feral until he finds Janey.

In New Vegas, private Edwards thinks the radiation will turn him feral. If that’s the case, the medicine could just be a weird form of rad away that prevents ghouls from over accumulating rads, thus turning feral.

I love that the snake oil theory really fits with the fact that what had seemed to be an aerosolized inhalant also is just something Cooper would drink vials of. Since the lack of effect would be the same.

I assumed it's just Radaway. Goul's take it if they get too much radiation into themselves and could become feral, and because of the recently ( for the timeline ) dropped bomb at Shady Sands the radiation would go up in the region and they would need to take Rad Away to stop becoming Feral.

I just found this channel and I love your take on the Ghoul/Cooper and the lore in the serie so far! And also the way you explain it is very clear and interesting 😃 I'm definitely subscribing!

Ironically going feral would be assumed as their body breaking down due to lack of radiation to repair their bodys

Just found your content with this video and holy radroach is this the best thought out amalgamation of vast storytelling and minute details I’ve seen so far. Subscribed a few sentences in and was delighted I did when you paraphrased instead of saying the thing! You made this neurodiverse brain very happy! Thanks for the excellent content!!!!

I appreciate how you want to give the show writers the benefit of the doubt. But it involves the ghoul character to be dumb enough to fall for it, but he really doesn't seem that dumb.

my money's on the "ghoul serum" being modified FEV. It would also explain the ghouls having a healing factor now. This could even tie into your theory of the The serum being a scam: The Serum grants healing abilities, yes, but actually does jack diddly for preventing Fearization. Our Ghoul is just mistook the fading of his healing powers for feralization...

Cain mentioned that character perspectives are flawd and jave always been flawed. There is a healing mutation serum. Just because Thaddeus and Maximus thinks he is a ghoul doesnt mean he is. He didnt lose his skin.or hasnt yet. Cooper didn't go feral when he ran out of fev. He passed out . Which is typical of ghouls until they are Awakened .

Just wanna say how much I've enjoyed your last two videos. Can't wait to see more!

First things first: Came for the Fallout, hit subscribe the second you said that your other interest is in neurodivergence. (Late diagnosed autistic over here) Secondly, I love this theory because the ghoul serum was the only “retcon” in the series that I haven’t really been able to shrug off. Anything else I’ve taken as creative license, but this seemed like such a huge divergence that contrasts so drastically with how painstakingly faithful they were in recreating so much of the world. However, my brain is taking your theory and running in a slightly different direction with it. What if the serum doesn’t actually PREVENT going feral…but also it isn’t fully snake oil and also kind of does? Here’s what I mean. We’ve established that the only effect that we can verify this serum has is insane regenerative properties, (with ghoulification as a side effect?). To my understanding, going feral has a component of neural degeneration, if not being completely caused by it. Like, their brains literally start to rot away over time. The actual factors in how long that takes are unknown. But…it makes sense to me that a drug with established crazy-intense regenerative effects would also be regenerating those brain cells that have already started degenerating, thus delaying the process of going feral. Does that make sense? Or am I totally off because of some bit of Fallout lore that I am as yet unaware of?

Just found your videos and am loving them. Also I have that same Silent Hill shirt, it's one of my favorites.

I'm so glad to have found your channel! We seem to share a lot of opinions and I'm excited to see more videos!

First video of yours I've ever watched, 3 mins in, had to like and sub lmao. Immediately love your takes, knowledge, and obvious care about the world and lore of Fallout. Thanks for the content!

as far as i know, i heard that ghouls arnt caused by radiation alone, as far as i heard it was it was people who was exposed to very watered down small amoutns of FEV aND Radiation, but that might not be the only way to become a ghoul

This is a super interesting theory and as someone who has lived 25 years with an illness that has a huge "unknown" factor to when it can alter my life, it would be... I don't know if "nice" is the right word but interesting to see The Ghoul have to face that after being so certain of being in control. I kinda have my own theory, or idea I guess, of some other possibility. So... glowing ones can resurrect feral ghouls with their radiation blast thing. I always assumed it was the radiation doing it... but what if there's something else to it? Maybe the drug is derived from whatever the glowing ones put out and doesn't stop feralness, but does regenerate ghouls? Maybe a bunch of them are mistaking illnesses or stress and fear as them starting to turn and the drug simply heals them and maybe gives them a "regeneration buff" for a few hours? Would make sense to tell them to take one every day to "ward of going feral" instead of being like "here, take three and use them before a fight you may or may not get in so you can regenerate". And maybe enough of them take it to where Max would mistake regeneration as an inherent ghoul trait? And it looked like Roger was using quite a few while turning considering the empty vials near him and it didn't seem to stop it. I don't know. Dying to see if they explain more in season 2!

I see you don't post too much but hope you stick with it after this. Found your insight really interesting, and hope you expand these breakdowns/fan theories to the rest of the series. Subbed!

Just found your channel and i LOVE that idea. I'm a fairly new Fallout fan, first game was 4 which i havent finished, and my bf had me play New Vagas which has fully hooked me. I like the show exploring ghoulification more because I am still learning about the world and have always had the most questions on how ghouls work. Love this thoery!

Jet helps keep ghouls from going feral it was talked about in fallout 4 and in obscure lore there is a very potent version and that is what this "serum" is

I was so happy when I saw cats on the Prydwen in Fallout 4, but I honestly didn't recall ever hearing House thinking that they went extinct when I played New Vegas. Probably because I didn't talk to House that much. Idk, he just never appealed to me as someone I wanted to talk to a lot lmao

This is such a good theory/analysis. I already liked the show but now I'm seeing depth I missed before. May need to watch a second time. Thank you!

Just found your channel and I loved your two newest videos. I hope to see more! I hope you do more cultural analysis like in previous video, but this kind of lore speculation is also awesome!

Fascinating and smart. Refreshing find on KZfaq.

TBH, I'm not 100% convinced Thaddius even IS a ghoul. It's certainly possible, perhaps even likely, but there are other explanations out there. Perhaps the Snake Oil guy's drug simply grants regeneration for a while, there's all kinds of weird shit out in the wasteland.

Right on! Just found your page. Big fallout fan. Can wait to watch more of your videos

still such insightful work. Please keep going!

Wackt theory, but what if that human who thinks he's a ghoul helping the Bright Brotherhood in Novac was actually a ghoul like Thaddeus all along! 🔎

I think your take is way beyond what the writers had in mind. Unless they catch wind of your idea later on.

Hi Lindsay! You seem like an informed, enthusiastic follower of Fallout. Your theories seem plausible and you can state them plainly. Subbed!

Quality Fallout Content delivered casually and knowledgeably? Like a bottle of purified water in a wasteland. Subbed.

Patrolling the Mojave makes you wish for a nuclear winter

So far I have not seen anything that violates the lore. I agree with you, that we are seeing things that add to the lore. So if Fallout 5 is a thing, i expect it will include elements to the TV series. And to the folks that are disappointed that their hard work got nuked, well that is the wasteland for you.

Btw first video instant sub. I'm shocked it took me this long to find you. Very well done.

I just discovered your channel. You are absolutely fuxking amazing and incredible and awesome…wish I could have found you sooner. Subscribed at once.

Nah, no channel where the host is stuck up enough to have that control freak intro is worth watching. Actually crazy. Chances are I would have agreed with the rest of the episode, instead I'll click off and this'll end up as one of those deleted comments

What a great, well-thought-out video. thanks Lindsay! I'm still hoping for a FEV, radiation cocktail explanation for goulification. i like the idea that in small doses FEV might help stimulate the brain out of necrosis preventing Ghoulification!

Ive just found your channel and i think your amazing! It's like having an intelligent conversation, accept im sitting alone not talkin :) I cant wait to watch more!

What a wonderful video thanks for the effort put into this one earned my sub

I love your videos so much, i get often good laughs and youre just great to listen to! Im trully hyped for more. When i first watched the scene with Thaddeus being shot by the arrow, i was so lost i genuinely was convinced that Maximus' "i think youre turning into a ghoul" thing, is on a worldbuilding side. Showing off some misconceptions about ghouls from smoothskind, espescially from groups like BoS!!!!! Think it would make sense, espescially for maximus and thaddeus, that they got told complete urban legends about ghouls. And ofc Lucy who is just unknowing, takes it as a given.

Love your intro and your rules on the comments. When i get my channel up Nd running im gonna steal this brilliant idea.

I love this! Subscribed! This is my jam!

just found this channel!! i love your content :)

Your intro sold me on your channel! Lol

All I can say is wow I enjoyed listening to your idea and think its a good way of looking at it

You rock! I'm a huge fallout fan and I love your take on the show and the game! I can't wait for more!

there are some flaws in this speculation. according to actual canon documentation. a ghoul DOES regenerate, you can even take a perk in FO4 that ghoulafies you and grants regeneration based on your rad level. canon also notes that the radiation that keeps the body functioning, also slowly degrades the brain FUNCTION (as apposed to structure). this is what causes ghouls to become feral. now if you also notice the small bottles of these are very precisely made, measured, and labeled the same way, much like a 1950s pharmacist would put out over the counter. this suggests a pre-war items, especially since how they go to find these vials in pre-war clinics, hospitals, pharmacies. something that may have been over looked before hand. my guess would be a Alzheimer and/or dementia medication which is made to fight degradation of function. this wouldn't break canon and still be new. would also explain locations of these bottles. reasons they didnt turn to these sooner? it was overlooked and seen as a totally different condition maybe the long years has made it "go bad" but actually might be an aging process required the radiation levels in it have changed its constancy and/or structure which would be connected to the reason above it's not like a scam artist is going to sell a couple bottles then run around the wasteland to plant them in all these pre-war places.

Thank you for these videos. I watched them before but coming back to comment 🙏

My dude, your videos are fab. Please make more!

Just stumbled in from other fallout content but as an ally and liking your vibe and cadence gonna subscribe And norm was honestly one of my favorite characters cuz that's usually how I roll through the games high intelligence and decent charimsa

You seem like a cool person to be friends with. Appreciate the video!

Great analysis, thank you!

I'd love to see Thaddeus come back later on in Season 2, and it turns out the drug he took was FEV, turning him into a Super Mutant. Basically the Brotherhood's version of Frank Horrigan, and they take advantage of that.

I have a hard time believing Cooper wouldn’t have figured it out in over 200 years.

these are some cool theories, ive not heard anyone explain the confusion around ghoulification in this much detail yet, i cant wait to find out what the actual outcome is.

Well in Nick Valentine's companion quest, the man he's hunting starts turning himself into a ghoul before the bombs drop and he then hid on his personal bunker... In terms of the drug, it may be similar to the drug from the Cabot family, the one they take to stop aging. And to be fair, we haven't seen the transformation of a person into ghoul... So it's possible some could have the regeneration ability of a ghoul while still loooking like a normal human... But maybe later on as time progress the ghoulification will kick in and make him look the ghouls we know

This is really interesting. Thanks for sharing :)

Good video! I definitely can’t wait for season 2.

This is very dope video and i appreciate your perspective. All we have is us.

My thinking is that the drug actually works, maybe with a few exceptions like any drug, but crucially there are some ghouls who are just lucky and dont need the drug, like the kid in the fridge, and Eddie Winter. I also think it might be harvested from ghouls, as we see Cooper start eating Roger when lookin For drugs, and we see multiple ghouls held in fridges at the super super mart.

Just found the channel, and you seem cool! Subscribed! :3

This was a terrific video, loved your theories. My partner and I watched this together, and we thought your perspective on the vials was awesome. Hopefully this might create some interesting fan discussions! P.S. PLEEEEASE DO A NORM VIDEO, NEED BEST BOY CONTENT

my theory is it has to do with the way ghouls heal by radiation, doing more genetic damage, causing scarring leading to the more and more 'ghoulish' appearance and nervous system damage similar to MS (sclerotic scar tissue of the skin, organs, and brain). i also think it has to do with good old fashioned age induced dementia. i think the ghoul chem combines an already existing inhaled chem for rapid regeneration, with a radiation suppressant to temporarily halt radiation induced healing, and a cognitive enhancer to ensure their nervous system is in "neurons that fire together, wire together" mode when they regenerate. Hydra+Rad-X+Mentats

I love your intro warning. Lol im not being sarcastic with this, normally i get unreasonably upset when people start banning comments OR getting political but somehow it legitimately changes things when you give that kind of warning. Thumbs up from me

Lindsay, brilliant hypothesis, very insightful. You are just the kind of person we need working with us in the Enclave. 😉

I had the same thought that it was going to be a hallucination. Nice fan theory, gg

You made some solid and interesting points. My running theory has been that the chem he's been using is a sort of medication for mental illness, particularly related to memory. From what we've seen of ghouls going feral in the show, right at the end, they repeat their names over and over, desparately clinging to what memories they can. This lines up with the theory I subscribe to that going feral is sort of like Alzheimers. If the pre-war developed drugs to combat such a condition (especially when it's brought on by exposure to radiation) then it would likely be effective in combating feralization. This may also explain why some ghouls don't take the medicine, as some people in the real world are more genetically inclined to develop Alzheimers and similar issues than others, so it's not a stretch to consider some ghouls just aren't as likely to go feral. Then again, the same genes may be tied to ghoulification in the first place.

Great breakdown, I enjoyed your theories. The only inconsistency I could find was that we do see Cooper in the first episode trying to outrun the blast on horseback. To me this implies that he did become a ghoul on that very day the bombs dropped, from exposure to the blast since he wasn't near an accessible shelter. Something else could have happened though, I'm assuming the blast didn't pass the "rule of thumb".

I like the cut of your jibe. You got a new subscriber, yo.

REALLY great video!