# The Head (Fallout)
**"The Head"** is the third episode of the first season of *Fallout*, the Prime Video television series based on the video game franchise of the same name. It aired on April 10, 2024, running 57 minutes, and was directed by [Jonathan Nolan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonathan-nolan) and written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, the show's two creators.[1](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Fallout_TV_series_season_1) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fallout/s01/e03) The episode's title refers to the severed head of Dr. Wilzig, the object that all three of the season's main protagonists are pursuing.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/fallout/season-1/episode-3-the-head/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Season and episode | Season 1, episode 3 of *Fallout*[1](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Fallout_TV_series_season_1) |
| Original air date | April 10, 2024, on Prime Video; the full eight-episode season premiered the same day[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fallout/s01/e03) |
| Running time | 57 minutes[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/49041/fallout/episodeguide) |
| Director and writers | Jonathan Nolan (director); Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner (screenwriters)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fallout/s01/e03) |
| Central plot | Wilzig's severed head is snatched by a monster, and Lucy and The Ghoul try to retrieve it[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/fallout/season-1/episode-3-the-head/) |
| Rating | TV-MA; genres listed as drama, sci-fi, action, and adventure[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fallout/s01/e03) |
| Episode synopsis | "The Wasteland has its own Golden Rule."[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fallout/s01/e03) |
## Plot
The episode follows the three storylines established in the first two episodes, "The End" and "[The Target](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-target-fallout)."[5](https://processedmedia.net/fallout-the-head-review/) Lucy MacLean ([Ella Purnell](https://www.edgepedia.org/ella-purnell)) carries Wilzig's severed head across the Wasteland, hoping to give it to Lee Moldaver in exchange for her kidnapped father.[6](https://www.douxreviews.com/2024/05/fallout-head.html) As a precaution she jams a tracker up the nose of the severed head.[7](https://www.pcgamer.com/movies-tv/fallout-season-1-recap-what-you-need-to-know-before-watching-season-2/) When Wilzig's head is snatched by a monster, Lucy and The Ghoul ([Walton Goggins](https://www.edgepedia.org/walton-goggins)) try to retrieve it.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/fallout/season-1/episode-3-the-head/)
**Maximus's storyline.** Maximus (Aaron Moten) is struggling to maintain the power armor he took from the dead knight Titus: he has to sell a tooth to pay for a spare part, then fight off scavengers to keep it.[7](https://www.pcgamer.com/movies-tv/fallout-season-1-recap-what-you-need-to-know-before-watching-season-2/) When he responds to a radio call from the Brotherhood of Steel by impersonating Titus and pretending his squire has died, the [Brotherhood](https://www.edgepedia.org/brotherhood) flies in a replacement squire: Thaddeus, one of the bullies who picked on Maximus at the barracks. Thaddeus proves useful when he suggests following The Ghoul's radiation trail to find the head.[7](https://www.pcgamer.com/movies-tv/fallout-season-1-recap-what-you-need-to-know-before-watching-season-2/)
**Cooper Howard flashback.** The episode flashes further back into Cooper Howard's pre-war past than earlier episodes had, showing him as a movie star being told by his film's director why his character needs to be darker. The line, "The audience, Coop, they already know you're a good man. They want to see that even a good man as yourself can be driven too far sometimes," works as foreshadowing of his transformation into the Ghoul.[7](https://www.pcgamer.com/movies-tv/fallout-season-1-recap-what-you-need-to-know-before-watching-season-2/)
**Vault 33.** In the vault storyline, dynamics shift in Vault 33.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/fallout/season-1/episode-3-the-head/)
## Production
The episode was produced by [Amazon MGM Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/amazon-mgm-studios), with Graham Wagner credited as writer.[8](https://thetvdb.com/series/fallout/episodes/10361188) The animations for the scene in which Maximus's hand crushes Tom's head were created by Jennifer Dzieło of RISE Visual Effects Studios.[9](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/The_Head)
## Music
The episode features a period soundtrack consistent with the series' retro-futurist setting.
## References to the games and other works
The episode contains several allusions aimed at players of the games. Vault 33's water chip malfunctioning serves as a reference to the inciting incident of the original *Fallout* (1997), in which the Vault Dweller was sent out from Vault 13 to recover a replacement water chip because theirs was failing.[9](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/The_Head) The film director Cooper works with is named Emil Dale, sharing a first name with Emil Pagliarulo, lead designer and writer for *Fallout 3*, *Fallout 4*, and *Fallout 76*.[9](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/The_Head) The sequence of the Ghoul marching Lucy across the desert and denying her a drink of water references the spaghetti Western *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly*, a major influence on the series.[9](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/The_Head)
## Reception
Critical response to the episode was mixed relative to the season's opening hours. William Hughes of The A.V. Club gave it a B+, writing that if the third episode is mostly about moving pieces around the board, it is mostly interesting for where it leaves Lucy.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fallout/s01/e03) Randy Dankievitch of Processed Media gave it a C+, calling it a step down from the more ambitious, free-wheeling opening episodes: in his view the hour is narrow, tracking its established players as they encounter Wilzig (or what is left of him) and pass a dangerous pond, and it vacillates between fan-friendly worldbuilding and half-hearted nods toward more philosophic stories.[5](https://processedmedia.net/fallout-the-head-review/) On Metacritic, the episode drew a user score of 8.2 based on 17 ratings, with 88 percent positive; one reviewer found the Brotherhood of Steel storyline the least interesting of the three but called the other two storylines compelling.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/fallout/season-1/episode-3-the-head/)
Reviewers also noted the episode's place in the season's larger structure.
## References
1. [Fallout TV series season 1 episode table, Fallout Wiki (Fandom)](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Fallout_TV_series_season_1)
2. [Fallout – Season 1, Episode 3: The Head, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fallout/s01/e03)
3. [Fallout Season 1 Episode 3: The Head, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/fallout/season-1/episode-3-the-head/)
4. [Fallout Episode Guide, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/49041/fallout/episodeguide)
5. [Fallout Season 1 Episode 3 Review: "The Head", Processed Media](https://processedmedia.net/fallout-the-head-review/)
6. [Doux Reviews: Fallout: The Head](https://www.douxreviews.com/2024/05/fallout-head.html)
7. [Fallout Season 1 recap: what you need to know before watching season 2, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/movies-tv/fallout-season-1-recap-what-you-need-to-know-before-watching-season-2/)
8. [Fallout – The Head, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/series/fallout/episodes/10361188)
9. [The Head, Fallout Wiki (Fandom)](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/The_Head)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Episodes and serial chapters › Individual episode articles › General episode articles › American science fiction episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license