Fallout season 2 is coming to and end and up until now, we all assumed that Thaddeus was becoming a ghoul. Thanks to episode 7, though, fans have a new theory when it comes to his fate – and it's pretty gnarly if you're familiar with the games.
Released on Prime Video on January 27, 'The Handoff' delved into Steph's backstory in American-occupied Canada before the war (and her true identity, too), while Maximus, Thaddeus, and the Ghoul tried to pull Lucy away from her manipulative father Hank in 2077. As the trio readied for a big confrontation with a bunch of Deathclaws, though, Thaddeus's right arm fell off... revealing his shoulder to be gangrenous and necrotic.
Ghouls in Fallout, as evidenced by Walton Goggins' fan-favorite character, lose limbs, of course. But when you consider how he's also growing some sort of weird mouth at the base of his neck, it doesn't seem crazy to imagine that Johnny Pemberton's Thaddeus could be turning into a centaur.
"Gotta be the worst fate fr," wrote one viewer on Twitter, as another said: "My poor baby about to become one of the ugliest mutants in the wasteland."
"I was scared he would be a super mutant at first, but god this is so much worse and being a centaur looks painful," added a third.
"Thaddeus, I will love you no matter what may happen in the future," tweeted one more, as they drew attention to the fact that one of the source material's most recognizable centaurs is missing an arm.
Thaddeus, I will love you no matter what may happen in the future pic.twitter.com/H6liEP8eTEJanuary 28, 2026
In the games, players can encounter both one-headed and two-headed centaurs, with the former often depicted as having teeth-like structures all over their torsos (something that Thaddeus himself was showing off in Freeside). They were believe to be created by The Master, as half-living entities – humans, dogs, and other kinds of animals – merged together after being exposed to the Forced Evolutionary Virus.
Typically found in New California and the Mojave Wasteland, they can spit lethal doses of radiation and slash their enemies with their three-pronged tongues.
While it certainly seems plausible, not everyone seemed to be buying the theory that Thaddeus is turning into a centaur, however. "I'm kinda upset because it just doesn't make sense lorewise unless it has something to do with him interacting with Dogmeat and possibly getting some of her DNA," tweeted a doubter. "Centaurs are only really made using multiple creatures so idk how they're gonna make this work."
Fallout season 2 concludes on February 3. Be sure not to miss the finale with our Fallout season 2 release schedule. For more, check out our guide to the best shows on Amazon Prime or our picks of the best video game movies.
