We haven't heard much about Amazon's Fallout TV series since it was announced in 2020, but plenty of set photos have leaked online in those three years. We've seen Red Rocket, power armour, and Vault 32, and thanks to Idle Sloth, we now have our first look at a live-action ghoul.
We see the fittingly ghoulish-looking ghoul sitting down with another Vault dweller, smoking a cigarette. They're both in the classic blue-and-yellow jumpsuits, with the unscathed human holding a Nuka Cola bottle while brandishing their iconic Pip-Boy. Both are in front of a Vault 33 banner, which lines up with Amazon's official teaser from October which showed other Vault dwellers in Vault 33 jumpsuits.
It's unclear who the ghoul and man are, but they may be background extras on set filming a scene in Vault 33. We also get a glimpse at more of the Vault interior, with an old '50s-style computer on a desk and what appears to be Vault door controls. However, there's a wall with "Government" graffiti on it, so something may have gone awry in the community. Interestingly, a ghoul in a Vault indicates that radiation and FEV somehow leaked in, or that they accepted outsiders. Both are telling of a possible Vault-Tec experiment, something the company is infamous for across the games.
If you don't know what a ghoul is and your immediate reaction is, "Gah! What the fuck are you?" Firstly, say sorry, secondly, they're human survivors of the nuclear fallout. They might be from as far back as when the bombs dropped, or they might have been exposed for too long in the wastelands. Either way, they're lucid but zombified humans who have lost most of their skin and flesh thanks to the overwhelming radiation and FEV, which in turn stops them from ageing.
FEV is an important part of the combination. If you're just exposed to radiation, you die like in real life. If you're just exposed to FEV, you become a Super Mutant, AKA giant hulking monsters. And if you're exposed to both, you become a ghoul. While not ageing might sound nice, even if you're a zombie in a collapsed civilisation driven to anarchy, there's a risk all ghouls face of going feral and becoming little more than actual zombies. This is partly why they're so stigmatised in the games, as many feel uncomfortable with the possibility of a ghoul suddenly going on a mindless rampage.
Maybe we'll see that explored in the TV series. After all, we're gonna get ghouls, and they look almost identical, so it's safe to assume they'll behave similarly. Let's just hope they nail that guttural voice, too.