Potentially unpopular opinion;
If Maximus was a ghoul the fanbase would be completely obsessed with him.
I feel like the show missed an opportunity to do this—but I also recognize that if they did, people would say it was too similar to FO4’s plot with paladin Danse in terms of a BOS member being inevitably kicked out of the BOS for not being human enough.
Personally I would have liked to see an actual depiction of the transformational period of someone going ghoul, and a plot of Max using all his gained knowledge from his time in the brotherhood and his desire to make things better—while also combating the in-universe discrimination that ghouls face.
Not because I want to see him suffer, but because I think it would be important for the viewer. To more deeply hammer in “the techno-fascists are the bad guys, actually” in a way that gives Max a stronger character arc and more personal growth, outside of what the show offers us which smacks of “I have to leave the BOS because a cute girl was nice to me and gave me a kiss”.
(Yes, I know the scene with the ghoul kids was also a big part of things, but I do get tired of the narrative that men only change for the better when a woman they like is involved)
I’d like to see an arc with Max that illustrates not just the phenomenon of young men being radicalized by militaristic cults, but also Max realizing his own strength to make change on his own, without the help of some powerful group.
Max nearly died in a “lone man standing” scenario, and just happened to get lucky that the NCR (another powerful group) showed up at the right time.
I also have feelings about the fact that someone tried to rally the civilians hiding in the building to join in the fight and help Max—and they still refused, despite another pointing out “you know if that thing wins we’re all going to die, right?”
It’s the wasteland. Most if not all of those people were probably armed, and could have coordinated together to shoot at the deathclaw from safer vantage points. That could have been an important plot point about “the common people” being able to protect themselves from threats, instead of waiting around for a “hero” to do it…but alas.
On the shipping side of things, vaultghoulknight and ghoulknight would be much more popular. (Then the arguments would likely revolve around which female lead you want to ship with the two main men…)
I’m sorry to the folks who hate ghoulcy, but the fact is that a hefty chunk of transformative fallout fandom is filled with monsterfuckers and old man enjoyers. That is why the ship is popular. Ghoul-Max would have the fanbase like “oh boy, we get TWO hot ghouls!”.










