The Fallout franchise, despite taking place across various locales and time periods in post-apocalyptic America, is no stranger to characters from previous entries reappearing in subsequent installments, including Fallout 4. The most recent single-player entry in the franchise is no exception, with characters from Fallout 3, such as the Nuka-Cola-obsessed Sierra Petrovita and a now-adult Brotherhood of Steel scion Arthur Maxson encountered by 4’s Sole Survivor during their journey through the Wasteland.

While most of the Fallout 3 characters that return in 4 are clearly identified within the game, a theory links a pivotal character from the series’ third installment to a mysterious stalker that covertly pursues the Sole Survivor around the Commonwealth. While the evidence for such a connection is tenuous, certain traits (such as a penchant for facial reconstructive surgery and the use of a key phrase) possessed by 4’s creepiest stalker fuel the speculation around a major character from Fallout 3 making a big — if secretive — return.

A Theory Suggests Deacon Is The Lone Wanderer

There Is A Valid Explanation

At the start of Fallout 4’s main campaign, only a decade has ed since the Lone Wanderer’s escape from Vault 101. While the conclusion of Fallout 3 implies the Wanderer dies from radiation exposure upon activating the water purifier, the follow-up DLC Broken Steel establishes that the Wanderer instead entered a temporary coma.

A theory shared by Cool-Dr-Money on Reddit suggests that the Lone Wanderer, following the events of Broken Steel, made their way from the Capital Wasteland to the Commonwealth and eventually adopted the moniker of Deacon, the infamous stalker/possible companion that trails the Sole Survivor in 4.

Deacon’s Proclivity for Plastic Surgery And A Specific Phrase He Uses Fuel This Theory

He Could Have Changed His Face

Deacon readily its throughout 4 that he is a consummate liar. Fallout 4 Railroad spy is that nothing about him is what it seems. Not even his face remains constant — as he its to the Sole Survivor, Deacon gets facial reconstructive surgery every year or two (even briefly posing as a woman).

The spy is a completely blank slate, with everything from his true appearance and name to his gender altered at a whim. Deacon’s lack of cohesive identity in such a firmly established universe is noticeable because it is otherwise a quality only shared by protagonists of the Fallout franchise, and this, paired with the stalker’s familiarity with both the pre-Maxson Brotherhood and the Capital Wastes, is offered up by theorists as evidence of Deacon and the Lone Wanderer being one and the same.

One more glaring detail present in Deacon’s dialogue further fuels this theory. When occasionally suggesting a team name for him and the Sole Survivor, Deacon suggests “Code Violet.” This is a direct reference to the secret synth security chief Harkness’s recall code in Fallout 3, which is discovered by the Lone Wanderer as they grapple with the decision to either turn Harkness over to the Institute or work with the Railroad and let him go free. Deacon’s knowledge of the phrase and his desire to assist escaped synths make a compelling case for identifying him as the Lone Wanderer who chose to help Harkness.

While the theory tying Deacon to the Lone Wanderer may lack concrete evidence, the similarities between the two, from being relatively blank slates to possessing key info about certain synths, are striking. Add to that the fact that both (if Deacon is to be believed) originate from the Capital Wasteland and were familiar with a pre-Maxson brotherhood, and the theory that Fallout 3’s protagonist is Fallout 4’s creepiest stalker is a fun way to link the franchise together.

Source: Cool-Dr-Money/Reddit