Fallout: How did Moldaver live so long?

Moldaver remains one of the Fallout TV series’ most mysterious characters, and one big question has yet to be answered: how did she live for so long?

Lee Moldaver enters Fallout as the gracious Overseer of Vault 32, offering up a breeder for Lucy in return for food after the death of their crops. Soon, the nefarious truth emerges: she’s the figurehead of a pack of violent raiders from the surface.

However, she’s not the clear-cut antagonist in the Fallout cast you may have presumed: she’s the leader of the New Californian Republic and a proponent of cold fusion, a source of limitless clean energy that would resurrect the world from its nuclear death.

If that wasn’t enough, she has been around as long as the Ghoul. In a flashback, we see Cooper Howard meeting her before the war. So, here’s how she’s still alive? Spoilers ahead!

How did Moldaver survive?

Fallout hasn’t explicitly answered how Moldaver has survived for over 200 years, but it’s assumed she got a spot in one of Vault-Tec’s cryogenic pods.

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Towards the end of Season 1, it’s revealed that not only is Hank’s real name Henry, but he was also alive before the Great War. He was one of “Bud’s Buds”, a group of Vault-Tec employees chosen to be cryogenically frozen and awoken to ensure the continuation of the corporation’s goals and influence for decades if not centuries.

Before the bombs dropped, Moldaver had been working toward cold fusion. However, her work was acquired by Vault-Tec and because a clean, revolutionary energy source would negate any need for the corporation’s existence, she lost her research.

If she cooperated with Vault-Tec, perhaps she was offered a spot in a vault or even a cryogenic pod; after all, it’d ultimately be more valuable than hush money.

This theory was echoed by fans on the Fallout subreddit. “Maybe selling her companies to Vault-Tec gave her a spot in a cryotube because her fusion research might be important post-apocalypse,” one wrote.

“I think Howard somehow got her a spot in cryo. I also think they implied his family is in cryo as well when he asked Hank where his family was,” another commented. “The end credits for the the season finale have a sign for the Tops saying ‘Enjoy our Cryo Suites’ so possibly a non-vault means of preservation, courtesy of Robert House,” a third speculated.

It’s just one of several burning questions the second season of Fallout will need to answer. In the meantime, you can find out about Fallout Season 2. We also worked out the main characters’ SPECIAL scores and perks, and if you want a full rundown of the Fallout soundtrack, we’ve got you covered.