Lucy MacLean is from Vault 33, one of three connected Vaults (31, 32, and 33) located in the Los Angeles area. While Vault 33 appears to function as a normal survival shelter, it's actually part of a larger Vault-Tec experiment designed to create a controlled society led by preserved pre-war executives.
Lucy's entire life was part of an experiment she never knew about.
Life in Vault 33
- A functioning survival vault
- Self-sufficient with farms and recycling
- Elected Overseer (her father, Hank)
- Population exchanges with Vaults 31 and 32
- Hope for eventual surface return
- Agricultural work
- Education and training
- Community events
- The occasional "selection" for inter-vault transfers
What She Believed: Vault 33 was humanity's hope—a preserved society waiting for the surface to recover. Lucy was raised on optimism and duty.
The Three-Vault System
The Connected Vaults: Vaults 31, 32, and 33 were designed to work together:
- Functions relatively normally
- Residents believe they're simply surviving
- Receives occasional transfers from other vaults
- Mysteriously destroyed/depopulated
- The investigation drives early plot
- Its residents' fate remains unclear
- The show's big reveal
- Contains cryogenically frozen Vault-Tec executives
- Designed to supply "superior" leadership to other vaults
- The true purpose of the three-vault experiment
The Real Purpose
- Preserve corporate leadership (Vault 31)
- Create controlled populations (Vaults 32 and 33)
- Breed "ideal" post-war society
- Ensure Vault-Tec's eventual dominance
- Vault 31 executives periodically awakened
- They were introduced to Vault 33 as "transfers"
- They assumed leadership positions
- They guided the population according to Vault-Tec plans
Hank MacLean's Secret: Lucy's father wasn't born in the vault—he was a Vault 31 executive. Her entire family structure was part of the experiment.
When Lucy Learned the Truth
- Her mother didn't die on a surface mission—she tried to escape
- Her father stopped her mother (violently)
- Vault 31 contains frozen executives
- Her entire society was controlled
- Everything she believed was a lie
Her Response: Rather than return to Vault 33's illusions, Lucy chose to pursue truth. She left to find her father and get answers.
What It Cost: Lucy lost her innocence, her home, and her family. She gained the wasteland.
The Journey Continues: By Season 1's end, Lucy has crossed into the Mojave, heading toward New Vegas. Her Vault 33 life is literally behind her—but its lessons about trust and deception will shape everything ahead.