Then, a huge explosion shakes the room.
They look outside and see a gigantic mushroom cloud.
Helen wonders aloud whats happened.
Credit: Liane Hentscher
John knows: The Nazis have just bombed Washington.
Thats where the scene ends.
After that scene, were back to the aftermath of the bombing at the Japanese headquarters.
Kido takes in the devastation around him.
Hes hurt, bleeding badly from the leg, but hes fine.
More than that, hes now the highest-ranking official following the death of the General.
The future of the Japanese is in his hands.
He recommends Savannah, Georgia, which would amount to 86,000 deaths.
As we learn later, thats really just the beginning.
In a meeting in Berlin, Chancellor Heusmann takes a hard stance.
He wants total global domination.
He wants Tokyo destroyed in the first phase of bombing.
Hes not interested in negotiated peace.
He tries to talk some sense into him, but the Chancellor is hearing none of it.
What follows is some of the flimsiest, most inconsequential character work so far this season.
Joe goes to Nicole with his dilemma.
He just wants todosomething so badly, but he doesnt know what.
All he knows is that its urgent.
So urgent in fact that theres time for an overdramatic sex scene followed by… Joe doing nothing.
Still, he needs that film.
Its the only way to avoid total war, to keep his wife and kids safe.
Again, this is a bit of an unearned character turn.
Thats hardly enough, considering the atrocities hes responsible for.
Its just hard to empathize with Nazis, you know?
To the episodes credit, Fallout does build to a rather thrilling final few scenes.
Theres Smith covertly getting to Berlin and going to Joe with the film.
His goal here is to avoid nuclear destruction.
Joe, in particular, is a mess here.
These gaps in character motivation keep the finale from truly making an impact.
They dont do much to enhance the plot or themes and instead feel like cheap, ineffective shocks.
Heres hoping it can harness that momentum heading into next season.
