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Hey... I was just scared of going to the Wilds. I had no idea they'd blame you for it. I'm sorry.— Dane to Maximus

Dane is a member of the Brotherhood of Steel that appears in the Fallout TV series and the first known non-binary member of the organization.

Background[]

Dane is a confident and eager Initiate of the Brotherhood of Steel, and Maximus's closest peer. They believe in the mission of the Brotherhood and dream of one day suiting up as a Knight.Fallout Season 1 description

Nothing is known about Dane's past save for that they were not born into the Brotherhood of Steel, though how and when they were recruited is also unknown. In their military career, Dane has experienced living in the wasteland and knows the worst of how humanity can be.

In joining the Brotherhood of Steel, Dane was attracted to the idea of having "brothers" and "sisters" that supported each other, and values learning in school about technology. With Maximus, Dane is attracted to their fellow aspirant's fortitude and has sympathy towards him over his misgivings at failing to become a knight as they both dreamed.[Meta 1]

Fallout TV series[]

The End[]

FOTV BoS Base Clinic

Maximus visits Dane in the camp clinic

By 2296, Dane is an aspirant in the Brotherhood, residing at the organization's training camp somewhere on the West Coast. They are also the only friend Maximus apparently has among his fellow aspirants, whereas most others readily join in with Thaddeus in physically harassing and belittling Maximus.

After the arrival of knights from the Commonwealth chapter on the East Coast, Dane is selected for promotion to squire under Knight Titus, however, shortly after Dane was injured by a razor blade hidden in a boot that maimed their ankle. While some accused Maximus of orchestrating the incident out of jealousy for Dane's promotion, Dane expresses that they don't believe those rumors about him. As a result of Dane's incapacitation, Maximus is chosen to take their place as Titus' squire.[2]

The Beginning[]

Dane The Beginning

Dane seeing Maximus return

When Maximus returns to the Brotherhood, Dane appears again, now wearing a technician uniform rather than that of a squire. Dane observes as Maximus reveals the death of Knight Titus and presents Elder Cleric Quintus with a fake head posing as that of Siggi Wilzig. After discovering the deception due to the head lacking the cold fusion device, Quintus accuses Maximus of lying about the artifact just as he lied about his culpability in Dane's maiming. When Quintus prepares to order Maximus' execution for treason, Dane interjects, confessing that their injury was self-inflicted and pleads that Elder Quintus listen to Maximus for the sake of the Brotherhood, which the Elder grants while commending such a rare display of loyalty from a member of the Brotherhood.

Dane later confesses to Maximus the truth about how they deliberately maimed themselves, stating they feared dying horribly in the wasteland, and apologizes for the trouble it caused him as a result. Maximus forgives Dane, alluding to the fact that he never would have met Lucy MacLean if he had not become a squire. Maximus then confesses his intention to return to Vault 33 with Lucy, with Dane warning their friend that nowhere is safe from violence in the wasteland and that leaving the Brotherhood is not an option.[3]

Maximus Dane battle

Dane and Maximus during the Battle of Griffith Observatory

Dane gears up and accompanies Maximus during the Brotherhood's assault on the Griffith Observatory occupied by Lee Moldaver and the remnants of the New California Republic from Los Angeles in order to claim ownership of the cold fusion device brought to Moldaver by Lucy that can restore power to the entire Boneyard.

Maximus and Dane avoid the worst of the firefight outside the observatory, with the former later entering the structure ahead of the main contingent of Brotherhood forces. Maximus is knocked out by Hank MacLean in a stolen suit of T-60 power armor and left there by Lucy and the Ghoul to be found by Dane shortly after, also discovering that Moldaver had already died. When the other members of the Brotherhood of Steel arrive and discover them standing over the dead Moldaver, Dane asserts that Maximus dealt the killing blow, taking the opportunity to credit him with taking down the rebel leader and noting that he should surely be knighted for the feat, chanting "Knight Maximus" and hailing him as a hero.[3]

Personality[]

Dane and Maximus

Dane and Maximus looking at power armor

Dane is shown to be kind towards Maximus, the two of them having a shared dream of being able to don the signature T-60 power armor of a knight. However, Dane also lacks foresight in their actions, seemingly unaware that Maximus would be given the blame for their self-inflicted maiming.

Dane is also shown to lack the bravery expected in a knight, being frightened by the idea of having to venture into the wasteland to the point of willingly injuring themselves with a razor blade to avoid being sent on missions to the Wilds. Despite this, Dane seemed to be excited about the idea beforehand, suggesting Dane was merely putting on a brave face in order to gain the respect of their peers, or conforming to the Brotherhood's expectations of its members. Dane later expresses immense guilt when Maximus is falsely announced to be dead.

Whereas Maximus is ambitious in wanting to climb the Brotherhood ranks, or even leave the Brotherhood to persue his own agenda, Dane meekly resigns themself to Brotherhood life, and accepts their punishment for their cowardice, even though that means they would be used as canon fodder in the upcoming battle.

Notable quotes[]

  • "There's nowhere safe, Max. And there's no leaving. I wish there was!"

Appearances[]

Dane appears only in the Fallout TV series first season episodes "The End" and "The Beginning" where they are portrayed by Xelia Mendes-Jones.

Notes[]

  • Aspirant Dane is referred to with they/them pronouns by the clergy, who see great promise in them. They could be described as apparently gender non-conforming, while many of their peers appear to be young cis men. The specific gender dynamics of the Brotherhood in this time and place are not textually discussed or contextually obvious.
  • Despite Dane only appearing in 2 episodes of the first season, Xelia Mendes-Jones is credited as part of the main cast for those episodes.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Dane's actor, Xelia Mendes-Jones, is a fan of the Fallout video games and played them before being casted. Xelia said it was a dream come true upon receiving the role.[Meta 1]
  • Dane is a transmasculine non-binary character, although prefers being seen as more masculine and is okay with being called a guy.[Meta 1]
    • In our world, using they/them pronouns is considered a form of gender non-conformance. The script of the show itself and character's description on Prime Video[4] refer to Dane with they/them pronouns.
    • Dane does not declare their relationship with the gender binary in the text of the script, which does not contain scenes where characters expound upon their gender identity using modern common language.
    • Dane is portrayed by Xelia Mendes-Jones, a trans actor.[Meta 2] Dane is portrayed by non-binary voice actors Alex Delint and Jules Avery in the Latin American Spanish and Dutch dubs of the series, respectively.
    • Dane Polish

      Dane using explicitly non-binary first person forms in the Polish translation of the series. "Odparłom" (I replied) is a non-binary form; the feminine would be "odparłam" and the masculine would be "odparłem."

      Dane uses explicitly non-binary terms in translations of the series, including Polish (where gender is also marked in the first person), Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, and Galician. The Latin American Spanish and European Spanish translations of the script do not contain textual evidence of the character's gender whatsoever.
  • Dane is the fourth character in the Fallout series to use they/them pronouns, following Burke and Orlando from the Fallout 76 updates Steel Dawn and Expeditions: The Pitt, respectively, and Mackenzie "Mac" Frey from Winter of Atom, a sourcebook for the tabletop role-playing game.

Gallery[]

References[]

Meta

Fallout TV series characters
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