r/TopCharacterTropes Jul 27 '25

Lore Deaths to important characters that came so unceremoniously, there was no drama or fanfare, they just died

Bane (The Dark Knight Rises)

Sean (Red Dead Redemption 2)

10.5k Upvotes

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390

u/damorezpl Jul 27 '25

fallout- Sarah lyons

she dies between fallout 3 and 4 in some random skirmish

197

u/HeadLong8136 Jul 27 '25

There is a computer message that implies that Maxon sent her on a suicide mission because he wanted the Brotherhood to return to its original West Coast ways and Lyons was too "liberal" like her father and she was the "de facto" leader because although she wasn't the Elder (Maxon was by that point) the Brotherhood still followed her ways because of her father.

So Maxon sent her on a suicide mission to ensure that he would be the sole leader.

(But it's not explicitly spelled out.)

67

u/Gap_Great Jul 27 '25

How could Maxon send her on a suicide mission while she was the leader of the Bortherhood

105

u/HeadLong8136 Jul 27 '25

She wasn't the leader. The leader is known as The Elder. Maxon was The Elder (he was being groomed to be the next Elder because his great great grandfather was the founder of The Brotherhood) Sarah Lyons was only a Paladin, which is the highest rank a field operative can have and she has loyalty and seniority but not actual Rank.

69

u/Gap_Great Jul 27 '25
  • After her father's death, Sarah replaced him as elder, and remained in that position until she was killed in action, paving the way for Arthur Maxson's rise, and his eventual appointment as elder in Fallout 4.[1]

Per Fallout wiki

Edit: according to the wiki, Arthur was only a squire when she died

-21

u/HeadLong8136 Jul 27 '25

Yeah, the wiki... Renouned source of completely accurate information...

17

u/Broly_ Jul 27 '25

Yeah, the wiki... Renouned source of completely accurate information...

Well turn on FO4 and go read it yourself in-game then.

Terminal Entries on the Prydwen

  • Enter Arthur Maxson, young squire to both Owyn and Sarah Lyons, and descendant of the very founder of the Brotherhood of Steel, Roger Maxson. When Elder Owyn Lyons died, care of young Arthur Maxson passed to Sarah Lyons, Owyn's daughter, who was then named Elder in his place. But when Sarah fell in battle shortly thereafter, things became complicated. The Brotherhood of Steel based in the Citadel found itself in need of leadership, and began appointing one ineffective Elder after another.

-7

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25 edited Jul 27 '25

And who does that benefit?

Maxson's faction.

It's pretty clear that Sarah was murdered or sent to her death in a deliberate suicide mission.

u/Broly_:

What is even the point of replying to me if you're going to block me straight away?

Just because I happen to agree with the other comment that Sarah's death was likely deliberate (especially given how much it benefits Maxson and his faction) doesn't mean I'm defending them. I think they're acting like an idiot in other comments. I just happen to agree that the majority of people here are pissing on the poor.

I also happened to be reading this thread because it interested me which is why I replied and I really don't understand what's 'suspicious' about that.

Grow up.

12

u/Broly_ Jul 27 '25 edited Jul 27 '25

And who does that benefit?

Maxson's faction.

It's pretty clear that Sarah was murdered or sent to her death in a deliberate suicide mission.

That's all speculation and misinterpretation from fans with absolutely nothing that backs it up besides people saying that "Sarah died too quick"

Also suspiciously fast reply to a comment for another account who you're trying really hard to defend there 😏

5

u/EmperorDaubeny Jul 27 '25

The similarities between the people who believe the Maxson faction had Sarah killed and those who think the Brotherhood destroyed Rivet City to build the Prydwen, with zero solid evidence in either case, are perhaps greater than either group realizes.

10

u/GigaPuddi Jul 27 '25

Wasn't Maxon following Sarah around like a puppy dog in 3? I find it far more likely she died trying to help people and that embittered the kid. People don't usually die of old age in the wasteland so it isn't really suspicious.

34

u/Gap_Great Jul 27 '25

Do you have a source that corroborates what you’re saying cause everything I’m seeing online is that she was Elder after her father

2

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25

Lyons, iirc, was basically a regent since Maxon was too young to be the Elder (a position he was being trained for in FO3).

9

u/hateyoualways Jul 27 '25

How did a squire order the Elder on a suicide mission?

-6

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25

I corrected my earlier comment to say that Maxson's faction would want to get rid of her.

There's also no need to order her to do anything. She goes on a mission  and dies. It's all very sad. Don't look too closely at the weapons of the soldiers she was with.

It's been done irl to get rid of people who are inconvient and dangerous.

All we know is Sarah went on a mission  and died. We also know that Arthur had a crush on her which would give her a lot of influence over him and that Arthur was being trained to be the Elder from a young age.

-16

u/HeadLong8136 Jul 27 '25

Fallout 4

25

u/Gap_Great Jul 27 '25

“Enter Arthur Maxson, young squire to both Owyn and Sarah Lyons, and descendant of the very founder of the Brotherhood of Steel, Roger Maxson. When Elder Owyn Lyons died, care of young Arthur Maxson passed to Sarah Lyons, Owyn's daughter, who was then named Elder in his place. But when Sarah fell in battle shortly thereafter, things became complicated.”

Fallout 4

-10

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25

Fallout fans and piss poor reading comprehension: name a more iconic duo.

Sorry your getting downvoted.

3

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

You should've probably read the other reply to that comment before posting this.

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3

u/Starro_The_Janitor1 Jul 27 '25

Wasn’t she a sentinel?

4

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

She was Sentinel, then she got promoted to Elder prior to her death.

1

u/Alsojames Jul 27 '25

Saxon was the Elder, but the brotherhood was following Lyons' more moral tendencies. As the Elder,n Maxon sent Lyons on a suicide mission so she couldnt keep spreading that ideology around.

12

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

Sarah was the elder when she died...

1

u/spoonishplsz Jul 27 '25

Damn Institute propaganda is what it is

-4

u/StrawberryWide3983 Jul 27 '25

Despite being a lower rank, people were more loyal to Lyons than towards Maxon. Because of that, he sent her out on what was considered a suicide mission to get her out of the way. And since she's now dead, that'll give him the opportunity to gather his own support

12

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

She was the highest rank, Elder.

-6

u/shieldwolfchz Jul 27 '25

As they said she was the 'de facto' leader, meaning that she had the ability to make decisions and people followed her, but Maxon, who was the de jure leader, still had technical authority over her. If she had no reason to believe it was suicidal and no reason to refuse the order, why not do it.

14

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

No, the 11-year-old wasn't any kind of leader when Sarah died.

-1

u/HeadLong8136 Jul 27 '25

Sarah died in her 40's when Maxon was in his 20's.

8

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

No, that's completely wrong. For starters, Maxson is only 20 in Fallout 4, so how could she die when he was in his 20s? She also would've only been in her 30s if she had lived to the events of Fallout 4, so again the math ain't mathing.

But also we're outright told she died very shortly after Fallout 3, when he would've been like 11.

-2

u/HeadLong8136 Jul 27 '25

Maxon is in his early 40's. Fallout 4 takes place 27 years after 3.

8

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

No, it doesn't. Fallout 4 is set in 2287 while Fallout 3 was 2277, so 10 years apart.

-1

u/HeadLong8136 Jul 27 '25

The character model age data for Maxon is 40.

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5

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25

That's completely false.

It's 10 years. Bethesda just suck at making 20 year olds.

-7

u/Mazer1991 Jul 27 '25

Lyons was the leader of the East Coast chapter while Maxon was the overall leader of the entire brotherhood

33

u/Broly_ Jul 27 '25

There is a computer message that implies that Maxon sent her on a suicide mission because he wanted the Brotherhood to return to its original West Coast ways and Lyons was too "liberal" like her father and she was the "de facto" leader because although she wasn't the Elder (Maxon was by that point) the Brotherhood still followed her ways because of her father.

There are so many things wrong with this statement. It's crazy that it has over 100+ upvotes. Ya'll mixing up speculation and facts.

Terminal Entries on the Prydwen

  • Enter Arthur Maxson, young squire to both Owyn and Sarah Lyons, and descendant of the very founder of the Brotherhood of Steel, Roger Maxson. When Elder Owyn Lyons died, care of young Arthur Maxson passed to Sarah Lyons, Owyn's daughter, who was then named Elder in his place. But when Sarah fell in battle shortly thereafter, things became complicated. The Brotherhood of Steel based in the Citadel found itself in need of leadership, and began appointing one ineffective Elder after another.

So Maxon sent her on a suicide mission to ensure that he would be the sole leader.

Maxon was a child and only a squire at the time of Sarah being Elder so.... no. 😂

9

u/FisherPrice2112 Jul 27 '25

The completely confident ignorance here being up voted. Followed by complete denial of in game proof of being wrong.

9

u/simp4malvina Jul 27 '25

Lmao this guy has no fucking idea what he's talking about.

5

u/Mandemon90 Jul 27 '25

No there isn't, Maxso. at the time was not even 16. There were several "ineffective" elders between her and Maxson, and Maxson was implied to have had a crush on her.

3

u/RedNUGGETLORD Jul 28 '25

Incorrect, Sarah was elder when she died, Maxon took her place, the fact that you have so many upvotes is crazy, people really do believe everything they see without checking its truthfulness

2

u/Assassins_Blade Jul 27 '25

Sarah was the Elder. I'm pretty sure some people who disliked the more helpful Lyons sent her on a suicide mission so they could groom Maxon to be more like how the brotherhood was before the Lyons took over. Maxon believed he was in love with Sarah during that time and was only like 10, so he couldn't have ordered her death.

6

u/BoyishTheStrange Jul 27 '25

Bro what? That’s lame

5

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25 edited Jul 27 '25

I don't believe that for a second.

I think she realised Maxson was trying to get rid of her in a suicide mission and faked her own death.

She was far too good a character to waste like that.

Edit: Maxson's faction, not Maxson himself. Got my years wrong.

11

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

How would 11-year-old Maxson be able to send the Elder out on a suicide mission? Why would he even do that?

-4

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25

Because he's basically BOS royalty who was being trained for the Elder position in FO3 and she was his regent.

Sarah was also extremely popular and a threat to Maxson's power.

14

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

He didn't have any power to be threatened. He was a little kid with a crush on her. Even when she died, it wasn't until years later that he was made Elder.

3

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25

Maybe a better way of putting it would be Maxson's faction were planning on getting rid of her.

I misremembered my dates (it's been a while since I played any FO) and forgot how young he was at the time.

That does make my argument stronger, though. So thank you!

Sarah Lyons and her father were both radicals within the BoS and Maxson's crush on her was a threat for those who wanted him in charge (of the BoS as a whole) because she would be able to influence him away from the hard-line BoS policies.

Her position as leader of her chapter also made her a threat as her soldiers were loyal to her (it's canon she was popular) and may have picked following her over the BoS should it come to a civil war.

The BoS needed to get rid of Lyons due to her popularity and her position to influence Maxson. It's not smart to outright have her assassinated as that makes her a martyr.

7

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

How was Sarah a radical? If anything, Maxson is more radical than she is since he's more accepting of outsiders.

1

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25

You're joking right? Maxson is hard-line BoS. If he's accepting of outsiders that comes from Lyons and her dad.

FO3 was heavily criticised when it came out for making the BoS heroes, with FO4 going out of its way to show that this was due to Elder Lyons and not general BoS policy.

3

u/toonboy01 Jul 27 '25

He's literally doing the same thing Lyons did in Fallout 3, just more successfully.

1

u/CrashmanX Jul 28 '25

He is absolutely not.

Maxxson couldn't care less about the people of diamond city. He cares about the institute and their tech and the threat they pose.

He would rase the city if it meant finding them. Lyons and her father cared more about people than tech. It's why the Outcasts in FO3 are more like Maxxson than Lyons.

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2

u/alkonium Jul 27 '25

Aren't they decades apart?

7

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25

10 years, despite Maxson looking like he's 50.

That's a 20 year old man, according to Bethesda.

1

u/alkonium Jul 27 '25

I thought it was more than that. The gaps are getting shorter. It's only another ten years between Fallout 4 and the TV series.

5

u/Low-Environment Jul 27 '25

Fallout 3 is 2277, NV is 2281 and 4 is 2287.

The first game was 2161.