Fallout Series Review (Season 1)

As video games continue to push into other media, especially film and TV, many studios are betting big on potential crossovers. Adaptations on the small-screen have been rather hit-and-miss in recent years. It’s all the more surprising that Fallout, created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, stands so tall, delivering one of the best conversions of all time.

Fallout takes place in an alternative timeline where Cold War hysteria never really ended and the transistor was never discovered, setting society and technology on a different path. The opening episode takes place shortly after a bloody war between China and the United States which triggers a nuclear apocalypse. Over two-hundred years after the bombs dropped, we follow three characters who try to survive in the devastated ruins of the old world. Fallout: The TV Series boasts an investing, interconnected story that doesn’t try to copy what came before; instead it takes place after the games chronologically in 2296, building on the established lore with three main threads. We start with the young Lucy McClain (Ella Purnell) who leaves the safety of her underground vault to find her father. The vaults represent a naive and sometimes arrogant view of the world and Lucy has to come to terms with the unforgiving nature of the surface. Then we have Maximus (Aaron Moten), a new recruit in the militaristic Brotherhood of Steel; after an unfortunate mishap, the young soldier goes on his own journey, learning about the hypocrisies of a faction he once idolised. Last, but not least we have The Ghoul, a ruthless gunslinger who takes what he wants, but also has a wealth of knowledge and personal troubles from the old world.

As these storylines progress, the showrunners and Bethesda took special care to include all sides of the world in the eight episodes. For example, the New California Republic makes a strong appearance despite not being featured in any of Bethesda’s games. The only time the series falters is in the early going with Maximus. His journey in the suit of power armour is played for laughs at first, especially in episodes 2 and 3. The Fallout series does have some silliness and black humour, but the bumbling misadventures felt rather contrived. Luckily, this tone doesn’t last too long and the narrative remains firmly committed to the surrounding details. Corporate greed, the violence of humanity and warfare, class conflict and the ethics of technology all play a role in this tale with every theme coming to the forefront in the final episode. It was a very bold move to push the entire franchise forward with new additions, but Fallout succeeds where other video game shows have failed.

The characters in the first season are heavily driven by their personal perspective and views on fixing the world. Lucy and Maximus are younger and more rooted in their viewpoints with the former going through an especially gruelling realisation of the world’s cruelty. Over time she learns how to make it through adversity in the absence of civilization. Meanwhile Maximus comes to understand that being a true knight means far more than wielding the most advanced weapons and armour. Purnell and Moten are both solid, but it’s Walton Goggins who really steals the show; whether he’s reminiscing on the old world or ruthlessly shooting his way through the wasteland, the actor does an excellent job of playing a doubting Hollywood actor and a renegade ghoul. With over two hundred years surviving the post-nuclear destruction, he represents the western trappings of the older Fallout games while also building a brilliant connection to The Great War. The duality of past and present is something this season excels at and thanks to the cast slowly teasing out the details, everything flows along so well. It’s very impressive how the show swaps characters in and out of place while still providing plenty of depth on their individual journeys. Even side roles like Lucy’s brother Norm (Moisés Arias) have their own magnetic personalities that daw you into the side stories.

Fallout is equally commited on the technical side as well. If you’ve been following the franchise for a long time, you’re in for a treat. Every piece of iconography from the Pip-Boy to Nuka Cola and the Vault-Tek Corporation is brilliantly presented. The power armoured suits of the Brotherhood look great, despite relying on CGI and the sheer variety of locales, weapons, robots and vehicles reflect the source material. The make-up work on the ghouls works very well, especially for Walton Goggins. Some of the scenarios feel like they were ripped straight from a video game quest log, a great representation of the original series. This is especially true for a seemingly normal vault that harbours a dark secret in episodes 6 and 7. It succeeds at capturing the same feel of the video games in spades as we the audience bear witness to the dark discoveries. In keeping with the series and its alternative history, the soundtrack has a wide array of classical tracks from the thirties through to the fifties, an excellent complement as our protagonists explore the west coast of America. The show portrays the IP to a near-flawless standard from start to finish.

I could have done without the goofy take on the Brotherhood of Steel, but Fallout is otherwise an excellent adaptation, a rare case of a show that actively adds to and expands an already popular title. Fans old and new will be thoroughly impressed by the level of commitment and authenticity, but it also succeeds at standing on its own two feet for the debut season. Be sure to check this one out as soon as you can.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars (Brilliant)