‘Fallout’ Review
Season One Review
Society’s morbid fascination with the world's end and what it may look like has inspired many iconic touchstones in popular culture. The post-apocalypse genre is typically bleak, and the only respite comes from finding ways to cope with the despair. Few franchises have explored this more than the Fallout video game series. Created by Interplay Entertainment and later purchased by Bethesda (developers of the popular role-playing series The Elder Scrolls), the Fallout franchise has explored a post-apocalyptic America through an alternate history approach where nuclear bombs have destroyed and irradiated the country. It’s a world of people creating something out of nothing, and how they reach the goal of revitalizing society taps into the human response to a world destroyed and forced to restart.
It’s also the perfect source material for Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy to get involved with after the success of Westworld. Nolan and Joy, with writing and showrunning from Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, structure the first season of Fallout to immediately evoke the allure of Westworld while staying faithful to its source material. Prior to the world being destroyed during the height of nuclear tensions, “vaults” were created around America that would act as shelters in the event of a nuclear event. Those who could afford to be placed within one of these vaults created by Vault-Tec would be able to live for hundreds of years underground until the radiation finally dissipated and civilization could be rebuilt on the surface again. Meanwhile, everyone else either died or became ghouls - humans subject to so much radiation exposure that they cannot die, making them closer to zombies than humans.
Fallout begins with a glimpse into Vault 33, which has shared a mutually beneficial relationship with its neighboring vaults, Vault 32 and 31. Headed by Overseer Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan), Vault 33 has never been so safe and secure. The future is looking bright and it seems likely the next generation of vault-dwellers will be able to safely leave the vault as radiation dies down on the surface. Most looking forward to their future is Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), Hank’s happy-go-lucky daughter, who has excelled in her vault training and is ready to fulfill her role within Vault 33. However, after a raider attack threatens the safety of the vault, Lucy takes it upon herself to head to the surface to restore stability to her life and those dependent on the Vault’s security.
The pilot episode is well-executed but also gives a greater sense of how humanity can survive underground better than any of the video games that have come before it. Clearly taking more influence from Bethesda’s Fallout 4 than the other games in the series, the pilot is upbeat and informative. There’s a much more vibrant color scheme than what can be found in the older video games, and as such, it highlights the false sense of security that is enough to lull someone into accepting the Vault as their forever home. This continues throughout the season as Lucy explores the surface, but the pilot episode alone does a tremendous job of setting the table for both the tone and look of the show. Directed by Nolan, it has the same efficient worldbuilding and character development that also made the Westworld pilot immediately captivating.
It also serves as a solid foundation for the show to expand upon with various factions and groups within the Fallout universe. The inner politics of living in a Vault are explored through Lucy’s brother, Norm (Moises Arias), giving audiences more time in a fully functioning Vault than fans of the games usually are given. Meanwhile, on the lawless surface, groups have popped up across the wasteland, attempting to salvage some order within the chaos. Most notable is the Brotherhood of Steel, a militarized version of a religious cult that tries to uphold the peace while maintaining a firm grip over the wasteland. Knights wear hulking power armor that instills fear in those confronting them and allows them to survive irradiated landscapes, and each one is assigned a Squire who maintains their suit and assists where needed. Squire Maximus (Aaron Moten) is tasked alongside Knight Titus with recovering a scientist, Dr. Wilzing (Michael Emerson), who has escaped the Enclave with technology crucial to the Brotherhood’s future.
The hierarchal usage of historical titles like knight and squire infused within the ramshackle military aesthetic is one of the many fascinating ways in which the Fallout universe has set itself apart from other post-apocalyptic worlds. It’s an example of humanity clinging to what they know works and finding safety in the comfortable. For vault-dwellers, it’s the nuclear family makeup of the 1950s and technology that is analog but still slightly futuristic enough not to be dangerous; for the Brotherhood of Steel, it’s leaders and control through fear and power; then there are those who have latched onto some ideal and let it serve as a basis for all their actions. Even raiders who seem to have no rules still depend on the leadership of Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury) - a figure known throughout the Wasteland as ruthless and calculating. Throughout the first season, Lucy crosses paths with Maximus, Moldaver, and other survivors, just trying to maintain some semblance of order when there’s little hope left for the future. Then there are those who have given up completely and are merely taking advantage of the chaos.
It’s largely in Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins) that Fallout is able to explore what civilization was and what it is now. A Hollywood actor most famous for his Westerns, he became a ghoul after the nuclear bombs were dropped and fell into a life of bounty hunting in order to satisfy his newfound cravings for flesh and discipline himself while in his isolation. It’s a clever inclusion that allows the show to pepper in flashbacks to the past and provide greater context as to how the world got to a point where Vaults needed to be made and civilization was so confidently expected to be eradicated. It’s undeniably similar to The Man in Black from Westworld in how Cooper seems to be a part of the puzzle and a mysterious and captivating character to follow - thanks also to Goggins, who imbues the role with a similar humanity between the depravity.
Fans of the video games will be pleased to know that there does seem to be attention to detail while also telling an original story within its fan service. There are plenty of references to elements of the games, and the allusions to other games are often handled with an acknowledgment that most people watching the show will not understand the utility of a Pip-Boy or the addictive qualities of Jet and Buffout. That being said, it is slightly disappointing how much the show leans on Fallout 4 over the other titles for its references, though it makes sense from a business standpoint. There are references to even the Interplay titles, but Fallout 4 is when the game series fully turned into a weirder and more colorful post-apocalypse that is, unfortunately, a little too glib at times for the show to continuously use as a point of reference.
There’s an upbeat nature to everything in the first season of Fallout. It is fun to watch characters have to creatively solve seemingly hopeless problems in order to survive or accomplish a goal. However, despite Lucy being the sheltered, optimistic person that she is, there’s not a lot of reason for the show to be as joke-ridden as it ends up being. On top of that, there’s a weirdness to the world that is still missing because it’s hard to do a post-apocalyptic setting with zombies and a retrofuturist aesthetic without already feeling like you’ve exhausted the audience’s ability to immerse themselves. The wasteland is surprisingly lacking in creatures, and abundant in survivors. It leads to moments when creatures show up to be memorable, but it also begs the question of how everyone can be so humorous when every encounter with a human seems like it could be fatal. It captures the tone of Fallout 4 really well, and your mileage will vary depending on how much you loved that game, but there’s a dissonance between the reality of the situation and the tone that the series has a hard time resolving.
What is more fascinating about Fallout is how it conveys disillusionment and safety as two sides of the same coin. From the vault-dwellers to the Brotherhood of Steel, everyone is just living within their own reality and by accepting any reality other than the current one, it’s easy to feel comfort. Characters are consistently being brought into new situations that exemplify an escape from reality in order to survive. This works doubly so when acknowledging the video game source material that is in itself an escape into a new reality and as a companion piece to Nolan’s depiction of people paying to escape reality in Westworld. The capitalist themes run deep in Fallout as well, but more aptly, the show hangs its hat on how characters cope with a new reality, similar to Damon Lindelof’s The Leftovers.
Unfortunately, while Fallout is a generally engaging show, and its world is a lot of fun to explore, it also loses some steam due to its underwhelming central narrative. It boils down to a series of characters after the same thing - a MacGuffin given no real explanation as to why it is important until tedium has already set in. It’s one of many reasons this first season seems like it’s merely testing the waters of what it can get away with before plunging into the depths of the Fallout universe. The plot is simplistic and carried by some great characters (Lucy and Cooper are a lot of fun to spend time with) and a world that seems like they’re only scratching the surface. The Brotherhood of Steel storyline is a particular disappointment because of this, as it feels like the show uses them more as a way to ground the audience than diving into the more eccentric qualities of the faction.
As a fan of the games, it’s hard not to be a little disappointed by the show not swinging harder, but the fact that it does lean into some of the distinctly Fallout elements is comforting enough and reassuring that the creators have a firm grasp on how to adapt the series to television. The reality is that they need time to settle into its particular tone. As such, Fallout is a stellar introduction to the franchise that will satisfy newcomers to the series but disappoint those looking for something fully immersive. There’s so much room for the series to grow thanks to the solid foundation of characters it has built and its careful approach to world-building that injects the post-apocalypse with a uniquely enthusiastic demeanor. While its tonal inconsistencies can be jarring, it speaks to the allure of its universe that even complete detours into moments seemingly designed exclusively for fleshing out the world are still intriguing and enjoyable. Fallout may not be the most exciting in its execution, but its post-apocalyptic world is immensely enjoyable to explore, with a colorful cast of characters just trying to put the world back together.
