Fallout Episode 1 and 2 Review

Here’s my Fallout episode 1 and 2 review which is now streaming on Prime Video starring Ella Purnell, Walter Goggins and more! Now streaming on Prime Video based on the popular Bethesda Game Studios video game!

I have very high hopes for this live action adaptation of the Fallout games and seeing the trailer, I knew we were in for a treat. My biggest worry in fact about the whole series is what they would adapt. You see the Fallout games has been around for decades with the most popular titles being Fallout 4 and Fallout 3: New Vegas as well as the original Fallout 3 game. And the people from Prime and the production team found a loophole. They set it somewhere in California which might be far away from where Fallout and Fallout 2 was set, still giving them some wiggle room especially since California’s such a big place anyway.

Ella Purnell’s Lucy is a pretty solid and set the tone early on on what to expect for her character Lucy. We meet her as this adorable, bubbly vault dweller that only wants to do right and continue their way of life inside Vault 33. Tough luck for her because what’s a Fallout game without an invading pack of Raiders that takes something important for her. And because of this abduction, Lucy is steadfast of getting back her dad by stepping out of Vault 33.  It’s through Lucy’s eyes that we get most of the stuff about what life was after the nukes dropped some 200 to 300 years ago. I did like the idea that with each episode of Fallout for this season, Lucy’s positivity is put to the test. My money’s on her losing her smile or a part of her old self by the time we hit the end of season 1 but I could be wrong.

Walton Goggins as The Ghoul was a treat for me. Visually horrendous he’s definitely the “face” of the Wasteland both from the game and in this series. Goggins’ also had a unique scene in the first episode, giving us an idea of what the world was like, what’s going to happen and a father’s worst nightmare – trying to protect his child from nuclear fires and death. But I guess that didn’t work out too well for his character or maybe it kind of did.

Fallout Episode 1 was all about beginnings and about fathers and their children. You see so much of their sacrifice whether it’s what Lucy’s father Overseer MacLean did to protect his daughter or what The Ghoul’s human form Cooper Howard had to endure to make ends meet and to put food on the table for his little girl. For me that’s pretty deep.

Good job with the amount of violence here, while not as gratuitous as what I was expecting, it was still gory as hell. I’m missing the VATS from Fallout 4 though but that’s ok. Every body part that explodes or gets looped off is a good indicator that the show knows the game and the audience so they didn’t scrimp on that. It’s also nice to see how different fighting styles come into play here especially when a character chooses to build on a specific stat like in the case of The Ghoul who probably improved on their agility as he’s so confident that he can beat a person wearing Brotherhood of Steel power armor.

Speaking of, the weakest element for me was Maximus. The squire and would-be Power Armor wearer in the story had a solid backstory but it may not echo with fans. Still, I like the character development for Maximus and I’m definitely eager to see where his “sin” from Episode 2 will take him and what are the ramifications of his actions when he returns to the Brotherhood.

Speaking of, there’s so far two factions that are mentioned in the first two episodes that being the Enclave and The Brotherhood of Steel. We’re already treated to what the Brotherhood is as well as their technology but we have yet to see the other factions from the game. This circles back to my original gripe with the series, how much lore can they put in the series without making it too convoluted to new viewers? What got adapted and translated into the show and how much of that was lost in translation?

Regardless, if you’re a new fan who wants those post-apocalyptic action series with a bit of drama then Fallout may be the show you’re looking for. We got some really nice VFX going around, a good solid story, some interesting characters and tons and tons of shooting and violence. I’m still waiting for the other mutant creatures that would appear here including the scary-as-hell Deathclaws and even the Super Mutants.

Overall, Fallout has my stamp of approval.

10/10

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