The Fallout series, first released in 1997 as a video game, has ever since captivated audiences with its post-apocalyptic storytelling and compelling characters. Fast-forward to decades later, this iconic franchise has transitioned to the small screen in the form of an Amazon Prime Video adaptation. Did it stay true to its roots, deliver a gripping narrative, and remain faithful to the game's lore? Let’s find out!
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War. War never changes.
On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was detonated by the Manhattan Project. This initiative aimed to create the ultimate weapon to end all wars. However, it inadvertently marked the dawn of the nuclear age and emerged as the greatest threat to all of humanity.
The Fallout Game Series
The first Fallout game was released in 1997, created by Tim Cain. The series has been managed by legendary game director Todd Howard since 2008. Set in an alternate history, the franchise explores a grim "what if" scenario where nuclear weapons have been used during the great war between the United States and Communist China, transforming the world into a desolate wasteland.
Success and Adaptation of the Fallout Series
In this world, the collapse of societal structures has given rise to a new order where "survival of the fittest" is the only rule. The games vividly depict a post-apocalyptic landscape where remnants of the old world clash with the harsh realities of the new, creating a compelling and cautionary narrative about the consequences of nuclear war.
The series won multiple game awards because of its compelling narrative, colorful cast of characters, interactive environments, and unique game mechanics that revolutionized gaming. The series was so successful that it was later adapted into a TV show for Amazon Prime Video—starring Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, and Walton Goggins Jr.—and supervised by the show's executive producer, Todd Howard.
Praise from Creators and Fans
The show received generally positive reviews from critics and fans. The first season spans eight episodes, each with a running time of almost an hour. The music includes original nods to the game as well as iconic songs like "Orange-Colored Sky" and "Crawl Out Through the Fallout," which were implemented well to complement each scene. There are numerous game references and Easter eggs hidden in the show that evoke nostalgia for every Fallout player.
Tim Cain mentioned that everything in the show felt like the world he created, while Todd Howard was amazed at the level of detail made by the crew on set. While there have been many shows adapted from video games, the Fallout TV show may be one of the best adaptations ever made for being faithful to its source material.
Setting and Plot of the TV Show
Set nine years after the last chronological Fallout game (Fallout 4) and located in the wastelands of California where the first and second games took place, the story of the TV show follows the game's timeline while adding a new twist that does not contradict the established lore. It follows the stories of three main characters in a post-apocalyptic timeline 219 years after the nukes fell, each with their own upbringings and motivations.
First, there is Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), a vault dweller whose ancestry survived in a massive commercial bunker for more than two hundred years. She is forced to leave the safety of the vault and her brother to find their missing father (a common theme in the game franchise), equipped only with her knowledge and charismatic personality. Upon her quest to search for her father, she soon finds out that the world and people from the stories she heard in the vault have forever changed, and now she needs to adapt in hopes of saving her father, Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan).
Second, there is Maximus (Aaron Moten), an initiate for the Brotherhood of Steel (a recurring faction in the games with the sole purpose of controlling technology to avoid another apocalypse) who has always dreamt of being a knight for the brotherhood. With luck on his side, he rises to the rank of squire. He is tasked with assisting the knight he swore fealty to but is instead mistreated by his knight. While on a mission, he has enough of the mistreatment and lets his knight die, opting to use the knight's armor to pretend to be the knight and continue the mission so that he may be given the chance to be forgiven for his negligence and become the knight he has always wanted to be.
Lastly, there's the Ghoul (Walton Goggins Jr.), a bounty hunter mutated by radiation, giving him regenerative capabilities and a longer lifespan. He used to be a military-veteran-turned-Hollywood-actor before the nukes fell and was the model for the titular Vault-Boy (the mascot of the entire Fallout series). His storyline mainly consists of his flashbacks before the Armageddon and how it gives more depth not only to the show but also to the entire franchise itself. With his cowboy skill set and deadly application of VATS, he is on a mission to hunt down everyone that has wronged him in the past.
The three main characters' stories often clash, bringing forth a great dynamic given their differences in character, but they have an almost similar goal of finding the person named Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury), each with their own reasons. Also, let's not forget the supporting characters that had important roles in the story, such as Lucy’s brother, Norm MacLean (Moisés Arias), who sleuths out what is really going on in the vault, and Dogmeat (a common name used for dogs in the game franchise), one of the best companions a man/ghoul could have.
Conspiracy and Twists
As the story progresses, the characters soon find out about the conspiracy of the multi-billion dollar company Vault-Tec and its partner companies, which were actually the minds behind the great war and nuclear apocalypse to reshape the world in their image. They also used the multiple vaults they made to conduct a variety of social and medical experiments on the inhabitants to gather more data on how to control people after they awaken from cryostasis after hundreds of years. Lucy also finds out that her father is not whom he seems; he was actually a Vault-Tec employee before the nukes fell, tasked with supervising the experiment in their own vault. These twists truly impacted the lore and answered some questions that were not addressed in the games.
Ending and Future Speculations
The last episode ends with Lucy’s father traveling the Mojave Desert (a major location in Fallout: New Vegas), indicating possible tie-ins with the other games as the show progresses. Since the story of New Vegas is only twenty years before the show’s storyline, fans speculate that there will be more appearances besides Mr. House, who already appeared in the Ghoul’s flashback, such as the tyrant Caesar, the schemer Benny, the passive-aggressive Yes-Man, and the main character, Courier 6.
There is also a huge possibility that Elder Maxson, a recurring character from Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, will return since his flagship, the Prydwen, appeared in the later part of the first season. Debates about what is going to happen in the next season aside, the show was successful with its world-building and having us invested in its characters.
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