Love, Loss, and Carnage in the Wasteland

I do not have a ton of experience in the world of Fallout. I know the games are pretty popular, with the two RPG titles produced by Interplay, alongside a spin-off tactics title, the two main games produced by Bethesda, and then their spin-offs as well, I just haven’t played through them myself. With that said, it’s a series that is beloved by a segment of the game populace, and each new title is generally greeted with anticipation before going on to rave reviews from fans and critics alike (aside from Fallout ‘76, of course). It’s no wonder, then, that Hollywood has been sniffing around the franchise for some time.

As far back as 1998, Interplay explored the possibility of making a Fallout movie (among the various other properties they had in their stable that they could develop). Those plans went nowhere, and when Interplay went belly up and Bethesda took over the license, their attempts at turning Fallout into a film franchise also went nowhere. A lot of time spent on development, even a few script treatments made between the two companies, but no actual produced media to show for it. At least not until Amazon MGM Studios signed on.

The resulting show, which debuted all eight of its first season episodes on April 10, 2024 (and I’m just getting around to discussing two months later as I bounce from one streaming service to another), was developed by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the creative team behind HBO’s Westworld. You can feel the DNA of that show working hard in the new Fallout series, too, as it’s a twisty, time-bending, mystery box-style show with an expansive story to tell and a whole lot of mysteries to explore. And, like the first season of Westworld, this first season of Fallout really delivers on its promises. The question going forward, of course, is if the series can continue to deliver when it inevitably comes back and has to expand its scope and its world.

Fallout, the show, introduces us to the denizens of Vault 33. Developed by Vault-Tec, this vault is one of three that are linked together (Vaults 31, 32, and 33), all with the promise of keeping the people living within safe against the threat of nuclear war, the resulting radiation and fallout, and the survivors up top who have had to struggle to survive. Protagonist Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) is the daughter of the Overseer of Vault 33, Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan). Due to the low population of the Vault, where everyone is basically everyone else’s cousin, Lucy needs a husband from another Vault (so that they can continue the line of survivors in a genetically safe way). An arrangement is made with the denizens of Vault 32, a trade of goods for a “breeder”, and everything seems fine… right up until the citizens of 32 reveal themselves to be raiders and attack 32’s people.

They are fought off, but the raiders kidnap Hank and drag him out into the Wasteland. Lucy, fearing the worst, gears up and heads out into the wastes to find her father. Along the way she meets a (supposed) Knight of the Brotherhood of Steel, Maximus (Aaron Moten), and a bounty hunter just out for himself, the Ghoul (Walton Goggins). Each of them has their own reason for being in the wastes, and all of them are forced to chase after an artifact of the “before times”, something all the factions of the wastes are battling over. If Lucy can get it, and can take it to the raiders that took her father, she could negotiate for his release. But getting there, with all the dangers of the Wasteland, very well could change Lucy in the process.

Fallout is an intriguingly twisty and strange series. With its three major characters, and three parallel plotlines, it can do a lot of jumping back and forth between their stories to find context and push the series forward. That’s a pretty standard convention in television, to be sure, with A-, B-, and C-plot structure being the norm on many serialized shows. But the trick here is that we don’t just get the stories of the present, with our heroes out in the Wasteland, we also get context for them from the past, in the time before the bombs dropped and the Wasteland was formed. And in those moments, that’s where the mystery box is constructed.

Naturally I can’t spoil anything about the plotline. To reveal much in the way of details would ruin the fine way this mystery box is constructed. What I will note, though, is that if you know anything about the Fallout series of games, the twists and turns of the show work in the context of the games, and the show ties nicely into the continuity and mythology from the video game series. The show actually does a great job of fleshing out details and history of the franchise in a way that the games, focused on a single protagonist just trying to survive each adventure, could do nearly as well. It’s a benefit of the medium, long-form television storytelling, that the creators use to great effect.

Also working in the favor of the show are the leads. Obviously, despite being a major antagonist and foil to the other characters, Walton Goggins is the true star of the show. He’s our in to the true mythology of the series, playing a character (as revealed in the first episode of the series so this isn’t a major spoiler) that has lived for close to 300 years, through all the developments and destruction that the nuclear war has wrought. Goggins, of course, became famous with his portrayal of the outlaw Boyd Crowder on Justified, playing that character as a charming scofflaw who could kill in a second without regret. The Ghoul isn’t really all that different from Crowder, with that same charm, the same good-old-boy twang, the same ruthless efficiency. This is the kind of character Goggins excels at, and he’s able to steal every scene he’s in (even under a whole lot of makeup) through his very presence.

That’s not to downplay the work of the other two leads, Purnell and Moten. Of the two, Purnell has the better presence on the show. She’s the character we first meet, our in to the world of the Vaults, and the one that takes out into the Wasteland and gives us the scope of the world. What she learns about the real world, we learn, and it’s through her amazement, fear, and adjustments to how the world works that we truly see the series. Purnell is great in her role of Lucy, being both enjoyably naive and able to adapt. She gives Lucy the depth she needs to be a real heroine for the story.

Moten unfortunately doesn’t get as much to do and, honestly, his character comes across as the weakest of the set. I don’t fault the actor for this, I just don’t think the show really knows how to bring him into focus just yet. Like Lucy, Moten’s Maximus is sheltered in a way. He was raised by the Brotherhood of Steel to be a warrior, a Knight serving their cause, but he’s never had to live outside the protection of their camps and see the world for what it is. Maximus has a lot of growing he has to do, but his character doesn’t get a strong arc through the first eight episodes. He’s always following someone else, following a predetermined path, following the story. Once he gets some agency I feel like his character is going to come into better focus and then Moten will get to do more with Maximus. He’s not bad, but he’s not the highlight of the series the way Goggins or Purnell can be.

Truly, though, it’s the mystery box of the story that keeps you sucked in. You’re never sure where the twists and turns are going to go, or what all to expect next. As the story builds, and more and more of the world and history are revealed, it’s impressive just how everything ties together too neatly, how all the pieces work. It’s a really well crafted story that reels you in and keeps you focused. I tried to watch this show slowly, only an episode at a time, but then when I got to the back half I had to watch all four episodes in a row in a single afternoon because I wanted to see the end. I just had to know. That’s the mark of a great, binge-worthy story, to be sure.

I just worry about how the story is going to evolve from here. From experience, with Westworld, the creators could have a great idea for a single season but then struggle to push beyond that tight story into a larger epic. In fairness to writer / creator Nolan, he was a primary voice on Person of Interest, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and that was a show that could slowly build it’s overarching story into a cohesive and narratively satisfying conclusion. Hopefully Fallout can go that route and continue building well, creating a strong story for however many seasons are planned. I did enjoy Westworld, but that show can be very convoluted in its later seasons, and I fear that Fallout could go the same way as well. It’s a bold and driven show that could work great… or crash and burn if it’s not kept focused.

Time will tell. I really enjoyed this first season and I hope that when the show returns, at some point, its second season is just as great, if not even better. Fallout is a solid show, even for viewers that haven’t played through any of the games (such as myself). It sucks you in and doesn’t let go until its eight episodes are over. If you haven’t watched it, and you have access to Amazon Prime, you totally should. It’s worth eight hours of your time to see this enjoyably told mystery box tale.