Streaming on Amazon Prime, FALLOUT translates the popular post-apocalyptic game into one of the most fun TV series I’ve ever watched.
The show roughly follows the game: Far in the future, people live in underground vaults, hoping to repopulate the earth and rebuild civilization following a devastating nuclear exchange concluding an endless resource war between the superpowers. After her father goes missing, a young woman named Lucy (Ella Purnell) ventures into the wasteland to find him, armed with some tech but mostly pluck, can-do attitude, and a strong moral center from her upbringing in the vault. Along the way, she encounters a square of the Brotherhood of Steel, a remnant of the old U.S. military, and a ghoul bounty hunter, each with their own storylines and goals.
I’m a gamer but not really a GAMER. I was familiar with the FALLOUT games but never played them. From what I hear, the show is fairly faithful to the game’s iconic world building and RPG storyline, while enhancing it.
The world of FALLOUT is crazy fun, a cross between the retro-futuristic fifties/Atomic Age that saw the Bomb drop with post-apoc tropes familiar from MAD MAX and A BOY AND HIS DOG. The show does a great job making the world of FALLOUT appear lived-in with its own weird logic that simply expects you to accept it and keep up. The various factions in the show each have their own weird customs and culture, my favorite probably being the crazy-cool knights of the Brotherhood. Otherwise, the show keeps its secrets well, doling out answers bit by bit, and they are worth the wait. By the end, we learn the real story of how the world ended, and what the purpose of the Vaults actually is.
In short, it’s a blast. My first impression was this is going to be a silly ride through the apocalypse, but as the characters and story developed, FALLOUT proved surprisingly and satisfyingly deep, layered, textured, and crazy fun. The story, pacing, acting, dialogue, and world-building are all spot on. Highly recommended.
The game has three sequels, and the last episode teases which one will be taken on next. I can’t wait.
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