[Everyone liked that] Amazon’s faithful, crowd pleasing adaptation of Bethesda’s hit game series has emerged from the vault for its sophomore season. Fallout players rejoice, this batch of episodes solidifies the show as one of the greatest video game adaptations of all time. Casual viewers might be left stranded in the wasteland trying to keep up, though.
This is a show made for the fans, but it’s still such a fun watch for franchise newcomers as well. It captures the quirky tone and adventurous spirit of the games perfectly, while still grounding itself in seriousness when needed. This season takes us to New Vegas, and just like in season one, we get stories set in the present wasteland, and before the bombs were dropped. In fact, there’s A LOT happening all at once this time around - Lucy and the Ghoul, Maximus and Brotherhood of Steel, Robert House’s sinister dealings in Vegas, The Legion, The Vault Dwellers trying to escape captivity… it’s perhaps a little much for just eight episodes. This is where those who’ve played the games will come out ahead with their pre-existing understanding of the lore. I was able to fill in the gaps the show left open because I’ve spent hundreds of hours in this world. Newcomers don’t have that luxury, and while the show remains relatively easy to follow, there’s a lot that’s glossed over when it should’ve been explored more thoroughly.
Not only does this season continue to capture the spirit of the games perfectly, but it also nails it on a visual and auditory level. The attention to detail in the production design is award worthy. The games have so many unique items and weapons you can loot, and this show is riddled with those items. The wasteland feels vast and dangerous, with incredible practical sets and impressive CGI. I got so giddy seeing the NCR power armour in all its glorious detail. The retro futurism of the world before the bombs dropped is also stunning, and the wonky de-aging from season one gets an impressive upgrade this time around. Ramin Djawadi’s score is pitch perfect, and hearing the games’ iconic score used in key moments gave me goosebumps.
Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins continue to be a delightful on-screen pairing, with Lucy and The Ghoul’s polar opposite personalities leading to consistently entertaining moral disputes. I enjoyed seeing the ways the wasteland has hardened Lucy’s overly-sunny disposition as she adapts to surviving in this unforgiving world. You could almost say Goggins is playing a dual role here, as he approaches the past and present versions of Cooper so differently. It’s another impressive performance as we’ve come to expect from one of the most talented actors working today. Aaron Moten continues to be trapped in the somewhat dull Brotherhood of Steel plot line, although he does take centre stage in one of the season’s best moments during the final episode. Kyle MacLachlan gets more screen time this season, and although he spends most of it solo, he’s so effortlessly charismatic in the way he chews the scenery. Oh, and the addition of Justin Theroux as Robert House is pure perfection.
Fallout season two is a bit over-encumbered with excessive plot lines, but provides another wonderfully strange, violent and thrilling journey into the wasteland - especially for those familiar with the games. Exceptional production design, impressive performances and a tone that mirrors that of the games perfectly - season two gets a big thumbs up.
Rating: ★★★★
Review by: Benjamin Garrett