As befits a successful game, Fallout is also undergoing the transformation to TV. Will this series help us stick to the television screen or will we go back to playing the games? Any gamer knows the games from the Fallout series. They have been enjoying this post-apocalyptic open world since 1997. Now the rest of the world can experience the ruins of our world and the tragic inhabitants who roam its devastated surface.
During the Great War of 2077, Earth was destroyed almost beyond recognition. Since then, humanity has been busy trying to survive. Remnants of the old technology are applied in new forms. The games now span four titles with a fifth on the way, and seven spin-offs. The stories take place between 2077 and roughly the next two hundred years.
When the global nuclear war broke out, part of humanity was able to take refuge in special bomb shelters. These were completely furnished and prepared for a long stay to avoid the nuclear fallout for as long as possible. The name of these cellars is invariably Vault with a serial number.
Life in such a Vault usually remained completely shielded from the miserable outside world for decades to hundreds of years. The theme of the games is always approximately the same. At the beginning, a main character leaves such a protective Vault for the dangerous, unknown world where they are confronted with a greatly changed world, while they have to look for certain people or objects. Along the way they discover that their expectations differ seriously from the harsh reality.
The atmosphere from the games has been excellently transferred to the series.
This pattern is closely followed in the TV series. It's not a literal telling of one of the games, but the similarity is definitely there. Also in the TV series, groups of people have been living in a protective air raid shelter for many decades. They have no knowledge of what is happening outside and they are actually fine with that.
The atmosphere from the games has been excellently transferred to the series. You feel the initial uncertainty and naivety of lead actress Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell, Yellowjackets). The first frightening steps into the perilous outside world of Fallout are very recognizable for gamers. Some information is given, but the rest you have to figure out for yourself, just like Lucy.
In addition to Lucy, we follow two other important characters. The Ghoul (Walton Goggins, Justified) is a near-immortal survivor of the original war. Its deformed body is somewhat reminiscent of a zombie, but ghouls do not like to be compared to that. His origins are not very clear, but we may find out more in the rest of the season.
The other is a young man being trained as a squire. If he succeeds, Maximus (Aaron Moten, neXt) may serve a knight of the Brotherhood of Steel. The training is tough and the competition is fierce. The knights search the wilderness for relics from the pre-war era. The why is not clear, but they do not do this because they are so concerned about the environment.
This first episode definitely set the right tone for me.
This first episode set the right tone for me. That bodes well for the rest of the season. This is definitely recommended for fans of the games, but also for fans of an unusual series. I'm already hooked, and hopefully that feeling will last until the last part.
I thought the beginning was a bit messy and there didn't seem to be a common thread, but towards the end of the season everything comes together well and a nice opening to the 2nd season.
