Fallout: Season 2: Review

The weight of responsibility hangs heavy over each of the main protagonists in this second season of Fallout, with every single one of them grappling with the enormity of decisions either facing them or in their past.

For vault-dweller and eternal optimist Lucy McLean (Yellowjackets' Ella Purnell), it's the question of bringing her father Hank (Kyle McLachlan) to justice; for the Ghoul (Walton Goggins, The White Lotus), it's the enormity of what part his wife played in the blasts that wiped out the world and for Brotherhood member Maximus (Aaron Moten), it's about the responsibility to keep the Knights in order as they teeter on Civil War.

But not everything's as clear-cut as they'd hope, thanks to the arrival (in the past) of the mysterious tech entrepreneur Robert House (an enigmatic Justin Theroux) and his RobCo Industries robotics company.

Fallout fans will know what that arrival signifies, but the second season is more interested in building up the intrigue, rather than simply getting to New Vegas.

It means that the early half spends an inordinate amount of time handling seemingly disparate stories, which gives it a generally disjointed and episodic feel.

That's not to say that it's not enjoyable. From the odd couple pairing of the perky Lucy with the world-weary Ghoul to the Fallout Shelter-styling of Woody's world back in the vaults, there's a lot of small parts being moved around and flitting back and forth.

It's a stylistic point that makes this latest feel lesser than the first, even if it's not the intention. Production-wise, Fallout still looks incredible.

From its retro-future mix to its flashback sequences, to the wastelands and beyond, the show stands out visually.

In terms of atmosphere and storytelling though, the early parts of this feel too staccato to welcome newcomers and conversely, growth may be difficult to achieve initially. 

But as the show goes on, its structure eases and as a result, it feels like a show that's intriguing enough to latch onto. Certainly, latter episodes where motives become muddied and moral questions arise, there is a feeling that thematically, plots are paying off.

The banter between the odd couple of Lucy's optimism and the Ghoul's more cynical character is great and both Goggins and Purnell work well as a team. So much so that a spinoff with their adventures in the wasteland would be very welcome. Maximus' storyline is a tougher one to sell, the loss of innocence and the falling away of the scales from the eyes is a tough path to follow, but Moten works the doubt angle well. There's much more going on under the surface with him, making his Maximus character one of the more interesting parts of dealing with doctrine, facing fears and taking the right path if that's what the moral code pushes you to do so.

Ultimately, Fallout could really have fallen back on its laurels and repeated the success of the first season, but by taking a creative gamble, it proves that it's one of the more interesting propositions in episodic TV - diversions or otherwise.

Episodes 1-6 of Fallout: Season 2 were viewed for the purposes of this review.
Fallout: Season 2 begins on Prime Video on Wednesday, December 17, with episodes releasing weekly.