Season 1

Fallout Season 1 is a lot more fun than I was initially expecting. I was cautiously optimistic after learning that the team behind Westworld was working on this season. The show manages to capture the tone and style of the games, but more importantly, it builds an interesting story utilizing the lore that can stand on its own. The episodes vary depending on the "side quest" they cover, but the overarching story was engaging for sure. Ramin Djawadi's score is fantastic as usual, and Lucy and The Ghoul had plenty of screen presence. I also liked how the show managed to weave in a variety of side characters and their backstories. The biggest gripe I had with the show was Maximus, whose character felt far more undefined. I feel like the show was aiming for an arc of personal growth, but it felt a bit unearned because it seemed like he didn't actually...grow? And while I do think the humor is stylistically aligned with the games, I also felt that it didn't always translate as well to live action, with some of the jokes feeling a bit overly juvenile. Still, I think it is a very strong debut season, and I will certainly be excited to continue watching future adventures in this world.

I think this series has the best production, visual effects, and CGI I've seen in a series. I believe if you're making a Fallout series, the primary goal should be to immerse the audience into the Fallout universe, to make them live it, and this series definitely excels at that. The locations, costumes, props, and humor all made me feel that the universe is real and alive. Even as someone who is minimally familiar with the Fallout universe, I was very impressed, and it made me want to open up and play the games.

I also liked the storytelling. In some episodes, it beautifully gives you the feeling of playing a Fallout game, chasing main quests while encountering side activities, and taking on side quests. They also handled the storytelling of past and future together very well.

What irritated me the most while watching were mostly the dialogues and some of the acting. Many dialogues in the series felt very Hollywood-like, very cheesy, and very artificial. Hearing such cliché dialogues in a work released in 2024 feels very odd. Maybe they intentionally did this to match the Fallout tone, I don't know. And these complaints were mostly valid for the first half; I got more into the series in the latter half.

I'm eagerly awaiting the continuation.

7.5/10

I don't think I would change anything about this season of TV. Maybe the emotions in the end could have landed a bit harder and maybe Lucy and Maximus' romance felt a little forced, but those are slight criticisms. For the most part those elements work well enough and if you ask me, everything else in here is just about perfect.

The script is clever, well-written, and pays attention to detail. The balance of characters and the pacing is flawless. The story flows naturally as characters meet, separate, meet again later, meet other characters, etc. It's like a spiderweb of connections that is perfectly constructed, all the while moving towards an endpoint where everything comes together. Little tricks to make things feel connected work really well too, like the use of Dogmeat. The use of the landscape and world also help build out the story and atmosphere wonderfully. It's just such a satisfying and fun script through and through. Out of all the main four story elements and arcs, I did not find any of them to be boring or like a waste of time. Often when shows contain multiple different arcs with different characters and locations, there are one or two that are less enjoyable than the rest and whenever you switch to that part of the show you're just waiting to get back to the other parts. But with Fallout, I was excited to see all of the arcs and what would happen next, so every time we jumped from one to another it was exciting. A bit predictable at times perhaps with some story and character elements, but executed wonderfully nonetheless and still has enough surprises with great payoff that makes this feel like a contained story while also leaving enough to be excited about for a second season.

The performances across the board are also fantastic and everybody does exactly what they need to do, embodying their characters perfectly. Each character has so much life and personality and are all unique from one another, which makes the various combinations of characters and interactions so much fun. Ella Purnell is so charming and expressive, Aaron Moten is perfectly boyish and layered, even Moisés Arias is killing it and the supporting cast throughout the world is perfect. But Walton Goggins above all else proves that he is a phenomenal talent. His character is so well written, and he has a big task of playing essentially two different characters and then finding the middle ground between them as the show progresses, and he knocks it out of the park. Cooper and The Ghoul feel like two different people thanks to Goggins. Yet, by the time we get to the end you see 100% of Cooper and 100% of The Ghoul at the same time. The character becomes both of his selves, with not one taking away from the other. It's like two identities merging and coming forth into a new person that is the perfect summation of the two. The writing made that arc possible, and Goggins made it a reality. It cannot be overemphasized how well-written and well-performed this character of is, definitely my favorite part of the show which is saying a lot.

All-in-all, this show is just such a good time. Everything I have said makes it incredibly impressive, but it is also just an absolute blast from start to finish with sky-high entertainment value. The visuals, action, character dynamics, humor, soundtrack, art direction, and more all blend wonderfully and create such a fun experience. The tone is uniquely balanced and feels like something you could only get from Fallout, and the blending of genres is really impressive.

I went into this very hesitant. Video game adaptation have historically not been good for the most part, and from the images and marketing I did not have high hopes. When Amazon decided to drop the entire season at once I figured they knew it was a disaster and just wanted to get it out there and over with quick. I am so thrilled that none of that was true. This show absolutely pops. As someone who is a fan of Fallout but not a diehard (I have only played Fallout 4 and loved it), I don't think I could've had a better time with this show. Didn't want it to end and can't wait for more.

ok so here we go. I haven't play the game i do not care about the game this is not your PlayStation is a tv show and for that it will be judged. I feel that most 10s are from people who played the game and find it satisfying and real to the game. Not fair at all. Something like that destroyed the latest "Resident Evil" from people bashing because it wasn't like the game but man the story and show was awesome.

So, Lucy and Maximus completely stupid, annoying and redundant characters. I do not care a bit about them and the whole journey. The show is episode 1 and the last three episodes. Very long episodes middle was totally boring of them walking and facing nothing that can make you interested or learning something about the story.

Also too much silliness and stupid reactions, especially with that hideous 60's music on top of every silly scene which make the season a great comedy show.

By far the most interesting character is the The Ghoul/Cooper. The flashbacks of the last episodes was the main part that make the show interesting and watchable to the end. I want to find out what happened and how it happened to him. Of course the father also comes to play but Lucy, you can just stay in your crypt and plant tomatoes.

The flashbacks redempt the show and gave it meaning. I would love more of the past and the how than again two people walking in the wasteland. As a show it failed on that part and thanks for the last three episodes which have saved it and told a nice story that you may want to follow for season 2. Overall 4 episodes and you are done.