Open-world games like the Fallout ones are well known for letting the player go almost anywhere and do almost anything. They’re also famous for having players get sidetracked from the main storyline by coming across new side-quests, which Season 1 poked fun at. But in something linear like a TV show, those distractions can slow down narrative momentum. And while Season 2 of Fallout remains as chaotically entertaining and darkly funny as the first season, it so far lacks punch.
Episode 1 picks up a little while after the end of the first season, with Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) and the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) in the desert searching for Lucy’s villainous Vault-Tec corporate stooge dad, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), with his trail leading them out of the remains of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Maximus (Aaron Moten) is reaping the rewards of his reclamation of the Vault-Tec relic and serving as a power-armored knight in the Brotherhood of Steel.
And on the horizon, Hank’s trail leads to New Vegas, a city that escaped nuclear devastation thanks to the prewar efforts of billionaire Robert House (Justin Theroux), last seen in 2010’s Fallout: New Vegas game very much alive long after the atomic holocaust.
And so far, as of Episode 3, they’re all still trying to get there.
That’s not to say that Lucy, the Ghoul, and Maximus don’t have stories. Lucy and the Ghoul tend a tenuous peace between her cheery good and his pragmatic evil, while Maximus is dealing with the perils of rising in rank in the technology-hoarding Brotherhood. But what happens in the first two episodes feels like it could have been covered in just one.
There is action — don’t get me wrong — from Lucy and the Ghoul fighting giant mutant scorpions to Maximus slaughtering frenzied ghouls. And in the most recent episode, Lucy and the Ghoul have a run-in with everyone’s favorite historical cosplayers, Caesar’s Legion. But it’s action that feels largely there to ensure something happens per episode instead of something that drives the plot forward. Only Maximus’ plotline and his interactions with an envoy from the Commonwealth Brotherhood (played with gusto by Kumail Nanjiani) feel like they’re propelling things forward with any speed.
Then there are subplots, like the goings-on with Lucy’s brother Norm (Moises Arias) back in Vault 31 that feel like they hold back more than move the main pieces forward. And that’s on top of the flashbacks to the Ghoul’s previous life as actor Cooper Howard, now being sent on a mission to eliminate Robert House himself.
Season 2 also has a much trickier path to walk than the first season, which took place in and around the ruins of Los Angeles, places largely untouched by the games. But the setting of New Vegas was covered extensively in what many consider the best game in the series. And due to the open-ended nature of Fallout: New Vegas, players could side with numerous factions, leading to vastly different endings. The show does a great job never acknowledging which ending really happened, but this also leads the proceedings to feel like they’re dancing around larger story possibilities, including whether or not Mr. House himself is alive beyond the prewar flashbacks. However, this also keeps the show from disappearing into game lore and alienating new viewers. And it’ll be interesting to see how Season 2 moving forward adapts more of the games’ well-known lore and monsters, with previews for Episode 4 featuring an appearance by the aptly named mutant lizard Deathclaws.
Pacing issues aside, the show isn’t lacking its familiar charms. There’s enough gory action to satisfy viewers and fun needle drops on classic tunes (the moment in Episode 1 with Marty Robbins’ “Big Iron” being a favorite) to entertain. And the show’s pitch-black humor remains, in the form of everything from cartoonish violence to hilarious guest stars. (Wait until you see who plays a Legionnaire in Episode 3.)
While it sounds like I’m being harsh, that’s only because of how good Season 1 and the games are in comparison. There are still five episodes left in this season, plenty of time for things to get moving, and the show is still as entertaining as ever, from thrilling action scenes to seeing how the characters grow when pushed up against one another. Let’s just hope as the group reaches New Vegas, they cash in on deeper stories.
Fallout
Starring Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, and Walton Goggins. Created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. Streaming on Amazon Prime. Rated TV-MA.
