Fallout Season 2 Captures The Original Games More Closely Than Ever (And It's Great)
Watch out, vault dweller: This article contains spoilers for "Fallout" season 2, episode 1.
If you think that the "Fallout" season 2 premiere is somehow looking even more faithful to the games than the first season, you're not alone. You're not wrong, either. Season 1 is famously very faithful to the "Fallout" games' vibe and visual style, but it also keeps the action largely in places the games haven't explored in order to establish its own identity. However, season 2 lets loose from the get-go by focusing heavily on extremely specific elements that are familiar from the "Fallout" video game series.
The most immediate and eye-popping video game expatriate in the season 2 premiere is, of course, Mr. Robert House (Justin Theroux) — the RobCo CEO and major "Fallout: New Vegas" character who already made an appearance in season 1, as portrayed by Rafi Silver. However, the character's major presence in the season 2 premiere is only one thing that connects the episode to the games. Fans of the Bethesda game series will also recognize the giant dinosaur statue Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) hides in as the popular "Fallout: New Vegas" roadside attraction, Dinky the T-Rex. Later on, the important "Fallout 4" location Starlight Drive-In also makes an appearance.
It goes further than just occasional locations and characters, too. Even the episode's big shootout scene is a loving homage to the games' V.A.T..S. targeting system, with the camera following the projectiles and the mess they make. The protagonists even discuss their preferred target zones more than once. All of this adds to the already impressive immersion, elevating "Fallout" to even greater heights as a faithful video game adaptation.
Fallout is getting braver with its location game
As TV shows based on video games go, "Fallout" ranks among the most visually faithful adaptations out there. From the blue jumpsuits and Pip-Boy wrist computers of the vault dwellers to the creepiness of radroaches and other "wonders" of the post-apocalyptic wasteland, "Fallout" season 1 is a stellar video game adaptation that immerses the viewer into its strange, colorful, violent, and darkly hilarious world. However, there's one thing it very much isn't, which is faithful to any individual game's plot. While season 1 does feature recognizable store chain buildings like a Super Duper Mart branch and a Red Rocket gas station, the Shady Sands settlement is the only specific location pulled directly from the games before the New Vegas reveal at the very end.
Though the show very much takes place in the same world as Bethesda's "Fallout" video game series, the corner its first season occupies is narratively pristine enough to both explore the established lore and expand upon it with a set of brand new characters. As such, the anonymous vault dwellers and couriers from the games are replaced by folks like Lucy and the Ghoul (Walton Goggins, who recently spoke to /Film about bringing his beloved "Fallout" character to the video games).
Since "Fallout" season 2 takes the TV adaptation to New Vegas, it always seemed possible that the sophomore season would flirt with the games quite a bit more than its predecessor. However, what viewers might not have been ready for is just how many game elements the new season is embracing. Assuming that the show intends to go on like this, who knows how many familiar locations and characters we'll get to see?
"Fallout" season 2 is streaming on Prime Video.