TV REVIEW: FALLOUT, Season One! PATREON EXCLUSIVE! (Patreon)
Content
To be honest with you all, I haven’t settled down and watched anything outside of my channel’s shows in YEARS with the exception of RuPaul’s Drag Race and The Great British Baking Show – mainly, because I haven’t had the energy for the investment. But, I had several recommendations for Fallout (including my gaming brother), and it was only 8 episodes, so I wanted to give it a whirl!
And now that I’ve finished Season 1, I have THOUGHTS.
So, SPOILERS FOR SEASON ONE down below!
The Good:
The crumbs of the plot that you get from the start to the finish of season 1 were very tasty – a part of me wonders if too much was given away by the end of the season, but there is still a LOT of information (with Bud, Cooper’s wife, etc.) that could still be explored and we have no clue where Hank ended up at, so there’s that mystery. Overall, though, the reveals happened in a way that was fluid and made me want to go back and re-watch from the start to see if I would pick anything up that I missed.
The atmosphere – I’m a sucker for nostalgic history mixed with warped futuristic dystopia, so the atmosphere, the creativity with the “monsters,” and the various environments made it to where you were never in the same place twice. The soundtrack is also such a boon for this series to help give it that creepy air of nostalgia. Plus, seeing how abandoned buildings are ' 'repurposed'' was a lot of fun, especially a certain “grocery store.”
Cooper Howard - by far the most fleshed out (ironically?) character and the one I’m most invested in. A war veteran dealing with the displacement from his family, having lived possibly a separate life as a bounty hunter in between the main flashback and the current timeline (which leaves a LOT of potential story there to unfold) – and of course how he’s a rugged, jaded, but deep-down kind hearted man who’s just trying to survive until he can be reunited with his family…and not lose himself in the process? He had my attention from Episode 1 and had my heart by the end of episode 8. Plus, the actor playing him is incredible and a case of superb casting.
LUCY. MCLEAN. I loved her from the first episode and watching her evolution on screen from the start to finish of this season was refreshing. It’s great to have a female character on screen that is smart and can be badass, but is also flawed - mainly in her being too trusting, her naivete, and her taste in men - and someone that’s not relegated to the sidelines. Side note: I loved that she initiated sexual activity throughout the season and when confronted with a possible bit of non-consensual harassment, it was humorously and horrifyingly countered with something even worse. Thanks, show! Lucy definitely is a character I can relate to and connect with and her actress is fantastic, so I’m on board for her adventures with Cooper in the future! Though…I have seen some people shipping her and Cooper in this bizarre Beauty and the Beast comparison and…no. No, Cooper if anything is her crazy uncle/foster-father figure to me. Two souls looking for answers involving the actions their family has taken.
Norm McClean definitely gets the prize for most character development, going from a coward who hid while his sister bravely fought raiders to taking charge on his own to discover answers about his past and current situation; I had a lot of fun watching his character grow and we leave on quite a cliffhanger with his character, so I’m curious what will happen with him in season 2.
The Not-As-Good:
Is it weird if I include Maximus in this? Okay, Maximus. I don’t mind his character by the end of the season - I like this “himbo” that wants to be a hero and is kind of blind to some of the things around him and cues – it makes sense, as he was raised by a sheltered cult and doesn’t quite know the things about societal etiquette as Lucy and Cooper were brought up to know.
I guess my qualms with him are that he’s not given the time to truly flesh out as a character like Cooper and Lucy - we don’t get but one backstory scene with him and it’s just repeated a few times. I would have loved some more scenes of him growing up in The Brotherhood, who aren’t fleshed out themselves very much in this season and remain a bit vague. Plus, Maximus does make some decisions that make you want to yell at your screen, but I suppose that’s the point - I am curious to see what he’s going to do with The Brotherhood next season, especially now that his “super suit” is missing.
And the romance between Maximus and Lucy. It’s just…it felt very forced to me, like we had to make them a couple. True, Lucy was raised to just accept she’d be married off and so her getting to “choose” her partner is definitely a “rebellious phase” move for her – and Maximus had NO idea about sexual intimacy before meeting her at all – it’s just neither have chemistry and I’m really glad that Lucy didn’t stick by him – especially after he SOLD HER OUT to the Brotherhood as soon as he got there. So. Yeah, I’m glad they’re separated and hopefully Maximus can do some growing up in the next season, because our girl Lucy deserves maybe a bit better otherwise. And maybe they’ll reconcile in future seasons that it’s better to be friends, but writers…you don’t HAVE to make two main characters into a couple just because they’re the opposite gender. Unless they genuinely have chemistry and a developed relationship to boot.
The Remaining Mystery:
Cooper’s wife and daughter weren’t on the registered list of Vault people “frozen” in Vault 31, so are they in another vault? Are they ghouls? Are they just dead? We don’t get complete confirmation as to if Muldaver was the original Hollywood Forever leader that Cooper met all those years ago or if she was a descendent; if she was the original, why the name change?
I’m probably most curious as to what’s going to happen to Norm in Vault 31 since he seems to be trapped and if he gets out, how will he deal with Betty and Stephanie? Was Stephanie on the register? I didn’t see her name either, so I’m wondering if Chester will stand up to her or not and help Norm. Regardless, the prospect of Lucy and Norm trying to make change despite their father’s regressive Vault Tec loyalties has a lot of promise, as does Lucy now shadowing Cooper (the end song PERFECTLY encapsulating their dynamic alongside the dog, but could also point to our “three” as the trio of Lucy, Cooper, and Maximus).
I’m not a video game player, so no spoilers, please, but I’m excited to see where this series takes us! Especially with the McLean’s and Cooper’s storylines and how they’ll handle all the family mystery and drama! All in all, definitely recommend it if you like dystopian sci-fi series!
Obviously, I’m not giving a lot away, because I hope you’ll check it out - it’s on Amazon Prime and I enjoyed it – 8 episodes to get you sucked into the world and luckily, they’ve greenlit a season 2, so I’m excited! Let me know what you thought down below!
<3
RB