Fallout on Prime Video is probably the first time in years where I didn’t look for spoilers. Usually, I go on Rotten Tomatoes or X, formerly known as Twitter, to spoil myself. I do it as a safety measure in case shows are canceled or enter into the problematic zone that would make me DNF it. Plus, Hollywood has become predictable to the point where I’m surprised if something makes it past season 1 or is anything other than a cookie cutter retelling of this or that. But it became very clear from the first scene of Fallout, that this show was going to be heartfelt but utterly terrifying. Because I feel like we’re living life on a knife’s edge all the time. And Fallout season 1 personified all that horror in a matter of minutes, instantly hooking me.
Then there’s the characters, world building, and nuance of it all. I laughed while watching Fallout but I also got really emotional, annoyed, upset, and disgusted. It was the whole range of emotions because Fallout trusted me as a viewer to come on this journey with Lucy and the rest of the gang. It also tested me as much as it tested Lucy. Because ultimately this show is about the survivors who want to change this world for the better and in spite of those who want to continue destroying it. It’s about those who choose to stay true to who they are while transforming into someone that will survive. And I think you have that with the lead Lucy, the squire turned Knight Maximus, and even The Ghoul. These people have been changed by this destroyed world. But there is a spark of hope in all of them, something that Vault Tech would love to destroy.
There’s also a spark between the three leads. Because I do consider Lucy the face that pops up a lot on promotional material. But this show is about Lucy, Maximus, and The Ghoul. They are the three who are guiding us on this journey. And I don’t know how the writers of Fallout did it, but they managed to find a balance where these three characters complement each other but also don’t need each other to prop up their story. This makes Fallout stronger as a show and I find it to be quite a miracle that in season 1 they have managed to find this balance, hit all the right beats while keeping things fresh, and made me intrigued enough to dive into the Fallout world as a whole. Prime Video should consider Fallout a win that sticks to the viewer’s mind long after the screen has gone black and that has led to wider conversations about the real life touchstones of our world that match this one.
Lucy MacLean
When thinking about Lucy, I have to start at the end. Because by the time she walks away with The Ghoul, Lucy is broken. And everything that happened to her in Fallout season prepared her for this moment. She left the vault, brimming with optimism that she could make this all right. Along the way she learned hard life lessons while still staying true to who she was. And by the end of it, she’s a changed woman, one who never thought the one person she loved the most could have so much cruelty within him. But even then, if there’s anyone that I think will keep true to who she is while adapting to the new reality that she knows, it’s Lucy. Sure, Lucy from episode 1 wouldn’t be able to shoot her ghoul mother. But I think there’s something resilient about her, especially how she chooses to be this person, despite everything around her being garbage.
And what a journey this young woman has had. A journey that made me laugh but also feels slightly uncomfortable in the beginning when we were first introduced to her idyllic little world. And when she was thrust into the real world above, it felt like I was Lucy in a way. Because I have never played the Fallout games. I have no idea what’s going on. I discovered everything right alongside Lucy. And it’s been a while, but there is something so exhilarating about watching something with no spoilers and being utterly intrigued in a day and age where Hollywood loves to do cookie-cutter shows and characters. Lucy stands out against the garbage that we’ve been fed because she might be optimistic but she’s not a dummy. She continuously adapts to her surroundings while still helping and being the young woman her parents raised her to be.
Along the way, Lucy meets a lot of interesting characters that test her fortitude. Some of these encounters make her question the kind of monsters that have survived on the surface. But some of these encounters have given her hope and opened her eyes to the fact that life has continued on without any help from the vaults. That’s especially true for Maximus, whom Lucy bonds with, even if he lied to her. In fact, her forgiving Maximus showed me what kind of woman she is. Because what Maximus did was wrong by lying. But I really like that he spoke his truth, she acknowledged it, and then she kept going. And she didn’t forgive him because she was stupid. She did it because her journey through season 1 of Fallout has made her understand that the world is infinitely more complex than she ever imagined. But if she is to survive she needs to find a balance within herself and for those around her. That’s why she’s an unforgettable lead and why I can’t wait to see what kind of journey she has next with The Ghoul and the kind of woman she is the next time she encounters her dad.
Maximus
To be frank, Maximus annoys me. But he annoys me in a way that makes me love him. He is probably the most realistic and honest betrayal of how ugly and difficult it is to be alive today. Or during his time. Because you have Lucy who is optimistic and bright, encountering this shattered world for the first time. But Maximus grew up in a world that had survived devastation before his home of Shady Sands was wiped off by Hank. He had to restart with The Brotherhood. And sometimes he made the right decision, for his future and because that knight was a jerk. But sometimes he made decisions that made me question if he was a good man, even if that knight was a jerk. He’s flawed and still hopeful that there might be something better out there. And that’s why I find myself sometimes annoyed with him and still really engaged when he comes on my screen. Because he reminds me of what it is to be alive now.
One of my other favorite parts about Maximus is that he has rage inside of him. A rage born out of losing your home and trying your hardest to get back at those who hurt you. Rage that just simmers within him because he wants to be a certain type of person but there are things that he needs to do but he also wants to be happy and content. I think he’s complex and he adds something that really balances out Lucy’s optimism of how this world is. And I found myself cheering on his character, even when he stumbled along because being human is messy. I even found myself cheering him on when he wanted to find a home with Lucy. Because like I said earlier, he’s got that rage in him, but I think through season 1 he is trying to find a balance between everything that he’s feeling and wants, to become the knight he ends up being at the end.
In addition, while I do think that the romance aspect with Lucy is sweet, I like that Maximus isn’t only defined by that. This show spends a lot of time developing who he is and doesn’t fall into the trappings that we usually see when it comes to POC characters within the media that we consume. He is not propping up Lucy or The Ghoul. He has his own woes, his own friends, and his own enemies. And whatever comes next for him as a knight within The Brotherhood, is going to be influenced by the death, destruction, and love that he has experienced along the way in season 1. And I’m really excited to see what kind of man he becomes as he grapples with his new position and the power that Moldaver released into the world. Because I think he could do great things. But with power comes the possibility of falling into a cycle of war that started Fallout in the first place.
Copper Howard/The Ghoul
Before I started watching Fallout, the first thing I knew about The Ghoul was that everyone found him hot. And at first glance, I didn’t get it. He’s a ghoul with a scorched flash who’s missing his nose in its entirety. But the more that I watched, the more that I agreed with people. The Ghoul is hot. The kind of hot that comes from the way that he carries himself, sure in everything that he does and the journey that he is on. But he’s also hot because he’s got that lone ranger thing going on. And if there’s anything that people will find attractive, it’s a scoundrel. And that’s what he is. But he’s also a man on a mission to find his family, a journey that he has been on for 200 years while his body gives away and the dark nature of this transformation is being held back by medicine.
Some of my favorite moments from Fallout season 1 were when we got flashbacks to who the ghoul was as Cooper Howard. The opening scene is utterly terrifying and sets him up as a family man who is just trying to make ends meet in a world that has turned against him. And as the story goes on, I think the show does a really good job of not painting him as the anti-hero or the hero. He doesn’t care about other people. He’s lived long enough and suffered through some unspeakable stuff that we have not even seen yet. But he keeps going, the promise of his family being at the finish line pulling him along. And even before that was revealed, the whole family aspect, it kind of felt like The Ghoul was continuing to live out of sheer spite. Because of that man, he was hurt, and he was going to get his revenge against those who hurt him no matter what.
The Ghoul’s relationships within Fallout are also my favorite. I loved how the show built his past as Cooper Howard. Within that, we got to see his love and skepticism when it came to his wife Barb. Because that woman was complex and on a whole other level when it came to what she was willing to do for her family. I honestly would have loved to see more of his relationship with his daughter as well, if I’m being honest. But those interactions in the past, including the writing, spoke of a gentler man. The man we know now as The Ghoul is hard and cold. And when he and Lucy meet up, their relationship changes him. And I’m not talking about in a romantic sense. That’s between you and AO3. When he meets her, he knows that she will get him closer to his ultimate goal of revenge. But he doesn’t expect her to last that long. She does and when he reveals the truth to her of where he’s going, I think that was an olive branch, one that he hasn’t put out there in the 200 years he’s been around.
Ultimately, The Ghoul is the most interesting part of Fallout. Or the most interesting character for me, at least. Because as much as I like Lucy and Maximus, The Ghoul was there from the start. And there had to be something between him meeting Henry and then being at that birthday party with his daughter. They mentioned alimony in the first episode. So I wonder what happened with his wife and who turned him into The Ghoul he is now. A part of me thinks that it was his wife, a small act of mercy when he wasn’t allowed in the fallout shelters with her and their daughter. And the fact that I am so curious about this part of his life and want to have a second and third season, speaks to the great work that the creators, writers, and cast did in bringing Fallout to life. Even the cruelest of characters is intriguing. And that is a feat to be proud of.
The Real Evil aka That Plot Twist
From the very first moment that we were in the vaults in Fallout, I knew there would be a devastating secret as to how we got to this point. But I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I didn’t expect capitalism to be the reason why the atomic bomb fell and wiped out humanity, at least in the U.S. I also didn’t expect Barb, The Ghoul’s wife to be central to all of this. Not even the dad Hank I expected. But when I sat with it, I don’t know why I was surprised. It’s literally the world that we live in now. They’re absolutely technologies that have been shelved, because they would lead to a decrease in profits for big companies. These are the same companies who could easily change the lives of billions in poverty and stop wars in their steps. But they don’t. Because it’s not profitable.
Realizing that we are in a reality that mirrors what is happening in Fallout hurts. Because there are people in our reality that are like Lucy; optimistic about the world before being slapped in the face with the harsh realities of it all. But they stand up and keep going, hope still in their heart despite all the pain. And there are people like Maximus; lives destroyed by a careless corporation or government that perpetuates division and poverty to keep control over the things that matter to them. There are even people like The Ghoul, so broken by what has happened to them and only surviving out of pure spite in a world that continues to crush them and destroy them at every turn. Even Moldavar, there are people like her who continue to try til their last breath because what they believe in is stronger than the fear of death. And all of these realizations that I experienced while watching Fallout, that is the true might of this show. It made me stop and think.
Even Hank’s cruelty, I can’t stop thinking about it. He destroyed an entire community that had thrived in spite of Vault Tech & Friends grand plan. Sure, he did it partially to punish his wife who had seen through his lies. But he still would have done it if it meant keeping management in charge. And it made me reflect on the world that we live in even more when it comes to communities that rise up and those who destroy them because they’re a threat to the status quo from those in charge. And I love philosophical conversations like this where I connect a show or movie to my real life and our world. But imagine the people that have never stepped into these concepts? They’re having their minds blown (hopefully) and are having the same conversations. Because that’s what good TV or film does. It makes you question the reality around you.
Fallout is also the kind of show that I feel like I need to watch again immediately. Because if I picked up on all of these things thanks to this show’s writing, acting, directing, etc., I can’t imagine the secrets and little tidbits that I missed from episode 1. I can’t even imagine the tidbits that I missed from the game perspective of it all. And I think this is a brilliant way for Fallout to bring people into this franchise. I saw it when The Last of Us was a success and I see it now with Fallout. Both shows trusted their audience to come along with them on this journey. They didn’t pander, try to transform it into something that it wasn’t, and made sure to (at least from what I’m seeing online) honor the OG fans who have kept this franchise going from the very start. And if Hollywood can look at shows like Fallout and The Last of Us as an example, I think we would all be better off for it. Because for the longest time I’ve been heralding the end of good TV that makes me want to watch all the episodes in one big bang. But Fallout managed to break me out of that. And I’m glad it did.
Now imagine what they could do with a second season and a third? The development is endless and I will be seated.
Fallout season 1 is available on Prime Video.