Fallout Season 1 (2024) Review

Before I start this review, I have to say that I have never played a Fallout game, though I know the basic premise so I won't be judging my opinion of the show based on any of the games. Though I have now finished watching the Fallout TV Show and here is my review for it. The premise of the show sees a post apocalypse world after a nuclear war which sees people living in vaults underground to avoid the dangers of the surface. 

Main Character

Ella Purnell plays Lucy McLean and she is fantastic in this show. Her character has a fantastic character development throughout and I just think she played up the role really well. She was a likeable character and somebody who was easy to root for in this show. There is a naivety to her as she interacts with other characters but it can come across as charming and gives her a way to develop. 

Supporting Characters

Aaron Moten plays Maximus and he is decent in his role. It personally took me longer to care about his character then the others and I just think Moten didn't convey much emotion or reason to care about him. But that does mostly change midway through the show and Moten starts to grow into the role and add some more personality. 

Walton Goggins plays Cooper Howard/The Ghoul and he is tremendous in both versions of his character. We see Goggins as Cooper in his prime, before the nuclear war and it is interesting to see, especially compared to his undead bounty hunter persona in the modern day story. He is very charismatic and the fact that he has all this story about him does make him the most interesting part of the show and Goggins smashes it. 

Moises Arias plays Norm McLean and he is very good in the show and gets given his own story arc which is actually important for the overall show. He is mostly separate from the other main characters but he does an effective job and I grew to like his character more after the first episode. 

This has a big cast, that have smaller roles here and they are all great. This world is full of lively people and it feels like a vibrant world because of their performances whether they be on the surface or in the vaults, it was really effective. 

Story

The story is great, as I said I have no idea about The Fallout story in the games but I became really invested in this shows plot and interested throughout. We see stories both on the wasteland and in the vaults and both are pretty captivating and do a good job of developing the characters. The flashbacks are good as well and are used effectively to give more context for the storytelling. 

Script

The show is well written, it has moments of comedy in there but also plenty of dramatic moments that made me care. There are many twists and intrigue here and I think the writing did an effective job of showing this. 

Style

Amazon clearly had high hopes for Fallout as you can see the massive budget used and the show looks fantastic. Both the wasteland and Vaults look so unique and fully encapsulate the tone of the show. Though, I think there were some issues, mainly the overuse of slow-mo in action scenes. I think slow-mo is a tool that can be used effectively but it has to be used carefully and this show definitely overuses it. I also know that country music is heavily involved with the games and it is well treated here but again it is just overused, especially during some of the action scenes that didn't require it. 

Overall

Overall, the first season of Fallout was fantastic. It made me super interested in this universe and hyped for a potential second season. Even if you haven't played any of the games, this is still a show that should be watched because I think you will really enjoy it. 

Rating - 9/10