Season 1 of Fallout had me at the edge of my seat, so knowing another season was in the works, my expectations were extremely high. Adding seasons to a show can make or break it, and if it broke Fallout, I was going to be mad.
Season 2 picked up exactly where the first season had left off, with the main lead, Lucy (Ella Purnell), continuing her quest to find her father; this time with different intentions. Seeing her pair back up with her unexpected friend, The Ghoul (Walton Goggins), was exactly what the audience wanted to see. Each character had their own motivation for their shared journey that the writers perfectly balanced between characters and the group. In this season, we get a deeper look into The Ghoul and Lucy’s relationship as both characters grow exceptionally as the show progresses. The third lead, Maximus (Aaron Morton), goes on his own mission to find his place in the Brotherhood as well as personal morality regarding his faction’s decisions. With such a great setup, Season 2 not only met my expectations but exceeded them.
My personal favorite aspect of this season was the character growth, which was perfectly paced. The first season followed Lucy as she adapts to the Wasteland compared to the vault where she grew up. This new season takes this adapted Lucy and pushes her to finally choose between the morals she grew up with and the choices she has to make to survive this harsh post-apocalyptic world. Seeing her decision in the season finale is extremely satisfying, as you see everything that Lucy went through throughout the first season come to a head.
The Ghoul’s personal growth was also beyond entertaining to watch, although it fell short of Lucy’s in terms of how extreme his growth was. However, that made sense since his character as a whole is smaller and has fewer questions regarding his own beliefs. Season 1 of Fallout had The Ghoul go on a quest to find his family, which he does not accomplish. He continues this mission in Season 2, and the audience learns much more about his past and the origins of the apocalypse through flashbacks. Season 2 takes his mission to a new level and adds background, which makes the audience question his intentions behind finding his family. What started as a rather shallow character ended as a deeper, dynamic character by the end of Season 2, something I didn’t think was possible.
Maximus also finds himself in many situations where he must choose between the beliefs he was raised with and the ones he truly believes. His character arc somewhat shadows Lucy’s, although in a more subtle way. While Maximus, morally, is interesting to watch, that’s where the positives stop. Personally, I found his character boring and irritable in Season 1, and that stance didn’t change in Season 2. His character is very human, and while that’s refreshing, it’s frustrating to see him constantly make poor decisions. His character arc feels almost rushed as he doesn’t have much personal conviction, and it’s hard to find his development believable. His relationship with Lucy, which started in Season 1, feels incredibly rushed. I feel no chemistry between the two characters and don’t understand why they would like each other, as I feel they differ too much personality-wise. The two characters have only shared a few scenes, and it makes no sense that they could build a deep relationship in that time.
One major aspect of the video games was the Deathclaw monster. Near the end of the series, Maximus gets to face not only one, but a horde of Deathclaws in iconic Power Armor in what should have been the ultimate showdown. The scene was obviously written with gamers in mind, which I thoroughly appreciated; however, the Deathclaws themselves fell short. Deathclaws are notorious in the game for being difficult to fight, and seeing Maximus, a rather weak character, plow through multiple of them was hard to watch. Taking such an iconic creature and making it look weak was definitely a letdown. I realize this scene was Maximus’s “coming of age” scene, but one long showdown with one Deathclaw would be much better.
Overall, Fallout‘s Season 2 was an incredible experience. The character and world-building reached a level that I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a show before. Taking something based on a game can be really easy to mess up, but this show was incredible. I hope the writers choose to add another season, as this season wrapped up so many loose ends, yet somehow created a million more. No matter if you’ve played the games or not, Fallout is a show for everyone.
