Amazon’s Fallout-series has finally been released. MeinMMO author Christoph Waldboth presents a spoiler-free conclusion. One of the biggest strengths is an aspect that is often identified as a weakness in the games.
If you haven’t ventured into the post-apocalyptic world of the new Fallout series yet, rest assured: In this article, I will refrain from spoilers regarding the story.
This is anything but easy, because especially the story counts among the great strengths of the series. It was what kept me engaged for eight hours and made me care about the fate of the characters.
With this, the series has quite an advantage over the popular video game template. The main stories from the Bethesda games were never really excitingly told and mainly suffered from the significantly better-written side quests.
Such side quests do not exist in the series. This is a major plus point. I would like to explain what makes the series so good for me, and where I still see some problems.
You can find all the information about the series on MeinMMO.
The story is well-written and directed
The plot of the series won me over from episode one. Even though much is already known from the games, and motifs like the prologue in the Vault repeat, I was still interested to see how it would unfold.
Immensely important in this: The series shows me different perspectives and can tell various stories at once. This is mainly due to the three main characters. They all have different backgrounds. This ensures that contrasting viewpoints clash on moral questions.
Lucy (Ella Purnell), a Vault resident who has never seen the outside world, is upright and appears somewhat naive in light of the brutal and selfish surface. Maximus (Aaron Moten), who as a squire in the Brotherhood of Steel still has a long way to go until his own power armor, doubts his ideals.
And the ghoul (Walton Goggins) is a kind of cowboy or bounty hunter from the time before the bombing. He is jaded, ruthless, and acts only according to his own discretion.
Through these three characters, the series tells its story. There are a handful of side characters like Lucy’s brother, but the focus is clearly on the adventures of the three protagonists. Their storylines intertwine and come together for what I believe to be a satisfying conclusion.
Up to that point, I was honestly interested to see what happens to the characters and where they end up. I can’t say that about any main plot from one of the games. As a silent protagonist with little character, I generally didn’t care much about the fate of the wasteland.
I would rather be distracted by the numerous, better-written side quests. With an eight-hour series, this problem doesn’t arise. In this regard, the series is therefore miles ahead of the template.
The story of Amazon’s series also convinced me because it is perfectly staged. Quiet moments and action scenes alternate nicely. There are peaks of violence and a lot of dark humor – just what the video games are known for.
And yes, I had to swallow multiple times. The actual drama of the atomic bomb is, after all, anything but crazy fantasy.
Unfortunately, there are also weaknesses
So is the series perfect? No, not at all. While I like the three protagonists, I still see some weaknesses in the way they are written. Especially Lucy and Maximus come across as flat and clichéd most of the time.
Their character development happens far too quickly and seems especially implausible in Lucy’s case. Only the ghoul receives sufficient background storytelling. Through him, the series also takes a look into the past, and we see what happened before the nuclear disaster.
Another “problem” viewers only face if they have played the games: You don’t really get to know the outside world for the first time, as Lucy does. I already know what it looks like and how it works. This takes away part of its fascination. However, the series can’t do much about that.
Here you can find an overview of the reviews from others.
The overall impression is right
The fact that some of the characters are poorly written didn’t bother me too much considering their story. The atmosphere, set design, and production were simply too good. You can tell that Amazon and Bethesda have invested a lot of money in this. The series never feels cheap.
Despite some weaknesses, the showrunners have recognized what makes Fallout so great: It is the strange mix of dark humor, violence, satire, social criticism, and good stories.
I would recommend the series to fans of the games. It is also suitable for newcomers. All eight episodes are available on Amazon Prime. There will likely be no series adaptation of another well-known Bethesda brand.
