Fallout

I watched several shows and movies this year, more or less good, or not that good, some fewer than few actually very good. Somehow in all that, I missed or more like skipped, postponed Fallout, because it is hard not to be aware of the show, and aware of it, I just didn't take upon myself to watch it...

Well, better late than never, as they say, because THIS SHOW, not that much of a drama, nor overtaken by dark, depressing tone, still elements of drama, mixed with, and sometimes built on irony and sarcasm, plot heavy with more extensive character development than expected, action, and lower than lowest amount of exposition in traditional form, pointing to well written, sketched and thought out, IS AWESOME.

No too much diving into heavy drama, character drama, and all the stuff that, truth to be told, does not exist in video games overall, or more accurately said, there is no emphasis on that in video games mostly. Still, characters in Fallout show have more than solid development and arcs, often leaning or entering into drama, while kept a video game style, for this case true Fallout games style, that are still just a starting point in the first season, building for multi season series. Very similar is with the world building, that is immense, while paced to avoid being too overwhelming, considering how big the Fallout world is, and over what long time period it extends, while also is a story-telling tool, simplest example of that is the airship seen, arrived all the way from the East/North East US, with a mid-stop likely in Utah, ultimately all the way West..

In addition to massive lore and extensive source material, show on its own, same as the source material itself, doesn't make it obvious, doesn't spoon feed, and instead frames it into several layers, of which two of the most importance are surface easy going, and in depth complex below. The former mostly serves distraction by fun and enjoyment, the latter tells what actually is what..

It took a while for it to click, but by the end of episode three I was hooked. As is often the case, the first two episodes feel a bit disjointed and expository. However, the characters are interesting right from the start. The two main characters in particular, with their naivety and chutzpah, are well drawn and strongly cast. Walton Goggins is the perfect antagonist, who initially comes across as a stereotype that is increasingly deconstructed over time. I don't know the video game at all, but the complexity of the story is impressive without being overwhelming. I'm really looking forward to season 2.

Fallout is one of the best series of 2024 for me. And at the same time it's a film adaptation of the game universe. And there were always problems with the film adaptation of games. But everything is so successful here that you are even surprised. First of all, the well-chosen cast of actors, I liked almost all of them, except that Maximus and his plot branch seemed boring. Careful work with the original source, it can be seen from the first series. Fallout looks like a part of the series and not as it happens with movie adaptations where the game world is nothing more than scenery. In terms of plot, of course, the first season does not answer almost one question that the viewer will have, and the last episode creates a lot of new ones. But for the debut season it will work, I really hope that the second season will not disappoint and will continue to develop the series. Moreover, the series has such a strong primary source.

I love the Fallout franchise, played all of the solo games as they came out and this show captures them. I can watch this show and feel the excitement I had playing the levels for the first time. The series pays homage to it all so far, and very well done in a way my wife who has never played one of the games still understands while enjoying the show. She can see my excitement and knows something is coming by my body language, but they did such a wonderful job bringing the world to life. We are looking forward to seeing more of these come out; I am looking forward to see some more enemies and friends appear on screen.