The Fallout TV series has come back to its platform, and it's safe to say that fans were agreeably astonished by the caliber of its first season. By illustrating the atomic-age, post-apocalyptic United States through the eyes of three different characters, it effectively portrayed different facets of the player's experience.
We followed Lucy the vault dweller, attempting to do the right thing and learning that the ruined world made that incredibly hard; Brotherhood initiate Max, the militant faction rookie, who begins to question his cult's dogma and causes a lot of havoc in mechanized battle suit; and Walton Goggins's character, a breakout character who has long since lost any moral compass out in the radioactive wastes.
The show's first season finale revealed key information about who helped cause the nuclear war that sealed a population in subterranean shelters for centuries. It also posed plenty of questions open for the upcoming chapter – and, on this occasion, anticipations are significantly higher.
“We’ll take ‘not terrible’ – we should print that on merchandise,” quips the show's co-creator.
“Going into the first season, everyone’s like, ‘Just get it right’,” states the game director. “We’re over the moon with the response to the show, so this time people are arriving with more eagerness and altered expectations.”
The second season is located in New Vegas, the backdrop of the 2010’s game Fallout: New Vegas, which is often praised for having the sharpest dialogue and characters in the franchise, even if it was technically flawed at launch.
“It’s more of a sun-baked feel, a Mojave vibe, that’s so integral to that game,” notes the co-creator. “That parched, desolate Route 66 aesthetic of the game is so much enjoyable to incorporate into the show.”
In the series narrative, a considerable period has elapsed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the characters arrive there. Yet, the creators indicate that it does reference the fan's adventure.
The Fallout TV series is praised for its tangible quality – its creators ensured physical models and locations were constructed, mirroring the makeshift nature of the outposts in the games.
“Being a genre enthusiast, so many productions I watch, I’m conscious that they’re all standing in front of a green screen,” comments co-creator Geneva Robertson-Dworet. “The primary goal of an translation, particularly of a interactive medium, is to appear as if it’s authentic.”
Indeed, almost every element you see on-screen is physical, including the notoriously frightening radioactive creatures known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are created using puppets, and were by all accounts quite terrifying up close.
The Fallout series works because it is crafted by talented film-makers who are also passionate gamers, in collaboration with the visionaries behind the video games. This common understanding for the universe is evident in the final product.
The second season is launching on a episode-by-episode basis rather than as a all-at-once release, marking a change from the first season. This schedule will create a altered viewing experience, something the creators themselves are excited to engage with.
“It has more depth, it’s larger in scale, it’s funnier, it has a lot of revelations,” says Howard. “I’m looking forward to seeing what people think.”
Elena Hartwell is a multidisciplinary artist and educator passionate about fostering creative communities in London.