Fallout Review: Highly Immersive, Entertaining
I’ll give you a little background information, so you know where I’m coming from, and it’s that I haven’t played the games. I’ve done a little light research, so I didn’t go in completely cold, but I’m definitely a newcomer watching this Fallout series. That being said, I think one of the most impressive qualities of, I guess I would say the first four episodes, but in particular, episode one, which I think is exceptional television across the board, is how quickly and effectively the show established so many key things, so many key locations, and organizations that we would be focusing on.
I was able to wrap my head around all of that almost instantly, and I do think that heavily speaks to solid script work, but also really strong core performances. In particular, of course, Walton Goggins, Ella Purnell, and Aaron Moton.
I really can’t imagine a better casting for the combo role of Gulen Cooper, Howard than Goggins. He does such an exceptional job of making a character feel cohesive while playing two extremely different stages of his life. So, I thought he was phenomenal. And then Ella Purnell. One of the things that I think she does better than anyone is balance the show’s comedy and intensity. She just nails these lines that shouldn’t work, but she makes them feel honest and believable and hugely charming. So, I thought she was quite good at balancing the comedy, but without ever undermining the severity of the situation that she finds herself in.
And also, that character I think goes on one of the bigger arcs of the bunch and every stage of that arc doesn’t work and doesn’t feel believable unless the arc is in as deft performance hands as hers. Really. Again, exceptional work from her.
A Complex Character
And then when it comes to Aaron Mountain playing Maximus, one of the things I found most interesting about that character is I found that he was the most challenging to wrap my head around and really understand. And I think it’s because Maximus, maybe more so than anyone, doesn’t have as strict of a compass and set of morals, or maybe lack thereof. So, he’s really figuring everything out right along with us, every single step of the way. And a character like that doesn’t work without an actor who is able to make the internal external so strongly, and he most certainly does. And while I’m focusing on the character that’s a member of the Brotherhood,
Music and Sound
I’ll just point out that the music in this show is a plus. I love the needle drops and those types of music cues, it ups the energy big time.
But as far as the original score goes, I think my absolute favorite was the theme for the Brotherhood. It’s got this deep booming and rousing quality, but also like a touch of a foreboding nature to it and every single time it kicked in like I kind of perked up, but it rattled me all at the same time. From the score now to the other crafts work on the show. I thought every single department here is just delivering so, so big firing on all cylinders and really the attention to detail across the board is really something else. Whether it’s big elements or something teeny tiny. The show always gives you the feeling that everything matters, and that’s absolutely vital to making a world like this feel like one. Fully immersive, but also authentic and believable. And they definitely nail it in that respect. So, I’ve already mentioned in this post that I thought the first four episodes were especially strong.
Pacing and Plot
I do think that the pacing dips a bit in the back half and the information gets maybe a little more convoluted and less clear than those first four episodes. But they had built such a strong foundation in the first half that I still think all the payouts work quite well and still feel very well earned. But there was a noticeable shift from Episode 5 on. But still, I’ve grown quite attached to these characters and this world and how this world changes them. So, I for one cannot wait to experience more and will likely wind-up rewatching season one quite a bit. I’m going to go ahead and give season one a Fallout 4. Dewey’s out of five on the Dewey Desa movie scale. I’m so happy they adapted this into a series, and I’m so happy with how rich and full it feels. Again, I’m going to rewatch it because there’s so many details.
There are so many details in the design work and also probably nuances in the performances that I missed, and I really want to dig into a second watch and probably more watches than that. I’m a big Fallout fan right here.
