Last weekend, I finally sat down and watched Season 1 of the Fallout TV series, and honestly? I enjoyed it far more than I expected to. As someone who’s familiar with the Fallout universe but still cautious about video game adaptations, I went in with mixed expectations. By the end of the season, I’d comfortably give it an 8 out of 10.
It isn’t perfect — no Fallout story ever is — but it absolutely understands the world it’s adapting: the cruelty, the absurdity, the dark humour, and the strange humanity that survives even after civilisation collapses.
Lucy: The Heart of the Series
One of the biggest surprises for me was just how much I liked Lucy as the main character. She’s not written as the typical post-apocalyptic hardened survivor, and that’s exactly why she works so well.
Lucy’s personality is built around optimism, empathy, and an almost stubborn belief that people can still be good — even when the world repeatedly proves otherwise. What makes her compelling is that her morals aren’t naïve for the sake of plot convenience. They’re reasoned, shaped by her upbringing in the Vault and her genuine desire to understand the world rather than dominate it.
She doesn’t charge into violence unless she has to. She questions things. She listens. And when reality challenges her beliefs, she adapts without completely losing herself. In a universe as brutal as Fallout’s, that balance feels refreshing rather than unrealistic.
She isn’t just surviving the wasteland — she’s testing whether it’s still worth saving.
Maximus: Out of Place, but for a Reason
Maximus is another standout, though in a very different way. He’s an interesting character precisely because he doesn’t fully fit where he is. As a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, he feels… misaligned. Not weak, not incompetent — just uncertain.
And that uncertainty makes sense.
The show does a good job of hinting at why he’s there rather than forcing him to embody Brotherhood ideology perfectly. Being saved by them gave him purpose, structure, and survival — not necessarily belief. His arc feels less about loyalty to the Brotherhood and more about identity, power, and fear of being powerless again.
That internal conflict makes him human. He’s not a shining knight in power armour, and he’s not a villain either. He’s someone trying to survive within a system that doesn’t really care who he is, only what he can be used for.
Cooper Howard: Fallout at Its Best
Then there’s Cooper — easily one of the richest and most interesting characters in the series.
He feels like Fallout distilled into a single person. A man shaped by the old world, broken by it, and twisted into something sharp enough to survive the new one. His personality matches his story perfectly: cynical, darkly funny, ruthless when needed, but never empty.
What makes Cooper especially compelling is the sense that his past still matters. He isn’t just a wasteland caricature. His history lingers in every choice he makes, and the show smartly lets that history unfold rather than dumping it all at once.
He feels dangerous, tragic, and strangely charismatic — exactly the kind of character Fallout has always done best.
Story, Tone, and That Very Fallout Humour
The story itself is strong, especially in how it balances mystery with momentum. One of the show’s biggest strengths is its willingness to surprise you. Just when you think you understand where something is going, it veers off in an unexpected direction — sometimes dark, sometimes absurd, sometimes genuinely unsettling.
The dark sense of humour is spot-on. Fallout has always thrived on the contrast between cheerful retro aesthetics and horrific reality, and the series captures that beautifully. The jokes never undercut the stakes, but they also never let the world become grim to the point of exhaustion.
That said, not every episode is perfectly paced.
Pacing: A Few Stumbles in the Wasteland
There are moments — a handful of episodes especially — where it feels like not much is happening. Certain stretches drag more than they need to, and you can feel the story treading water rather than moving forward.
The good news is that this makes up a small portion of the season. I’d say around 90% of the episodes are genuinely engaging, and when things do happen, they’re usually very enjoyable. Big moments land well, character decisions feel earned, and the tension pays off.
If anything, the slower sections feel like setup for future seasons rather than filler for the sake of it.
A Series That Understands Fallout
What impressed me most is that the show doesn’t just borrow Fallout’s visuals — it understands its themes. Power corrupts. Corporations lie. Survival doesn’t equal morality. And sometimes the scariest thing in the wasteland isn’t a mutant or a raider, but an idea that refuses to die.
The world feels dangerous, strange, and unpredictable — exactly how Fallout should feel.
Fallout Season 1 isn’t flawless, but it’s confident, atmospheric, and clearly made by people who respect the source material without being trapped by it. Strong characters, surprising storytelling, and a perfect balance of darkness and humour make it one of the better video game adaptations in recent years.
An 8 out of 10 feels right — and more importantly, it leaves me genuinely excited to see where Season 2 goes.
The wasteland is alive, weird, and cruel as ever — and somehow, that makes it feel like home.
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