Fallout Season 2 is finally here, and it manages to live up to the expectations set by Season 1, delivering a strong new look at the game’s universe. Fallout is one of the best game-to-series adaptations in recent memory, building a unique world full of fantastic characters while staying true to the stories the games brought to life. Season 2 keeps up this trend, delivering some fantastic moments and setting the stage for major reveals, all while dropping plenty of game references to keep fans of the series happy as they learn about the many mysteries behind the darkly comedic world of Fallout.
For anyone who has seen Season 1 (and I would question why you are reading a review of the second season otherwise), Fallout Season 2 picks up right where the last season ended. The Wasteland is forever changed by the events of that season, with Lucy (Ella Purnell) and the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) tracking down her father, Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan), in New Vegas. The two now work much more closely together, though they still butt heads over their views on violence.
The cold fusion core that much of Season 1 focused on is now in the hands of the Brotherhood of Steel, with Maximus (Aaron Moten) working alongside Elder Cleric Quintus (Michael Cristofer), going into battle as a loyal soldier and helping expand the Brotherhood’s influence over the Wasteland. As this new battle unfolds, tensions around Vaults 33 and 32 continue to rise, with new struggles emerging as the dwellers adjust to their new way of life. And, of course, Lucy’s brother Norm (Moisés Arias) is still trying to find a way out of Vault 31.
That is not even touching on the Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins) flashbacks that play a major role in the series’ lore, with plenty of new revelations dropped on the audience, even in just the first episode. Suffice it to say, there is a lot going on as we jump into Season 2, and it can be overwhelming at times.
Thankfully, Fallout Season 2 keeps the solid pacing we saw in Season 1, giving enough time to each story without making the series feel jumbled or disjointed. Fallout Season 2 never feels like it is dragging on; instead, it pushes the story steadily forward as each faction works toward its own goals, while we as the audience sit wondering how it will all unfold.
For fans of the games and the dense lore of the Fallout universe, Season 2 dives into the many concepts we all love from the games, making them feel naturally integrated into this new TV world. It is fantastic seeing Caesar’s Legion brought to life in all its ridiculous glory, with Macaulay Culkin delivering lines that feel ripped straight from the game.
Beyond that, it is fantastic to see the show dive deeper into the tensions between the many factions of the Wasteland and how they fit into the universe as a whole. If you have played the games, these are all things you may have encountered on your journeys through various missions, but seeing them brought to life in a way that feels faithful to the games— and, more importantly, to the story the showrunners are trying to tell—works incredibly well.
Season 2 is focused on New Vegas, and its enigmatic businessman at the center of the city, Mr. House (Justin Theroux), and the series does a fantastic job filling in pieces of the mystery behind Vault-Tec and the end of the world from the past and tying it to current discoveries our group of characters are finding out on their many misadventures.
“Fallout Season 2 is finally here, and it manages to live up to the expectations set by Season 1, delivering a strong new look at the game’s universe.”
For anyone who played the games, Fallout New Vegas was one of the more story-dense releases, so seeing how the team at Prime Video adapted the many concepts and lore in this new season was a delight. Justin Theroux as Mr. House was fantastic, with his performance balancing between calculating and psychotic was a nice touch that gives the character a greater sense of menace than I would have expected.
It is also great to see more of Kyle MacLachlan’s Hank and how he fits into the greater story. In Season 1, he was very much a mystery, with only small tidbits and revelations being revealed over the course of the eight episodes, and thankfully, the showrunners do not leave the audience waiting too long to dig into his motivations and what sort of character he really is.
Even in the first few episodes, we see what he jumps into now that he has made his way to New Vegas, including experiments he resumes, as all Vault-Tec employees seem compelled to do for some indescribable reason. While last season Kyle MacLachlan worked to give him a fatherly aura, this season he is free to be a maniac in the best possible way, and it is delightful.
If I had any complaint, it would be that there is so much going on, with such a range of factions now being followed, that the story can get lost in the weeds at times. One cliffhanger moment can take a while to return to, sometimes taking full episodes before the payoff arrives, but that is simply the nature of a series like Fallout.
There is a lot to cover, and even over the course of hour-long episodes, you can only take on so much before an episode risks feeling too scattershot. I understand why the writers approached it this way. There is a great deal of story, lore and character work to explore, and it takes time to do it properly. Thankfully, the payoffs from these moments usually make the wait worth it in the end.
The effects and world-building still feel fantastic, with the team at Prime Video capturing both the retro 1950s-inspired past and the modern Wasteland with a level of care rarely seen in an adaptation like this. Memorable locations, moments and weapons are all present, and each looks as though the creators took the time to learn the game, understand what makes it work and bring it to life in a believable, detailed way.
The show’s tone balances a fine line between comedy and drama, with satire and gore working together to make the world feel fully realized. It delivers a story that fans of Fallout, as well as viewers simply looking for a strong series, can enjoy without feeling talked down to or pandered to. It even brings the deathclaw to life in a way that feels true to the universe the creators built, something I honestly did not think would happen.
Fallout Season 2 is a slam dunk for Prime Video and remains one of the best adaptations of a game to date. The world feels more lived in, more realized and more lore-rich than ever, with the cast diving into their characters in ways that make them memorable and iconic. Fallout Season 2 does verge on feeling overstuffed with characters at times, but it avoids the worst of this while ensuring each character is explored enough that the major players never feel neglected. It stands as one of the funniest, most twisted and oddly unique series I have watched, and it is a blast from beginning to end. I can not wait to see where this series goes next.
The first episode of Fallout Season 2 airs today on Prime Video.
