I recently had the pleasure of sitting down to check out the first episode of the Fallout TV show. I’ve been a die-hard Fallout fan for years, so when this opportunity came knocking, I jumped to see it before it hits screens worldwide on April 10. This television series has been a long time coming, and fans are (positively) apprehensive, holding out hope that the show will deliver and smash expectations.
Read on to check out my spoiler-free Fallout preview.
Setting the Scene
From the moment the first episode opens up, it’s unequivocally clear that you’re watching something set in the Fallout universe. It’s deeply authentic to the source material and is a wonder for long-time franchise fans. It doesn’t hold the hand of newcomers, which may be a bit of a shock to the system for anyone new to the universe. There’s a lot to take in, though – brands, various items, factions; even the show’s core concept might be alien to those not in the know.
It’s brilliant, though. Ella Purnell is a fantastic lead as Lucy, offering an innocent charm fused with an underlying capability that lets you know she’s not someone to be trifled with. She takes centre-stage during the opening episode of the Fallout TV show, with co-stars Aaron Moten (Maximus) and Walton Goggins (The Ghoul) getting less screen time – but enough to explain a little of their origin stories.
I came away from the Fallout TV show’s first episode with many questions. There’s so much to pick away at, it’s unreal. I can already tell the story will be bursting at the seams with offshoots and branches, and countless references were made to potential plot points and ‘other areas’ of the Fallout universe.
By the end of the opening chapter, we’re out and in the wasteland, ready to take on whatever the decrepit, irradiated world offers. There are something like six storylines set up and raring to go – so there’ll be a lot to unpack as the first season unravels, and fortunately, almost everything is impossible to predict right off the bat.
Here are some key takeaways that I can note without spoiling too much:
- It’s way more violent than you’re thinking – and it gets into that brutality very early on
- There’s a lot of comedic relief – mostly dark comedy, though
- Unnecessary sexual sequences (but that’s TV these days)
- There are a lot of flashback scenes coming in future episodes
- The opening sequence is super emotional
- The Brotherhood of Steel is powerful
- Forget a lot of what you learned in the early trailers
I can’t say much more without spoiling anything, but take it from me – this show is certainly worth watching. Even if you’re not a Fallout fan, it’s setting itself up to be a great series in its own right. I’m immensely excited to a) watch the first episode again, and b) binge the rest of the series when it releases exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on April 10.
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