Fallout: Season 2

Streaming on: Prime Video
Episodes viewed: 6 of 8

From a crazed organ-harvesting robot to a chicken-fucking snake-oil salesman, it’s fair to say the first season of Fallout captured the offbeat, deeply messed-up sense of humour of Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic game series. On top of nailing the franchise’s retro-futuristic optimism, it introduced an entirely new cast, all drawn together in pursuit of a MacGuffin that was, quite literally, a man’s severed head. As the new season kicks off, it seems determined to follow the wasteland’s golden rule, one the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) explained to Lucy (Ella Purnell) in Season 1: “Thou shalt get sidetracked by bullshit every goddamn time.”

Rather than making a straight beeline for New Vegas, Season 2 slows the pace and opens up the wasteland. From flea soup vendors — exactly what they sound like — to a nightmare-inducing Radscorpion attack — also exactly what it sounds like — the series lets the wasteland feel properly lived in. We meet factions that fans will recognise, including the Legion, a Roman-inspired cult who stumble at the first hurdle by being unable to correctly pronounce the name ‘Caesar’. At first, this detour-heavy structure may feel a little side-questy. But that’s very on-brand. And it works. With more time spent with the world’s eclectic characters and an insight into the complicated (and often bizarre) conflicts at play, we are given a vivid picture of just how flat-out broken the wasteland really is.

The killer pairing remains Goggins’ Ghoul and Purnell’s wide-eyed vault-dweller Lucy. The Ghoul roams the world with venom for just about everyone, and his indifference is hugely entertaining. There is still joy in watching him stylishly headshot a group of raiders to the tune of a ’50s hit. Yet as the pair continue their journey, we begin to see a glimmer of the man he once was, with Goggins effortlessly walking the line between the two.

Alongside the Ghoul we see Lucy harden to the realities of the wasteland without losing her gee-whizz glow. She will still be polite while pointing a gun in your face, though this time she might actually pull the trigger. The pair will not be cheers-ing Nuka-Colas any time soon, but this opposites-attract odd-couple continues to be one of the show’s highlights.

Brotherhood member Maximus (Aaron Moten) may have less screen time, but he shines in a standout episode which not only explores the military cult’s complicated politics, but also features a jet-powered hammer, which is, needless to say, a metal-crunching amount of fun. As confident as a gunslinger landing a clean shot on a vault-dwelling Radroach, Fallout Season 2 proves Season 1 was no fluke. This time around, as it invites us to get to know the wonderful weirdos of the wasteland, it’s a whole lot easier to embrace them.