-Contains spoilers for the first and second seasons of the Fallout TV series, along with Fallout: New Vegas-
As all good articles do, we'll start with Johannes Vermeer and his 17th century masterpiece Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (yes, you're reading one of those reviews). The Dutch 'golden age' piece, housed at Dresden's Gemäldegalerie, was altered heavily in a 2021 restoration. Though the project did restore Vermeer's original vision of the painting, it sparked fierce debate. Do modern creatives have the right to alter the art of their forebears?
Do modern creatives have the right to alter the art of their forebears?
We now turn to the boardroom at Amazon Prime, in which I imagine a conversation such as what follows may have taken place. "Hello, I'm Jeffrey Preston Bezos", says Jeffrey Preston Bezos, "do you remember that painting everyone got into a big fuss about?". The boardroom nods. Todd Howard leans forward in his chair. "Let's do that to Fallout", Bezos exclaims, pointing at a series of charts like Charlie in It's Always Sunny. Everyone cheers, and a budget of $153 million is instantly approved.
Fanfiction aside, the second series of Prime's Fallout is excellent in isolation. The characters are fun, the visuals impressive and the writing solid by Bethesda's standards. So flagrant in its altering of source material, however, that it makes the Vermeer restoration seem positively pedestrian by comparison. It shows you one million things that you love, and then bludgeons them to death one-by-one with a power-fist.
Take 'The Kings', a hilarious group of Elvis impersonating, gun-toting gangsters. Their charismatic dialogue and brilliant writing in Fallout: New Vegas is part of what makes the game so special. Nobody's asking for them to show up in the finale singing 'Burning Love' and shooting all the bad guys, but did Amazon really have to kill them all off in 30 seconds as a joke?
Such bulldozing of source material that gets under the skin of many fans. Yes, the TV show takes place 15 years after New Vegas' storyline; change is to be expected, but can somebody ask Todd Howard to calm down? Prime's Mojave Wasteland is unrecognisable. The viewer is shown flashes - jangling keys, you might say - of elements that make FNV so enjoyable, and hopes that you'll be so happy to see them on-screen that you don't notice how badly they've been mangled.
Another example - why not? Caesar's Legion, the game's main antagonists. A confederation of slavers inspired by ancient Rome, when you first encounter them in New Vegas, the Legion are both objectively evil and deeply interesting in tandem. They are cruel and ultranationalist - the game shows you the crucified bodies of their victims time and time again. Crucially though, dialogue with the eponymous Caesar will reveal that he has justification, twisted as it may be. The Roman Empire and its dictatorial system stood for 1000 years - why not use it as a baseline as humanity seeks to rebuild?
Well, I hope you enjoyed all of that meticulously-crafted worldbuilding, because Amazon Prime must not have. The Legion in Season 2 are a parody of themselves. Goodbye clever analogy for fascism's desire to replicate ancient society, hello boring Mad Max-esque cartoon villains. Caesar is dead (offscreen, naturally) and replaced by a leader so two-dimensional that his character boils down to: "look, it's the guy from Home Alone, but this time he's evil!"
Goodbye clever analogy for fascism's desire to replicate ancient society, hello boring Mad Max-esque cartoon villains
At this point in my experience watching season 2, my head is spinning. I feel like I've been stung by a Cazador (if you know, you know), and I want to have a lie down. I take deep breaths, play Fallout for another 3 hours instead of thinking about my dissertation, and try to focus on the positives.
I did actually find the series enjoyable, I promise. One particularly refreshing Justin Theroux-shaped diamond was the presentation of businessman and de-facto president of Las Vegas, Mr House. If nothing else, the writers really did their homework on the elusive billionaire; his TV adaptation is fantastic. Walton Goggins is similarly engaging as 'The Ghoul', showcasing that Amazon's team for Fallout can do magic when writing their own material, instead of adapting that of others.
Despite my ramblings, if the show brings a new generation of 'vault dwellers' into the fold, I am delighted
For the uninitiated neutral - or the 'tourist' as certain insufferable sections of the fanbase have branded them - both series of Fallout are a brilliant entry to the franchise. They showcase the artstyle, comedy and feel of the games rather excellently. Despite my ramblings, if the show brings a new generation of 'vault dwellers' into the fold, I am delighted.
Prime and Bethesda have created an engaging, and at times outstanding entry into the story of post-nuclear America. A stellar cast carries us deeper and deeper into the story of the apocalypse as their characters grapple with the weight of the wasteland before them. Fantastic viewing for a casual audience, but New Vegas' cult following are constantly reminded of the world that has been trampled upon to get us here.