Fallout season 2 review: A meandering return to the wasteland

Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout TV show is returning to our screens this week, and we’ve seen three episodes early to bring you this review. The season’s eight episodes will drop weekly, so we’ll keep this write-up as spoiler-free as we can.

First things first, one thing in particular strikes me as odd. The first season of Fallout ended with an overt tease that Walton Goggins’ The Ghoul and Ella Purnell’s Lucy are heading to New Vegas — indeed, you could see the Vegas sign in the distance — but we’re three episodes into the new season and feeling very underwhelmed about the lack of New Vegas.

Instead of rushing straight to a confrontation with Lucy’s father (Kyle MacLachlan), Lucy and The Ghoul are meandering across the wasteland being pulled into all sorts of scrapes.

You could argue this is pretty faithful to the experience of playing a Fallout game (and getting distracted on the way to your main objective), but still, it feels like a bit of a rug-pull that’s been designed to elongate the season and stretch out the overarching story.

Another qualm is the flashbacks. If you thought the olden times adventures of Walton Goggins’ Cooper Howard had reached a natural conclusion, the writers clearly disagree with you.

In a fashion that reminded me of the long-dead Arrow series from The CW, Cooper’s flashbacks return with a new focus. They will now relate directly to the events of season 2. Isn't it funny how his past comes back to haunt him in perfect chronological order?

To be honest, though, all of those issues are structure-based. I wasn’t expecting to see another full suite of flashbacks, and I wasn’t expecting to wait so long for a proper visit to New Vegas. Once I adjusted my expectations to account for these distractions from the A-plot, I actually had a very fun time with the three episodes I’ve seen thus far.

The first episode reintroduces Lucy and The Ghoul with a really fun, and quite funny, set-piece involving a sniper rifle and a hangman’s noose. We’re thrown straight back into the chaos of the wasteland, with all of its weirdos and random violence.

The frenemy chemistry between Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins is still absolutely off the charts, and it doesn’t take long for their reluctant partnership to go well and truly off the rails. Even though the characters are well established at this point, season 2 still finds ways to plumb a little deeper into what makes them tick, and they can definitely still surprise you.

Episode 2 and 3 widen the net, allowing us to see what Aaron Moten’s Maximus has been up to, and I’m pleased to report that it’s shaping up to be a really interesting season for him. The Brotherhood of Steel arc wasn’t always the strongest side of season 1, but the ante is being upped this year and Moten is doing fine work delivering his meaty new material.

Meanwhile, back at Lucy’s vault, things are hotting up for the characters left behind. There’s some good fun to be had there and yet another subplot, involving MacLachlan’s Hank, is also showing a lot of potential.

With all of these subplots warring for screen-time, plus the fact that our main characters are waylaid multiple times on the way to New Vegas, one word is cemented in my mind that defines Fallout season 2’s first three episodes: meandering.

That’s not to say that there isn’t some entertaining stuff along the way. Kumail Nanjiani makes a particularly memorable impact when he arrives in the show, and Macaulay Culkin also has a fun little guest spot.

There are also some very impressive visuals, thrilling action scenes, tough choices, and great music to enjoy across this journey, as well as some fun Easter eggs for game fans. But make no mistake — this is a long and winding road that will take a while to reach its destination.

When the world of Fallout has already been ruined for centuries, perhaps there’s no great rush to push the overarching story forward. But as a viewer watching at home, you do want a little bit more momentum and a lot less dilly-dallying.

That being said, with all of the pieces that we’ve seen on the board, we can sense that Fallout season 2 is building to some big confrontations and epic moments. But as for what we’ve seen so far, it doesn’t exactly start with a bang.

Endnote: Since writing this review, I have been sent three more episodes (meaning, as I write this last paragraph, I've now seen six of the eight in the season). I stand by my assessment above, but I can now reassure you that all of the meandering does lead to some interesting places... eventually. Without having seen the final two, though, I can't speak to how well all of the spinning plates will satisfy you at the end of the season.

Fallout season 2 will arrive on 17th December on Prime Video. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and pay £8.99 a month after that.

Read more on Fallout:

• Fallout season 2 has a "delicious idea" to avoid confirming a canon ending for New Vegas
• Walton Goggins has arrived in Fallout 76: "We don't really explain why he's there"
• Who is Justin Theroux playing in Fallout season 2? Robert House character explained

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