Prime Video’s post-apocalyptic drama “Fallout” has returned for Season 2, and it’s even bigger and more explosive than the first. Inspired by the beloved video game, in Season 1, creators Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner followed naive vault dweller Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) as she left her luxurious underground home for the perilous outside world in search of her father, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan). On her quest, Lucy encountered Brotherhood of Steel soldier Maximus (Aaron Moten), who has lived a very different life from her. She also crossed paths with the infamous Ghoul (Walton Goggins), a cruel, gun-slinging bounty hunter determined to find out what happened to his family. In an expansive and terrifying second season that uncovers long-buried secrets, Lucy tries to come to grips with her identity, her morality and how she might survive in this horrifying wasteland.
The eight-episode second season (critics received six for review) opens exactly where Season 1 ended. After learning the truth about her dad’s involvement in the nuclear holocaust, Lucy sets off toward New Vegas with the Ghoul at her side, determined to bring her father to justice. Their journey is full of nightmarish encounters, frightening creatures, betrayals and a few dozen murders at the hands of the volatile Ceaser’s Legions. Lucy and the Ghoul’s reluctant road trip is an endless feast for game lovers and newcomers alike. Elsewhere, Maximus, despite being newly knighted by the Brotherhood of Steel, is increasingly disillusioned by the military cult’s mission.
Moreover, Season 2 dials back in time 200 hundred-plus years to the months leading up to the apocalyptic Great War of 2077. As Cooper Howard (also Walton Goggins) scrambles to piece together what’s to come, the audience also learns more about his wife, Barb (Frances Turner), her role as a high-ranking Vault-Tec executive and her relationship to the infamous founder of RobCo Industries (Justin Theroux).
Meanwhile, everyday life is changing for the vault dwellers who have no knowledge of the world above them. Lucy’s brother Norm (Moisés Arias) is still locked in Vault 31 and must find a way out. Vault 33, under the leadership of Betty (Leslie Uggams), is experiencing a water crisis, and Lucy and Norm’s cousin Chet (Dave Register), who has been placed in Vault 32, is growing increasingly suspicious of Stephanie (Annabel O’Hagan), the newly named Overseer.
Despite the absurdity of this setting, Robertson-Dworet and Wagner manage to embed a visceral truth and emotion about humanity, greed and sacrifice as themes throughout the narrative. Episode 2, “The Golden Rule,” opens in Shady Shade during Maximus’ boyhood. What unfolds in the following scenes is so touching and heartfelt that it will likely bring even the most stonefaced viewer to tears.
As Maximus returns to the Brotherhood of Steel and earns the trust of Elder Cleric Quintus (Michael Cristofer), his uncertainty about the organization and its mission grows. While the Brotherhood is an essential component of the world of “Fallout” for those just entering this adventure, the narrative moves at such a rapid pace that it’s challenging to keep everything in alignment. In fact, things don’t begin clicking into place until much later down the line, making Season 2 a more frustrating watch than its predecessor.
Though all the storylines aren’t as compelling as the others, the series’ structure and pacing keep it moving so the audience doesn’t completely lose interest. For viewers who are well-versed in the “Fallout” game universe, seeing Easter eggs around New Vegas and various factions coming to life on screen for the first time undoubtedly adds a level of interest and delight that may go over the heads of newcomers.
Even amid some sluggish sequences, “Fallout” is an absolute blast. Like Season 1 — which received 16 Emmy nominations, including for drama and Goggins for lead actor — the series is stuffed to the brim with mid-20th-century music and dialogue, which contrast beautifully with the absolute wasteland of 2296. Helmed again by production designer Howard Cummings, the show is so deeply textured that there is something new and gasp-worthy to behold in every frame.
While Season 2 isn’t as structurally tight as the first one was, the secrets and revelations unveiled here will keep viewers glued to their screens. As human beings, we are continually faced with challenging decisions, and in “Fallout,” the consequences of those choices, ours and others, have never been so poignant.
“Fallout” Season 2 premieres Dec. 16 on Prime Video with new episodes dropping weekly on Wednesdays.
