Fallout – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

The End

Episode 1 of Fallout begins with news of nuclear war on the horizon. We’re in a revised version of the US in 2077, and a few stragglers at a party stand around the TV and listen to what’s being reported. The president has gone missing and there could be nukes being dropped imminently. The birthday party continues despite this, but there are some lovely nods to the games, including some adverts on the TV.

The main character for now is Cooper Howard, who entertains the kids with his lassoing. When they step inside, Cooper and the others watch in horror as a nuke is detonated and the world as we know it, is brought to an end.

With the nuke going off, everyone scrambles for the nearby vault. It’s touch and go for a while, and although some manage to scramble down below, others try to hightail it out of there in their cars. As for Cooper, he goes off on horseback, but it seems futile given there are numerous nuclear explosions.

We then cut to 219 years later, where we’re introduced to Lucy Maclean. She can do it all, with decent skills in everything, except gunplay which she’s not too great at. She lives in Vault 33, far below the surface, and she speaks to the council and asks them for permission to participate in the Triennial Trade with Vault 32. All three members say yes.

With Lucy preparing to meet her future husband, she stands with the others by the entrance to Vault 32. Her cousin, Chet, is none too happy about her going but she reminds him that sexual relations between family members isn’t something they should continue.

When the Vault doors open, we’re introduced to Lee Moldaver, the apparent Overseer of Vault 32. Lucy’s groom is a guy called Monty, who’s not too shabby but Lucy, by comparison, is socially awkward and immediately asks about his sperm count at dinner.

They’re interrupted by the authorities though who believe that the surface will now be sustainable for Monty and Lucy’s children, who will be able to start repopulating the planet on the surface. They do warn that they don’t know what’s up there and having played the game, I’m guessing a ton of glitches?

The wedding ends and it’s down to business for Lucy and Monty. However, unbeknownst to them – and a lot of the guys and gals in Vault 33 – the conditions in the adjacent Vault are… apocalyptic, for want of a better word. Their wheat is ravaged, their stockpiles depleted and the whole place is a ransacked mess.

Lucy’s brother, Norman, actually goes in exploring, where he finds the previous Overseer has been murdered. Lucy suspects something is afoul when she hears screaming outside, and it’s here she realizes the horrible mistake that their Vault has made. These guys are raiders, and have infiltrated their home. Monty and Lucy fight, but when the alarm begins screaming, Lucy takes the opportunity to knock Monty out… but not before suffering a nasty gash to her side.

Still in her wedding dress, she heads out, clutching her side (well, for a few seconds anyway) and manages to hold her own and kill the raiders nearby. Unfortunately, the raiders overcome the Vault folk and then it comes down to a stand-off. Moldaver decides to offer Hank and the others a choice. She’ll either spare Lucy or a bunch of people from within the Vault. It’s not even a choice; Hank locks his daughter in a closet and sacrifices himself. He’s tranquilized and taken out… to the real world.

Meanwhile, the survivors of the Vault gather for an emergency assembly. Lucy wants to set up a search party to try and find her dad. The others refuse, so it falls to Norman to help open the door and let his sister out. When Lucy emerges into this new world, she looks out and is shocked by what she sees. The world is full of corpses, bones litter the floor and the place is a complete wasteland. However, they’re right by the coastline too and the remnants of a pier so it’s at least a beautiful wasteland.

We then cut to another new character, Maximus. He’s above the surface and happens to be within the Brotherhood of Steel. He’s part of the ranks for a faction that want to try and bring a semblance of order and prosperity back to the world. The teacher, Felix, is none too happy with Max’s lack of knowledge in the subject and promptly smacks him in the mouth when he speaks up.

Maximus is kept on the fringes of this world, and to make matters worse, his one friend, Dane, is actually promoted to head out into the wilds with his comrades. This is a bitter pill for Max to swallow, given his fellow Steel recruits bully him and essentially treat him like dirt.

Max is not happy but in the morning, Dane comes off the worse for wear. Someone has dropped razor blades inside her boot, sabotaging her chances of making it out. Unfortunately, the authorities believe that Maximus is the one responsible for this. They take him away and question him over the injury.

Maximus admits that he did want this to happen but he didn’t actually do this. Maximus admits he doesn’t want to be weak and wants to be one of them. When he’s ready to give up his life to the Brotherhood and willing to do everything for them, he gets an unexpected promotion. He gets Dane’s position as a squire.

Maximus heads off to see Dane and she admits that she actually told them that Max “wouldn’t hurt a fly”. As they exchange a look to one another, a wave of guilt clearly passes over Maximus’ face. Anyway, after this, Maximus is initiated into the Brotherhood properly. They’re all told of their next mission, which includes a Wanted target. With knight armour for them to wear, Maximus learns that a Denizen of the Enclave has escaped. This guy has an object of profound potential to harm their nation so they need to stop him no matter what.

News of this reaches others in the wilderness too, including a bunch of bandits. Slim and Honcho approach a reclusive Ghoul, who happens to be none other than Cooper. Remember him? The guy from the start of the show? Well, he’s a prolific sharpshooter and he’s simply called “The Ghoul” here. He kills the raiders without much aplomb and takes off.

The Episode Review

The first episode of Fallout gets off to a decent start, with a loot at several different characters. This actually works surprisingly well to split the focus between different people and understand more of the world and how it all slots together. Lucy is naturally going to be the main character but her new look at the world, having been in the vaults for so long, is a clever way of getting newcomers accustomed to this world as well.

Similarly, Fallout has a lot to like for fans of the franchise, with plenty of little easter eggs and references to the games. There’s an awful lot here that harks back and not only that, but the music and production design are absolutely top notch. You can tell Amazon have gone all out with this one to make it a flagship show and so far, it’s not disappointing.

Whether the rest of the show can keep up this momentum however, remains to be seen.