Let me be honest for a moment here. I kind of dislike Amazon Prime Video‘s timing when it came to releasing the second season of the live-action Fallout series. I really loved the first season and I was eagerly awaiting the next one. The problem is they released the first episode of the second season in the middle of December. You know, right smack in the center of the holiday rush! As I was incredibly busy with stuff during this time, I wasn’t able to really see the show in a prompt manner. And, with a lot of things that happens when I put things off, I pretty much forgot about it. I only got reminded about the show when I booted up my Amazon Prime Video app recently. So, I did get to binge watch the entire season already.

Now, usually, I refrain from putting out spoiler reviews, especially if the thing was just released recently. However, for this review, I do have to mention some MINOR SPOILERS about Season 2 of Fallout. I have to talk about them because these were the things that bugged me. I won’t be talking about the main plot but rather a couple of the subplots. So, be aware that I’ll be giving out some MINOR SPOILERS.

The second season of Fallout takes place just a few days after the events of the first season. Lucy and The Ghoul are hunting down Lucy’s father, Hank. Hank has made his way to New Vegas and is working in a vault where he plans to implant chips in people to control them. While this is happening, Maximus has rejoined his Brotherhood of Steel chapter as he’s now a hero for retrieving the cold fusion device. However, his group is organizing the other Brotherhood of Steel chapters to rebel against the entire order and Maximus is torn on what to do.

While this is happening, Norm, Lucy’s brother, has found his was outside Vault 31 by releasing the cryogenically frozen Vault-Tec employees there and tricking them to help him. And while this is happening, the water crisis back in Vault 33 is getting worse and some people are not willing to start rationing. Also, while this is again also happening, Steph, the newly appointed Overseer of Vault 32, is on the verge of getting caught of planning something nefarious.

So, right off the bat, I have to say the biggest problem I have with this season are the number of storylines that are unfolding at the same time. It’s just a bad idea to try to cram five plots and subplots into a single eight episode season. While they’re all interesting in their own way, some of them simply didn’t have time to get fleshed out. Instead, they feel like they’re just setups for the already greenlit season 3. As a result, besides the main story involving Lucy and the search for her father, none of the other stories have a satisfying end point.

Probably the most disappointing subplot involves the water crisis in Vault 33. Why? Because nothing of note really comes out of it! There are hints that something is going to bubble over with the Inbreeding Club over rationing of supplies. But nothing comes to a head as Betty, the Overseer of the Vault, caves to Steph’s demands for access to Vault 32’s water supply. So, this subplot feels incredibly unnecessary and it even makes Betty, who acted pretty ruthless in the previous season, kind of wimpy by comparison.

I’m also pretty disappointed with Brotherhood of Steel civil war storyline as, around halfway through the season, it becomes a non-factor and it looks like it’ll be resolved in the next season. My problem is they kept on making it seem like a big deal but then they never give this a proper conclusion. In fact, this just seems like this was written in just for Maximus to do something before he travels to New Vegas and becomes a part of the main storyline regarding Lucy’s search for her father.

I have mixed feelings about setting season 2 in New Vegas. I understand Fallout: New Vegas is one of the best, if not the best, games in the Fallout franchise. And I was one of those people who was excited to see how the Amazon Prime Video live-action series would translate it outside the video game world. I will say I was amazed with the sets, such as Mr. House‘s penthouse in Lucky 38, as they looked like they pulled out the graphics from the game and made them real. However, by setting it in New Vegas, the writers were kind of put in a box. They could have created something more refreshing. Don’t get me wrong. I still loved the Mr. House flashbacks but, with the story more focused on Hank’s plan to chip everyone so he can control them, it feels a little superfluous.

I also do like the mix of practical effects with CGI here. I still love how the Power Armor looks formidable despite being real suits. I love the Deathclaw special effects here as well. I have a sense they didn’t go full CGI here or, at the very least, they put together a “realistic” and practical Deathclaw head somewhere. So, when the CGI Deathclaw did show up, it tricked my brain into thinking it was actually there.

Although I had issues with the multiple storylines, I didn’t mind the show being overly stuffed with stories because the characters and the acting throughout was really fantastic. I love how Ella Purnell‘s Lucy, while still generally keeping her Vault dweller naivety, has grown. Sure, her inexperience with life in the Wasteland and her optimism still gets her in trouble. But there are moments where you can see her realizing that she needs to be change. We also get a lot more insight to The Ghoul’s life, both before and after he was “ghoulified”, and Walter Goggins pulls off some great performances here. I was also rather impressed with Aaron Morten’s Maximus this time around. In fact, I think he’s the main character with the most growth and I do love how Aaron Morten’s performance makes it seem like Maximus is more sure of himself this time around.

The rest of the supporting cast also pulls their weight. I really enjoyed the turn with Moises Arias‘ Norm. Although he is a Vault dweller, he’s definitely not as naive as Lucy and I love how he pulled off tricking the people from Vault 31 for so long despite his vault suit clearly showing he’s from Vault 33. I also love how Dave Register‘s Chet slowly grew a backbone as season 2 progressed. Of course, Kyle MacLachlan‘s Hank juxtaposition of seemingly acting so good despite him being so bad is great. However, there were some characters which I don’t think were written with the same level of care. I already mentioned Leslie Uggam’s Betty as coming off weak despite displaying a lot of strength and cunning in the previous season. I also felt Michael Cristofer‘s Elder Cleric Quintus came off as a little too ambitious from how he came off in season 1. While I don’t agree with the directions these characters took, the acting was still engaging.

However, the thing that Amazon Prime Video gets right with the Fallout series this time around is the tone. I felt season 1 leaned a little too much on the humor during the later episodes. Season 2 seems to have found a happy balance. The mix between dark, funny and cool is blended perfectly together. They let the dramatic moments play out while still having the humor punch in once in a while to keep things from getting too heavy.

Overall, the second season of the live-action Fallout show is really good. I don’t think it’s better than the first one as this one comes off as a little convoluted with the myriad of storylines competing for screen time. I think this season would have benefited if they had 10 episodes instead of 8 to allow the stories more time to actually get told. Still, everything else is pretty good. From the characterization of the main players to the sets and special effects, this does feel more like a story set in the Fallout universe than the previous one. Hopefully, the third season, which has already been greenlit, will be a little longer if they decide to go through these many storylines again.

Have you seen the second season of Fallout? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!