Fallout season two picks up with exactly what was promised in the engaging finale to season one. As is consistent with the previous season and the original video games, the premiere of season two maintains the harsh, dusty landscapes, apocalyptic strangers, and the retro-futurist aesthetic. As for spoilers, the episode follows the main story of Lucy teaming up with The Ghoul as they track down Lucy’s father, whose villainous intentions were revealed in the season one finale. The cold open of the episode introduces Justin Theroux’s mysterious, manipulative character as he tests out his mind-control technology. The rest of the episode has subplots between the Vaults, with Norm McClean trapped and Vault 32 dealing with menial issues. Additionally, the episode firmly establishes how The Ghoul flashbacks will continue throughout the season, providing a glimpse into the retro-futurist world before the fallout. The main storyline of the episode, though, follows Lucy and The Ghoul, as their methods, outlook on violence, and experience in the Wasteland clash. 

This first episode of season two was solid, pushing each of its main characters on their own unique and compelling trajectories. Despite the intrigue of Lucy’s interactions with The Ghoul or the reveal of what Lucy’s father has been up to, the episode felt like it was mostly dedicated to setup. This sacrificed some engagement, as the episode felt primarily concerned with laying the groundwork for the new dynamics and planting the seeds for later plotlines. That said, the setup itself was very compelling, especially in regards to the Cooper Howard flashbacks, with him having to spy on his wife. Within this episode, The Ghoul plays off of Lucy’s character very well, but their dynamic runs the risk of devolving into the extremely common archetype of the wide-eyed younger character and the emotionless, hardened killer. The highlight of this episode was the brief plotline with Norm. His being trapped and his eventual plan to get out were engaging throughout, and the progression of his desperation and success felt exciting, earned, and natural. 

Overall, in keeping with the previous season, the season two premiere of Fallout maintains a decent story through engaging characters, fun performances, a compelling world, and a unique style. Many elements throughout, however, feel slightly basic, such as the hit-or-miss comedy or what appear to be fairly predictable character dynamics. That said, the atmosphere created is always engaging, and the episode itself was enjoyable. Despite being predominantly used to set up future events, said events are certainly worth anticipating, and the journey seems promising. The first season, at large, was similarly engaging, fun, but ultimately nothing incredibly special. Despite starting out extremely similar, this season seems to be shuffling around the characters enough to maintain some intrigue. For better or worse, the season two premiere was extremely consistent with season one, being an enjoyable ride while not being anything groundbreaking yet. Still, this episode successfully built curiosity and intrigue for the remaining episodes. 

Rating: 7/10