A lot can said about this show but the one thing that most professional reviewers (including myself) agree on is that the tone is fabulous. It's spot on Fallout, you've got the same sounds and the hacking interface on the computer screen is the same from the Bethesda Fallout games. You have enough of those pieces of tone but it never feels forced.

All the set pieces and the locations look just how they should. Norm exploring the rundown vault felt relatable because all of those sets were so on point.

The show could've had some really boring characters but instead it was decided to make them interesting. Lucy is a perfect Leslie Knope for the apocalypse character and she contrasts well with the more jaded characters of Maximus and the Ghoul. Those two are great examples of how to write a good antihero, treading the line of keeping them sympathetic enough for us while doing bad things. "Everyone wants to save the world - they just disagree on how" is such an iconic line - it perfectly summarizes the franchise, just short of "war never changes" if you ask me.

The actors are phenomenal in their roles and are casted appropriately. Chris Parnell as the Vault 4 Director was brilliant, and the actor who played none other than my favorite character of all time is Lucy's dad. Speaking of Lucy, Ella Purnell nails it as I knew she would. I highly recommend the show Yellowjackets where she also shines.

I think the season is generally well-constructed but does kinda lag a bit in the middle. Some of the plot points feel muddy (why did Dogmeat like the Ghoul so much after he stabbed her - glossed over)

But that's nitpicking in a series that's concise and delivers an entertaining narrative. The show really picks up in the last three episodes; I just think they could've done a little more with the middle three.

Overall, Fallout holds up to the source material without a doubt. It emulates the tone, knocks it out of the park, and adds even more to the Fallout franchise. Make no mistake, this is definitive to the games and it has my seal of approval.

9.5 / 10