LogInSome constructive criticism for a change.
Image Credit: Amazon
From the very moment it was announced, the Fallout TV series seemed destined to divide the community's opinion, which is hardly surprising, considering Amazon's lackluster, to put it lightly, handling of The Rings of Power and Bethesda's history with the Fallout franchise in general.
Following the show's launch, this destiny came into full effect, with one side, let's call them the Bethesda Team, praising the adaptation and the other, the New Vegas Team, pointing out all the lore-breaking inaccuracies and retcons introduced by the show.
Now that the hype surrounding the show has largely subsided and both sides have grown tired of fighting each other on social media, more nuanced opinions have started to appear, voicing constructive criticism without undeserved praise or unfounded hate.
One such voice is Chris Avellone, the Writer and Designer of Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas and the author of the Fallout Bible, who recently shared a new Fallout Apocrypha blog post, offering a comprehensive review of the show, discussing its characters, and examining whether Amazon's adaptation embodies the core narratives of Fallout.
Describing the show as "both good and bad", Avellone's review breaks down the Fallout adaptation from the perspectives of entertainment and craftsmanship, two categories the author always uses when evaluating movies. According to Avellone, he actually found the show fun to watch, describing it as an "entertaining spectacle that works well as a trailer for the current state of the Fallout franchise", particularly for fans of Fallout 4 and 76.
At the same time, the designer noticed shortcomings in the series' craftsmanship, remarking that it largely lacked thoughtfulness, had trouble with pacing, and didn't respect its own dramatic payoffs. Unlike many others, Avellone based his opinion not on comparisons with Fallout 1 and 2, but rather on how the show handled its own internal lore.
"The big ones I'll address later on in Part 2 of the Review are the Vaults, the nature of Ghouls, the literal Power infrastructure in the wasteland, and some major themes like capitalism (which was never part of the original Fallout premise despite what you may think – capitalism equaling evil is a very modern shout topic, and it's not surprising that Hollywood leans on that for a big reveal)," commented Avellone on the adaptation's blunders.
Image Credit: Interplay
Furthermore, the developer voiced his opinion on Fallout's main characters (Cooper, Lucy, Maximus, Wilzig, and Dogmeat), pointing out their strengths and weaknesses from the writing standpoint. He also discussed the adaptation's handling of music and violence and examined whether the series embodies the core narratives of the original Fallouts or those of Bethesda's iterations.
In a couple of days, Avellone plans to release Part 2 of the review, focusing on the internal lore inconsistencies in Amazon's adaptation. We highly recommend reading the first part of the review here and following Chris Avellone on Twitter to stay updated on the release of the second part.
Previously, other "founding fathers" of the Fallout franchise also weighed in on Amazon's adaptation, with Tim Cain, the creator of the entire Fallout series, commending the show and Josh Sawyer, the director of New Vegas, expressing total disinterest, stating that it's unhealthy to be overly invested in something beyond one's control.
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