With April 11 steadily approaching, the Fallout TV series promo tour is underway. We now have our first look at a scene from the upcoming Amazon Prime Video show based on Bethesda’s RPG game series, and if its tone matches this clip, we’re in for a hilarious ride.
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Developed by Westworld co-creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, Fallout is a post-apocalyptic drama based on Bethesda’s long-running game series, the most recent of which was released in 2018. While the show was announced in July 2020 and revealed in December 2023, we only just got an official trailer earlier this month that gave us a ton of details about the series. And today, we got our first clip via the show’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.
In the clip, we see Vault Dweller Lucy (portrayed by Yellowjackets’ and Arcane: League of Legends’ Ella Purnell) attempt to de-escalate a conflict with The Ghoul (Invincible’s Walton Goggins), who appears to be terrorizing the denizens of a downtrodden town. The Ghoul doesn’t stand down, Lucy shoots him with a dart and The Ghoul says that her attempt to tranquilize him was “a very small drop in a very, very large bucket of drugs” before pulling out his pistol. A member from an in-game faction you can fight or join called (the Brotherhood of Steel), decked out in silver armor not unlike Halo’s Spartan garb, floats down from atop some rubble to demand The Ghoul “stand down or be cut down.” But the best line here is delivered by Ma June (portrayed by A Love Song’s Dale Dickey) who, while lying on the dirt road, gives an exasperated sigh and flatly calls Lucy a “fucking vault dweller.”
Vault Dwellers are the main protagonists of the Fallout games. As the name suggests, these people sought refuge in underground chambers to avoid the above-ground nuclear apocalypse, establishing their own norms and traditions in the years spent there. They believed that they’d be keeping humanity alive, as they thought everyone on the surface would die thanks to the nuclear, um, fallout. So, when Vault Dwellers emerge 20 years later and find a ruinous civilization with people lingering around, they come across as bizarre old-timers who cling to traditions that are long lost. That’s what makes Ma June’s line so hilarious. Lucy doesn’t understand anything about the world she’s now walking in, but she still wants to save everyone anyway.
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Considering the irreverence of the games the series is based on, this clip feels like the adaptation is cleverly leaning into that humor while also refusing to engage in egregious fan service. I know that video game adaptations can make us all a little wary, so there was a healthy bit of skepticism with the Fallout TV series. However, between this first clip, the official trailer, and Nolan’s intent to remain faithful to the franchise’s lore, I think we’re in for a treat.
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