Welcome back for episode 2 of Amazon’s Fallout, titled: The Golden Rule. The Brotherhood of Steel is the name of the game here as we see what Squire turned Knight Maximus has been up to since his ‘defeat’ of Moldaver. The episode doesn’t break new ground, but it builds confidently on the foundation of episode one. It’s meeting expectations and so far I’m a happy camper. Let’s get into it.
The episode opens with revealing the nuances of the fall of Shady Sands, capital of the New California Republic (NCR). Oof, and boy this show, does what it does to sell the tragedy of that event. We get to see Maximus, now having seen an example of positivity and decent human character in Lucy, realize that the chapter of the Brotherhood he belongs to has a long ways to go. As he ponders this, power seems to be shifting within the Brotherhood as power plays are being made with the discovery of an important facility and technology. No spoilers, but keep your peepers peeled, you keen eyed viewers. The easter eggs are gold in this one.
Meanwhile, tensions are also beginning to fray the delicate alliance between Lucy and The Ghoul. The test of their relationship is basically the namesake of this episode, as Lucy bandies the golden rule and is tested in turn. Will she regret it? Yeah, probably. Sometimes a little payback is justified. But this is the Wasteland, and it will slap you back.
Can they paint Hank MacLean the villain even more? Of course they can, and they do. We get to see how his devious mind works, and if executives at Vault-Tec are as sociopathic as Hank, well, it’s shouldn’t be surprising what we discover about the vaults. His dedication to his task, no matter how grim, is a testament to his character and drive to accomplish his goals.
One of my favorite moments of this episode, however, has to be watching Norm blossom into a mini overseer. He’s as crafty as his father and just as charismatic. I’ve been hoping that he doesn’t cross the edge like dear old dad. There were moments where I was wondering if he was going to snap and earn himself the cannibal perk.
The production team is still doing a great job with their effects here. The sets are still excellent, especially the vaults and Wasteland buildings. The radscorpion reveal was beautiful, fearsome, and deadly. Oh, and to that stunt person playing that very limbre ghoul? My hats off to you. That was an excellent display of zombie-ism.
My only gripes for this episode was that I was expecting Shady Sands to be bigger than what it was, especially with the influence the NCR has had in the lore. Who knows? Maybe the Enclave will rear its head at some point. I truly hope they do.
Amazon’s continuing to do a great job with this series so far. The long reaching shadow of Mr. House can be felt in these two episodes. Let’s see if the House always wins.
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English (US) · 