The first season of Amazon’s Fallout show proved to be one of the most surprising successes in the ever-growing lineup of video game television projects. The show managed to appeal to both fans and new audiences, dodging the majority of the game-to-TV comparison criticisms with ease. Fallout Season 2 is looking like it’ll be able to do it again, and the reason for this becomes pretty clear when it’s compared to another recent hit adaptation.
Fallout and The Last of Us are two great post-apocalyptic video games adapted with fundamentally different philosophies. The Last of Us understandably follows the game’s story almost exactly, while Fallout takes the much riskier path of expanding the universe and canon of the games with entirely original narratives. Both approaches have merit, but even beyond the obvious reason, The Last of Us Season 2 felt incomplete; like it was successful because the story it’s based on could carry the adaptation. By contrast, the success of Fallout and the hype for Season 2 feels earned and organic.
Fallout and The Last of Us: Two Apocalypses, Two Types of Adaptation
What sets Fallout apart is this decision to create a wholly original story within the established universe. That choice was a risk that could’ve hurt the games should it have failed, but it was a choice that allowed the show to honor the tons of Fallout lore fans love (and already know) while offering something fresh for newcomers. It demonstrates a respect for video games as fully realized works of art that do not require television translation to validate their storytelling.
This also gives the series a level of narrative freedom that beat-for-beat retellings cannot achieve, or at least, maintain. Fallout can introduce completely new elements that react or play off existing canon in a way a retelling can’t. It’s risky, as each new element must be earned and has consequences, but when it lands, it gives fans of the story something really, genuinely new.
This unpredictability is essentially absent from adaptations like The Last of Us, where invested audiences already know how most events unfold.
This isn't to say faithful adaptations lack value. HBO’s The Last of Us introduced a wider audience to the game’s story, yet for those who have played the game, the show can feel less exciting and potentially reinforce the outdated idea that a video game’s narrative only gains legitimacy once adapted. Television cannot replicate the depth of emotional engagement that comes from inhabiting a game’s characters interactively, and Fallout capitalizes on that distinction by giving viewers the agency to care about new characters in ways unbound by prior expectations.
Television is Fallout's companion medium, not a replacement or advancement of its games. It gives long-time fans new characters and conflicts while offering newcomers a fully accessible entry point into the Wasteland and, in doing so, it proves that adaptations can enhance source material without attempting to replace or stand alone from its original medium.
Fallout Expands Its Source Material, While The Last of Us Is Stuck Retelling It
The show’s narrative flexibility also leans into world-building in a way that The Last of Us cannot. Environmental storytelling and off-color side stories have always been hallmarks of the franchise, and the show translates them through the perspectives of characters like Lucy and Maximus.
The best addition is the Ghoul and his complex past as Cooper Howard, a character who gives audiences new insights into the world of Fallout before the games without retreading familiar plots. The Last of Us has to, in some way, remain tied to Joel, Ellie, and Abbey’s journey.
A narrow focus is required to tell that story, but it makes it difficult to explore the world beyond the main characters. It's especially difficult when one of its best moments, The Last of Us Season 1's Bill and Frank episode, stands out precisely because it steps beyond the source material. Deviations like this can elevate a faithful adaptation, but this particular story can’t truly go much further past that.
Fallout, by comparison, uses the source material as a backbone of its storytelling, not as the body of it.
Fallout’s Original Characters Can Risk Being Truly Original
Part of the show's success is that Fallout's all-new characters feel authentic in-universe, but it’s equally important that they have their own histories. Lucy is more than Fallout’s typical Vault dweller, and her unique experience reflects the story’s themes without echoing any past player-driven journey. Maximus, a Brotherhood of Steel grunt now wielding the powerful cold fusion device, faces questions fans don’t have the answers to, which feel immediate and consequential.
Cooper Howard, the Ghoul, is the new character who most clearly ties the past and present together, both literally and figuratively. Flashbacks showcase both sides of this original character's life, but given the canon of the games, they have to abide by stricter lore rules. Here, the show remains bound by the games, but enough pre-war mystery still exists to let Cooper add to the Fallout lore.
Fallout’s Adaptation Advantage Going Forward
Faithful adaptations face a double bind in that they must introduce new ideas while maintaining a fixed narrative, often stifling both in the attempt. The Last of Us has succeeded in spite of this fact, but Fallout avoids this entirely by treating games as complete works rather than stepping stones to more “prestige” storytelling. Most importantly, Fallout demonstrates that video game narratives do not need television validation to be considered art.
It's amazing that The Last of Us brings such an impactful story to audiences who might’ve otherwise missed it, but it risks reinforcing the notion that games have only really made it once adapted. Fallout proves the opposite: that adaptations can be big and exciting while enriching and expanding the original medium.
Fallout's Gamescom 2025 trailer confirms that Season 2 will lean even further into the wildness of the wasteland. Lucy and the Ghoul are headed to New Vegas, and Maximus, Mr. House, and Caesar’s Legion are all in play. It's unknown how things will shake out, but that's one reason why Fallout has been so exciting.
- Release Date
- April 10, 2024
- Network
- Amazon Prime Video
- Showrunner
- Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan
- Directors
- Frederick E. O. Toye, Wayne Che Yip, Stephen Williams, Liz Friedlander, Jonathan Nolan, Daniel Gray Longino, Clare Kilner
- Writers
- Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan
Cast
-
Ella PurnellLucy MacLean -
Aaron MotenMaximus
- Franchise(s)
- Fallout
- Creator(s)
- Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Graham Wagner
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
- Seasons
- 2
- Streaming Service(s)
- Prime Video
