TL;DR – It is an episode that shows the strength of the world when it leans into its foundation, but also highlights some of the issues that have been bubbling away this season.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this series.

Fallout: The Handoff Review Introduction –

Well, we’re getting to the pointy end of the season where people start making a mission to breach impenetrable fortifications, and evil corporations make evil plans to be evil. However, while it is gearing up for a final, it doesn’t mean there aren’t a few more curveballs to throw out there.  

So, to set the scene, before the bombs dropped, China had invaded Alaska, and America, in its wisdom, decided the best way to get troops up there was to invade and occupy Canada, and oh, also, all those Canadian resources didn’t hurt. To catch up to the present, well, their present, Lucy (Ella Purnell) is trying to work out how best to bring Hank (Kyle MacLachlan) to justice, the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) is teaming up with Maximus (Aaron Moten) to save Lucy, and things are not looking good in nearly all the Vaults. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

The Ideological Conundrum

At the heart of the ideological tension in this week’s episode is the many outworkings and critiques of liberal political thought. Peace is better than war, but is it really peace if you must hand over your free will to achieve it? This is something that Pluribus explores on a much deeper level, because it is their main focus, but it does still create one of the many tensions in this week’s episode. This tension is mainly focused on Lucy, who has this ingrained sense of justice, who has to work out when peace becomes a sin. Which is then juxtaposed with The Ghoul who is discovering that trust-building exercises with allies is actually more productive than isolationism. I would say that there is not a lot of depth to these ideological conundrums, but it was still nice to see them dancing in that space, even if it did lead to the issue of what to do about a head running things.      

The Big 51

While it is often been mentioned in passing in the Fallout games, I think this is the first time that we have gotten into the dirt with what it meant to ‘occupy’ Canada. Given the production times, I wonder if this addition didn’t have some connection to stuff happening out in the real world. Whatever the case, the one thing it did do was create complexity to what had been a very one-note character up to this point. Stephanie Harper (Annabel O’Hagan) was just one of the weird characters from Vault 31; now she has depth and interest, and I do care a little bit about what is in that box.

The Stumble This Season

If there has been one issue this season, it is that it has struggled with its Vault 31, 32 & 33 storylines. I am not saying that interesting stuff is not going on; however, most of it feels like wasted filler at the moment. Now, there is a chance that they will still pull this together before the end of the season. Indeed, today’s episode shows that there are still interesting threads to pull here. However, at this point, it does feel like Moisés Arias and others are being wasted, and that they may have added too many stories for them to give each the time they need.

Enclave

It would be easy to forget, but one of the opening manoeuvres of the TV show back in Season One was to give us a hint about who the real villains are, well, at least until the bombs dropped. After being dropped to the background, it has then been interesting to see them return to the light. There has clearly been a player working in the background; it could have been House (Justin Theroux), but it looks like he has had a bad couple of years in the Wasteland. Whatever the case might be, I am wondering how people who are coming to this series without the history of the games are passing all the lore that is going around, because it is starting to get a bit dense even for me.  

Recommendation 

In the end, do we recommend Fallout: The Handoff? While some issues are becoming more noticeable as the season progresses, I’m still enjoying the ride so far, and I would recommend this episode. But I would be lying if I didn’t have some concerns for the season finale next week. Have you watched Fallout: The Handoff? Let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Fallout
Directed by – Stephen Williams
Written by – Kieran Fitzgerald
Created by – Geneva Robertson-Dworet & Graham Wagner
Based on – Fallout designed by Tim Cain, Mark O’Green, Scott Campbell, Christopher Taylor  & Interplay Productions & the Fallout video game series by Bethesda
Production/Distribution Companies – Amazon MGM Studios, Kilter Films, Bethesda & Amazon Prime
Starring – Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Moisés Arias, Frances Turner, Kyle MacLachlan & Walton Goggins
With – Johnny Pemberton, Annabel O’Hagan, Dave Register, Leslie Uggams, Martha Kelly, Clancy Brown, Natasha Henstridge, Jon Daly, Jon Gries, Adam Faison, Rachel Marsh, Rajat Suresh, Jeremy Levick, & Justin Theroux
And – Leer Leary, David Perez Babich, & Lana 5