TAGGED AS: Sci-Fi, streaming, TV, Video Games
The post-apocalyptic series Fallout returns for a second season this week, and the first reviews of the show’s new episodes are now online. Based on the Fallout video game franchise, the series now takes viewers to New Vegas, a location familiar to players of the source material. Fans won’t be disappointed with the show’s continuation, which some say is even better than season 1, especially thanks to the addition of Justin Theroux to the cast.
Here’s what critics are saying about Fallout: Season 2:
Better than Season 1.
— Zach Pope, Zach Pope Reviews
Fallout Season 2 is so ferociously entertaining it proves the first one wasn’t just beginner’s luck.
— Joonatan Itkonen, Region Free
It maintains a steady course in its second season, building thrillingly on its wild, weird, and bada– first outing.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Season 2 [has] all the panache, humor, gore, and verve it had in Season 1. Not a trace of the sophomore slump to be found in the Wasteland.
— Kelly Lawler, USA Today
Season 2 arrives with more on its mind, resulting in a darker journey… Well worth the ante up.
— William Goodman, TheWrap
Powerful, wickedly funny, and totally immersive, the series continues to get better and better.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
It has outdone an already strong first season by boldly venturing out to explore some bigger ideas.
— Chase Hutchinson, Seattle Times
Things don’t begin clicking into place until much later down the line, making Season 2 a more frustrating watch than its predecessor.
— Aramide Tinubu, Variety
Fallout Season 2 doesn’t reach the same heights as the first all the way through, but it definitely is entertaining and keeps me interested in what’s next for Season 3.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
As an adaptation, Fallout remains one of the best ones ever made. It captures the spirit of the original game perfectly.
— Joonatan Itkonen, Region Free
This show is absolutely what hardcore fans of the game will expect, and new fans will love.
— John Kirk, Original Cin
Lucy and the Ghoul’s reluctant road trip is an endless feast for game lovers and newcomers alike.
— Aramide Tinubu, Variety
There is much that will be enjoyable for devoted fans of the games, just as it has plenty of action slapstick and clever jokes that will be fun even for those who have no prior knowledge of super mutants or mech suits.
— Chase Hutchinson, Seattle Times
Fallout is more streamlined than the titles upon which it’s based.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
The series is in conversation with the Bethesda video game franchise, and it’s better for it. The series isn’t constrained by its source material; it’s thriving.
— Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community
The New Vegas setting, one being a fan favorite of the game series, adds a lot of potential that I don’t think is completely exploited.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
New Vegas fans may bristle at some elements of the city and its sinister overlord’s transition from game to TV not aligning with what was established in the former.
— James Whitbrook, io9.com
It’s a superior dystopian adventure—the most purely entertaining sci-fi series on TV.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
No show in the past five years is as immersive, suspenseful, constantly surprising, or as relevant to what is happening today… The sharp political tone is what sets this post-apocalyptic satirical science-fiction western apart.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
Television based on an interactive game with such a rich background and detail is not a novel concept, but this has to be the best one on the small screen right now.
— John Kirk, Original Cin
There should be more shows like Fallout, pure adventures that don’t get bogged down in mythology and never lose either depth of feeling or sense of fun.
— Kelly Lawler, USA Today
Season 2 cements itself as one of the best shows on television right as 2025 closes out.
— Ryan McQuade, AwardsWatch
If the final two episodes can stick the landing – and given the consistent quality shown thus far, there’s every reason to believe they will – this will easily rank among the best sophomore seasons in modern television.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Each episode is like a disgusting box of chocolates: You never know what horrors you’re going to get.
— Kelly Lawler, USA Today
It’s still grand and expansive, with surprises around every corner.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Nothing is what it seems, and the show leans into this theme tenfold, delivering twist after twist.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Even though the characters are well established at this point, Season 2 still finds ways to plumb a little deeper into what makes them tick, and they can definitely still surprise you.
— Rob Leane, Radio Times
Maximus’s arc surprises the most.
— William Goodman, TheWrap
I’m surprised that there were two characters from Season 1 that made their returns, one of which I really didn’t expect, considering their involvement with Lucy previously!
— Chris Gallardo, Tell-Tale TV
The action is hair-raising.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
The action is still as great as ever, and fans will certainly be pleased with the amount of Deathclaws we’re given here!
— Chris Gallardo, Tell-Tale TV
It’s the action that sets this Prime Video original series apart…the depth that the blend of practical and computer-generated effects brings to every action scene and set piece makes the series effortlessly immersive.
— Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community
The visual spectacle and action are just as exciting as in the first season. Delivering several sequences that are genuinely breathtaking, get ready to have your mind blown.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
The hyper violence still looks good and fun and not too gory.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
The humor not only pushes boundaries but also practically obliterates them.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
The series is hilarious, perfectly balancing the horrific setting with moments of absurd comedy.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
The undisputed funniest and most pointedly absurd show about the horrors of nuclear annihilation to also co-star Kyle MacLachlan… It boasts gut-splittingly funny jokes.
— Chase Hutchinson, Seattle Times
Fallout pairs [its] duo for much of its initial episodes, thereby lacing its action with an even greater degree of bickering buddy-comedy humor.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Season 2 is arduous in a way that bucks against its black-comic vibes.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
I do very much like Fallout’s comedic approach to its clueless vault dwellers, but it so far feels like this was a joke best left in Season 1.
— Matt Purslow, IGN Movies
What unfolds… is so touching and heartfelt that it will likely bring even the most stonefaced viewer to tears.
— Aramide Tinubu, Variety
There is so much drama, leading to shocking betrayals that redefine the relationships and motivations of key characters.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Its biggest surprises come from how well it strikes a balance between silliness and seriousness.
— Chase Hutchinson, Seattle Times
Fallout still manages to keep a delicate balance between its comedic and dramatic elements.
— Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
Happily, the cast is as good as ever, with Purnell and Goggins in particular delivering the goods once again.
— Joonatan Itkonen, Region Free
It is Walton Goggins who continues where he left off, giving one of the year’s best performances.
— M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation
In Fallout Season 2, Walton Goggins remains one of the best performers out there, inhabiting one of TV’s best roles.
— Rotem Rusak, Nerdist
Goggins and Purnell’s chemistry remains an absolute highlight… The show is at its best when the two are together.
— William Goodman, TheWrap
Both Parnell and Moten have settled comfortably into their roles, and the latter feels distinctly more natural as buttoned-up Maximus this time around.
— Kelly Lawler, USA Today
Most importantly, this season has more MacLachlan in it… [It] gives the great actor room to be both goofy and menacing in equal measure, even when he’s not saying a word.
— Chase Hutchinson, Seattle Times
Justin Theroux could not have played this role to greater perfection.
— Rotem Rusak, Nerdist
Theroux makes for a fine ’60s-style baddie, his old-timey vocal inflections as weird as his confidence is discomfiting.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
The splashiest new addition for Season 2 is Justin Theroux, who is clearly having a ball… The inevitable collision between Goggins and Theroux is an immediate highlight.
— William Goodman, TheWrap
Theroux’s natural weirdness fits right into the ambiance of the series.
— Kelly Lawler, USA Today
Theroux’s giddily provocative villain lends the series a rare nimbleness… He may be a mustache-twirling cartoon villain come to life, but he’s still a dynamic, chaotic presence in a season that regularly feels contrived and drawn out.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
Fallout Season 2 too often prioritizes planning over payoffs.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
Fallout seems to be spinning its wheels in season 2, without a clear direction for its many characters.
— Jake Kleinman, Polygon
Fallout feels more methodical this time around compared to before, and that occasionally leads to a distinctly lacking sense of momentum that may frustrate viewers checking in every week.
— James Whitbrook, io9.com
There [are] some tiresome subplots (some of the wackier characters in the Vault start to test the limits of the show’s more comedic inclinations).
— Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
I do think it’s trying to juggle too many plotlines and main characters that are disconnected from each other for too long.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
It keeps me interested in what’s next for Season 3.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
If it can keep a clear head and focus on the essentials, Fallout has the capacity for an all-time great run. It’s already got a head start.
— Joonatan Itkonen, Region Free
Fallout: Season 2 premieres on Prime Video on December 17.
