Summary
The nextFalloutgame is still a long way off, though fans and non-fans alike can explore the franchise’s next chapter when the Amazon Prime show releases in April. The eight-episodeAmazon Prime series stars Ella Purnell as the Vault Dweller Lucyas she explores post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Bethesda’s Todd Howard is credited as an executive producer, and he’s confirmed that the show is canon to the game’s world.
However, this may create some problems as far as official continuity is concerned. While set on the other side of the country fromFallout 4, its California setting raises questions about how it will interact with the canon ofFallout 2and especiallyNew Vegas. Hopefully, the showrunners will consider the establishedFalloutuniverse, but there are already a few red flags.
The Potential Canon Conflict in Amazon’s Fallout
Amazon’sFalloutshow takes place in 2296, nine years afterFallout 4and 15 years afterFallout: New Vegas. Based on the trailer, it borrows many ofFallout 4’s aesthetics. This includes the design of the show’s Power Armor, the style of Brotherhood of Steel uniforms and flags, the style of vault suits, and the large Brotherhood airship. Actor Walton Goggins’ character is also clearly based on theFallout 4version of Ghouls. One of the settlements Lucy visits in the trailer also appears to be inspired byFallout 3’s town of Megaton.
It’s unsurprising that the show would go with theFallout 4version of ghouls, power armor, and things like that, since that’s the current Bethesda canon as of the show’s production. Likewise, Megaton was one of the more memorable locations fromFallout 3. However, this emphasis onFallout’s East Coast imagery stands out, given the lack of apparent West Coast influences.
Los Angeles, called The Boneyard in theFalloutuniverse, was a significant location in the firstFalloutgame. It became one of the states of theNew California Republic in 2189, and it is where the NCR Dollars inFallout: New Vegaswere printed. The Boneyard is a core part of the Republic’s territory, making the NCR’s absence from the trailer more suspicious. The Republic will play some role, as evidenced by an NCR flag in leaked images from the show, but its lack of visible press in LA is suspicious. While minor factions like the Followers of the Apocalypse can be brushed under the rug, removing Boneyard from the NCR would have colossal lore implications.
Fallout’s Brotherhood of Steel
The same could be said of how the show depictsFallout’s Brotherhood of Steel. The Brotherhood inFallout 4is a rising power on the East Coast, able to operate a fleet of Vertibirds and build a massive airship like the Prydwen. One terminal inFallout 4even refers to the BoS as a “country,” with another describing Elder Maxson’s influence spreading across the Eastern Seaboard. Thus, the Eastern Brotherhood of Steel arguably has more in common with the NCR than its West Coast and Mojave chapters.
Some fans have compared Maxson’s Brotherhood to the Teutonic Order and Knights Hospitaller, orders of Crusader knights who operated as independent states from the 14th to 18th centuries.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood of Steel in California is smaller and much more isolationist. It also suffered a crippling military defeat at the hands of the NCR, and even if they made peace, it’s odd to see the Brotherhood having such a massive operation in the core of NCR territory.
How Fallout Might Solve its Canon Problem
Granted, there are ways that the show could address these issues without disregarding continuity. Fifteen years is a long time, and it’s not as if the NCR inFallout: New Vegasdoesn’t have problems. In addition to corruption and nepotism, some NCR characters also indicate that the Republic’s population is growing faster than its resources can support.New Vegas’ Lonesome Road DLCalso allowed the player to support Ulysses’ plan to nuke the Legion and NCR.
The show could use these factors to justify returning California to the state it was inFallout 2. Of course, it would be frustrating to see Amazon hit the reset button on such a big part ofFallout’s universe, especially if Bethesda really intends totreat it as effectivelyFallout 5.
