The Radio (Fallout)

Last updated
"The Radio"
Fallout episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 7
Directed by
Written byChaz Hawkins
Produced by
  • Skye Wathen
  • Crystal Whelan
  • Halle Phillips
  • Gursimran Sandhu
  • Jake Bender
  • Zach Dunn
Cinematography by
Editing byMicah Gardner
Original air dateApril 10, 2024 (2024-04-10)
Running time61 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"The Trap"
Next 
"The Beginning"

"The Radio" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout . The episode was written by Chaz Hawkins and directed by Frederick E. O. Toye and Clare Kilner. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 10, 2024, alongside the rest of the season.

Contents

The series depicts the aftermath of an apocalyptic nuclear exchange in an alternate history of Earth where advances in nuclear technology after World War II led to the emergence of a retrofuturistic society and a subsequent resource war. The survivors took refuge in fallout shelters known as Vaults, built to preserve humanity in the event of nuclear annihilation. In the episode, Lucy and Maximus choose to leave Vault 4, Norm continues investigating Vault 31, and Howard's past with Moldaver is explored.

The episode received positive reviews from critics, although some expressed frustration with the episode's pacing.

Plot

In 2077, Howard and Moldaver, who goes by the name "Ms. Williams", talk about her conference. Howard is disgusted by her perception of his friends' deaths in war, and how Vault-Tec may be involved. She reveals that she found a solution to a possible nuclear conflict after working on cold fusion research, which could also provide unlimited energy. However, the war-profiting conglomerate behind Vault-Tec shelved the project. She asks him to watch over Barb, even telling him to record their conversations by bugging her Pip-Boy.

In present day, Lucy is scolded by Ben for breaking into level 12. He states that the experiments were real, but were performed by the previous dwellers before they arrived. Lucy is under the impression that she is being executed, but is then told by Ben to simply leave the Vault following a mock public execution, even giving her a cache of supplies, to her complete surprise. Maximus activates his armor after stealing the Vault's fusion core and tries to defend Lucy from what he believes to be attacking residents but soon realises the true situation, and he decides to leave with her. Maximus reveals his real identity to Lucy, who forgives him for lying and even offers to let him live with her at Vault 33. However, she scolds him for stealing the Vault's fusion core, and convinces him to return it.

In the wasteland, Thaddeus tries to find a radio station to send a message to the Brotherhood, abandoning CX404 in the process. He encounters a snake oil salesman, the same man who Maximus had encountered much earlier, and he sells him FEV to heal his wound in exchange for his fusion core. Thaddeus accepts and reaches the radio station, with Lucy and Maximus arriving shortly after. After shooting at them, Thaddeus triggers a booby trap and is shot through the neck by a crossbow. He removes the bolt and rapidly heals, leading Maximus to infer that Thaddeus has turned into a Ghoul. With the Brotherhood nearing, Thaddeus gives them Wilzig's head and flees to avoid being killed. Maximus decides to distract them while Lucy leaves with Wilzig's head, and they kiss before parting.

In Vault 33, Betty is starting to relocate some of the inhabitants to Vault 32. With the co-overseers separated and some of the raiders mysteriously dying, Norm decides to impersonate Betty to hack into her conversations with Vault 31's overseer. He is given access to "return" to Vault 31, and he enters the Vault, without encountering anybody. At the end of the main corridor, he is shocked by something off camera.

Production

Music

The score is composed by Ramin Djawadi. [1] The episode featured many songs, including "I'm Tickled Pink" by Jack Shaindlin, "Sixteen Tons" by Merle Travis, "Only You (And You Alone)" by The Platters, "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" by Dinah Washington, "You're Everything" by The Danleers, and "From the First Hello to the Last Goodbye" by Jane Morgan. [2]

Release

The episode, along with the rest of the season, premiered on April 10, 2024, on Amazon Prime Video. [3] Originally, the season was scheduled to premiere on April 12, 2024. [4]

Critical reception

"The Radio" received positive reviews from critics. William Hughes of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B–" grade and wrote, "Character work is the cold fusion that keeps things powered for the long haul, and "The Radio" just doesn’t keep the lights on as well as it could. It has some fun moments, a few good gags, a nicely earned kiss, and one very good dog. But it can't do much to transcend that fact that it's an episode almost entirely about setting up what happens in the next episode." [5]

Jack King of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The last handful of episodes have been stuffed. It's enough to lead you to suspect the show to have been conceived with a longer initial season in mind; even at just shy of an hour long, six and seven ask you to get through a lot and retain a lot of new information before the finale. Even so, it's impressive that the show has managed to weave together the pre- and post-war arcs so seamlessly." [6]

Sean T. Collins of Decider wrote, "If you're in a Vault, and you're not conducting an experiment, you're the experiment. That's the lesson I think Lucy MacLean ought to take from her madcap adventures in the mysterious Vault 4, which come to a surprising conclusion in this, yet another charmingly nasty episode of Fallout." [7] Ross Bonaime of Collider gave the episode a 8 out of 10 and wrote, "Fallout's penultimate episode is putting the pieces in compelling places for the finale, leaving our characters in their most interesting positions so far, as we wait for the ending to likely cause mayhem in their stories." [8]

Joshua Kristian McCoy of Game Rant gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Fallout delivers on its premise in every way that matters, sometimes to its own detriment. It's a show worth seeking out and an instant classic of its genre. Future video game adaptations should look at this as an example." [9] Greg Wheeler of The Review Geek gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Fallout sets everything up for a very intriguing finale to follow. All roads appear to be leading toward the mystery of Vault 31 and what may actually be inside. This sets everything up nicely for what should be a dramatic final chapter." [10]

Related Research Articles

Dogmeat (<i>Fallout</i>) Non-player character dog in the Fallout series

Dogmeat is the name given to various dogs featured in the post-apocalyptic role-playing game series Fallout. Dogmeat was introduced as an optional companion to the player character in the original Fallout (1997), and made a cameo appearance in Fallout 2 (1998). Other dogs named Dogmeat are featured and serve similar roles in Fallout 3 (2008), Fallout 4 (2015), and in the American post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout (2024).

<i>Fallout</i> (video game) 1997 video game

Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game is a 1997 role-playing video game developed and published by Interplay Productions, set in a mid-22nd century post-apocalyptic and retro-futuristic world, decades after a nuclear war between the United States and China. Fallout's protagonist, the Vault Dweller, inhabits an underground nuclear shelter. The player must scour the surrounding wasteland for a computer chip that can fix the Vault's failed water supply system. They interact with other survivors, some of whom give them missions, and engage in turn-based combat.

<i>Fallout 3</i> 2008 video game

Fallout 3 is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the Fallout series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring the rights to the franchise from Interplay Entertainment. The game marks a major shift in the series by using 3D graphics and real-time combat, replacing the 2D isometric graphics and turn-based combat of previous installments. It was released worldwide in October 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramin Djawadi</span> Iranian-German score composer (born 1974)

Ramin Djawadi is a German film score composer, conductor, and record producer. He is known for his scores for the HBO series Game of Thrones, for which he was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2018 and 2020. He is also the composer for the HBO Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon (2022–present). He has scored films such as Clash of the Titans, Pacific Rim, Warcraft, A Wrinkle in Time, Iron Man and Eternals, television series including 3 Body Problem, Prison Break, Person of Interest, Jack Ryan, and Westworld, and video games such as Medal of Honor, Gears of War 4, and Gears 5. He won two consecutive Emmy Awards for Game of Thrones, in 2018 for the episode "The Dragon and the Wolf" and in 2019 for "The Long Night".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Prebble</span> British playwright (born 1980)

Lucy AshtonPrebble is a British playwright and producer. She has received numerous accolades including three Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award as well as two Laurence Olivier Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear Seasons</span> 2011 single by Charli XCX

"Nuclear Seasons" is a song by British singer Charli XCX taken from her debut extended play (EP), You're the One (2012), and was later included on her debut studio album, True Romance (2013). It was released as the EP's second single on 21 October 2011 through This Is Music, Atlantic, and Warner Music UK. "Nuclear Seasons" was written by Charli, Justin Raisen, and Ariel Rechtshaid, while the latter produced the song.

"Ivan" is the seventeenth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on March 24, 2014.

"The Cruise" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It is the 58th overall episode of the series and is written by Tricia McAlpin and directed by Michael Spiller. It aired on Fox in the United States on January 26, 2016.

"The Final Country" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American anthology crime drama television series True Detective. It is the 23rd overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Nic Pizzolatto, and directed by executive producer Daniel Sackheim. It was first broadcast on HBO in the United States on February 17, 2019.

<i>Fallout</i> (American TV series) 2024 American television series

Fallout is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet for Amazon Prime Video. Based on the role-playing video game franchise created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, the series stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, and Walton Goggins.

"The End" is the series premiere of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout. The episode was written by series developers Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner and directed by executive producer Jonathan Nolan. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 10, 2024, alongside the rest of the season.

"The Head" is the third episode of the first season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout. The episode was written by series developers Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner and directed by executive producer Jonathan Nolan. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 10, 2024, alongside the rest of the season.

"The Ghouls" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout. The episode was written by co-executive producer Kieran Fitzgerald and directed by co-executive producer Daniel Gray Longino. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 10, 2024, alongside the rest of the season.

"The Past" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout. The episode was written by co-executive producer Carson Mell and directed by Clare Kilner. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 10, 2024, alongside the rest of the season.

"The Trap" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout. The episode was written by co-executive producer Karey Dornetto and directed by Frederick E. O. Toye. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 10, 2024, alongside the rest of the season.

"The Beginning" is the eighth and final episode of the first season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout. The episode was written by producer Gursimran Sandhu and directed by Wayne Yip. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 10, 2024, alongside the rest of the season.

"The Target" is the second episode of the first season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout. The episode was written by series developers Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner and directed by executive producer Jonathan Nolan. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 10, 2024, alongside the rest of the season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New California Republic</span> Fictional republic

The New California Republic (NCR) is a fictional post-War republic from the post-apocalyptic Fallout franchise. Operating primarily out of Southern California, it serves as an attempted governing body for the wasteland, including some portions of Oregon and Nevada, along with further colonization efforts in Arizona and the Baja California area of Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vault-Tec</span> Fictional corporation in the Fallout franchise

Vault-Tec Corporation, otherwise known as Vault-Tec and sometimes called Vault-Tec Industries, is a fictional defense megacorporation from the post-apocalyptic Fallout franchise. Throughout the United States, Vault-Tec created government-funded vaults, large fallout shelters that would serve to shelter civilians and allow for the continuation of human life in the threat of a nuclear attack. Within most of these Overseer-governed vaults, Vault-Tec carried out human experiments on its residents without their consent or knowledge, ranging from being mostly harmless to disturbing and inhumane.

Fallout (Original Amazon Series Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2024 Amazon Prime Video post-apocalyptic drama television series Fallout based on the video game franchise of the same name. The soundtrack featured musical score composed by Ramin Djawadi and released through Amazon Content Services on April 8, 2024.

References

  1. Lussier, Germain (24 April 2024). "Fallout's Vinyl Soundtrack Is Coming, And We Spoke to Composer Ramin Djawadi About It". Gizmodo. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  2. Berry, Alex (April 11, 2024). "Here's every song on the 'Fallout' soundtrack". NME . Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  3. Petski, Denise; Andreeva, Nellie (April 8, 2024). "'Fallout' TV Series Based On Games Gets New, Earlier Premiere Date On Prime Video". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  4. Thompson, Jaden (October 23, 2023). "'Fallout' Video Game Adaptation Gets 2024 Release Date on Prime Video". Variety . Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  5. Hughes, William (April 18, 2024). "Fallout recap: A few great weirdos can't save a mostly dull penultimate episode". The A.V. Club . Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  6. King, Jack (April 11, 2024). "Fallout Recap: Selling the End of the World". Vulture . Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  7. Collins, Sean (April 13, 2024). "'Fallout' Episode 7 Recap: Two Heads Are Better Than One". Decider . Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  8. Bonaime, Ross (April 12, 2024). "'Fallout' Episode 7 Recap: A Good Bad Guy Doesn't See Themselves as the Bad Guy". Collider . Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  9. McCoy, Joshua Kristian (April 11, 2024). "Fallout Episode 7 Review". Game Rant . Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  10. Wheeler, Greg (April 11, 2024). "Fallout – Season 1 Episode 7 Recap & Review". The Review Geek. Retrieved April 27, 2024.