Wow. Episode 4 must have been directed, and had its script written by someone else than did the other 3 previous episodes, because this episode actually contained some tension. Another plus was the minimum of obnoxious Marvel-tier “comedy” writing. However, it still isn’t good, because as soon as episode 4 is over, the show goes back into its normal eternally ironic ways.
The ghouls
The problem with writing these posts is that I don’t remember much that happened. It could be my age affecting my brain, but for some reason, I think it’s the show with its lack of anything interesting going on. So, we got the ghoul walking through the desert to pick up some anti-feral medicine, which is a major retcon of ghoul lore by the way. They never needed to drink that crap. It’s chance-based if somebody succumbs or not through the damage caused by radiation. What was noticeable here was that the main lead ghoul has a chat with a fellow ghoul brethren, and it’s implied that the main ghoul is one of the few old surviving ones. I guess Bethesda decided to erase all the prominent ghouls and ghoul towns on the West Coast, including the whole of NCR with it.
You see. In Bethesda’s eternal (jealous) wisdom, they decided to wipe out NCR by having someone nuke the hell out of Shady Sands. There we have it, forever wasteland confirmed. Iguana sellers until the sun explodes. Jesus H, so everything in Fallout 1 & 2, and New Vegas ends up with nothing to show for it. All that history and lore nuked away like a tear in the rain.
Not a nice guy
Well, it turns out our dear ghoul friend is much worse than I initially thought since he apparently has no problem selling people into slavery (which turns out to be cannibal butchers). I don’t care what the wasteland did to you, there is no excusing his slaving murdering ways. Now, I don’t mind evil characters at all, but I have been reading that he should be considered a protagonist of the show, like an anti-hero from a Clint Eastwood western. I don’t know, man, I never saw Clint cannibalizing others. He must be doing some serious redeeming in the later episodes for this to even have a chance of working. I mean, he can’t be regarded as a normal mercenary type since he keeps shooting everyone, employers included. That’s no way to earn caps!
I will not go into much more detail since I want to keep these posts relatively short. But episode 5 felt very poor, and I think the character of Maximus, the BoS guy, effectively makes the show worse. He is very unlikable and comes off as a bit psychotic too – even through his meek exterior. Alright, two more things. The vault mystery has me yawning, even if it’s one of the more intriguing plot lines. Because it sure as hell looks like there will be a “weird Vault-Tech” experiment coming up. Also, I’m amazed at how many buildings remain in the city after 200 years. The hospital felt way too clean and intact, and I understand there’s something more to that building considering how the episode ended. This is still 200 years later. Do people venture outside to repair old radiated buildings, like hanging up doors and making sure the neon sign works? I guess, I will find out in the next episode… maybe.
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Blog 