Naturally, a Season 2 of the Fallout TV adaptation was always going to happen, and we've known as much since last year. I quite liked the first run, even if its shortened, streaming-friendly season and inevitable cliffhanger undercut its storytelling potential significantly – to say nothing of effectively rendering the first two Fallout games exercises in futility by quite literally nuking them off the map. (Something tells me Todd Howard is still a little salty the best-regarded games in the series weren't made by his company.)
It was that aforementioned cliffhanger that gave me pause ahead of Season 2, though. The first season ends with a teasing shot of the New Vegas skyline, and an adaptation of Fallout: New Vegas' Mojave Wasteland was further confirmed by set leaks mid-production. New Vegas is the most beloved game in the series for good reason, and it seems the showrunners at Amazon know this, given how many icons from it have been used in the runup to the second season's premiere in December. Take, for instance, the recent Season 2 teaser, giving us the very first glimpse of the TV show's Mojave. Having Walton Goggins' Cooper advertise the Lucky 38, the casino that serves as the New Vegas player's base of operations, is no accident.
It's precisely because New Vegas is so beloved – and also not made by Bethesda – that some hardcore fans of the games (myself included) are worried that it could get the Shady Sands treatment in Season 2. At the very least, given the timeline of the show, Amazon will have to canonize one of New Vegas' four possible endings (and the countless possible permutations within each one), which will obviously alienate three quarters of players before the opening credits even roll. Season 1 neatly avoided this – except for the Shady Sands caper, of course – by simply staying out of the games' territory, but cashing in on New Vegas' platinum reputation has every chance to backfire.
At least Mr. House will be there, though. You can't go wrong with Mr. House. Which New Vegas characters aside from him will be returning and what impact they'll have remains to be seen when Season 2 premieres – and when the setting of Season 3, which has already been greenlit, is confirmed. Personally, I hope they just keep chasing Kyle MacLachlan to new, zany locations forever, ideally with the Benny Hill Theme scoring every season finale.
