The Fallout series has a bunch of characters that viewers are introduced to in the first episode itself. Out of all of them, three stand out the most: Lucy the Vault Dweller, Maximus the Squire, and The Ghoul. The third one on that list will catch the most attention, in no small part due to his appearance.
Played by Walton Goggins, The Ghoul is not an anomaly in the surface world but one of the more interesting of his kind. By understanding the role of his kind in the games, we can truly appreciate how interesting Goggins’ character will be later in the story.
The Ghoul Takes Center Stage in Amazon’s Fallout
It seems Jonathan Nolan was looking at offering three different perspectives of the wasteland. Lucy’s will be that of the naive Vault dweller who has only just approached the surface. Maximus will be the more neutral of the three, whose morality is not as defined as Lucy’s. The Ghoul represents the veteran of the wasteland, having dealt with the brunt of nuclear warfare in more ways than one.
In the Fallout universe, ghouls are humans who have been exposed to radiation, leading to significant changes in their appearance and biology. They are severely emaciated and often lack a nose and other body parts. The transformation can happen over time through gradual radiation exposure or more quickly (and painfully) if a person is to survive the blast of a nuclear strike.
Goggins’ character experienced the latter; as we see in the opening seven minutes of the first episode, Cooper Howard (his persona before the blast) was very close to the blast. Speaking with Digital Spy, he expressed his admiration and love for the antagonist of the series.
Is he a lizard? If his arm is cut off, does another just kinda grow? I really don’t know the answer to all of that, but he’s super f**king cool, and that I do know. You have a guy that existed before the bombs fell, and in that world, he was a protagonist, representing this American exceptionalism, and then you meet him 200 years later.
The series gets a lot of aspects right, and The Ghoul is definitely one of them.
The Series Remains Faithful to the Games
The issue with many live-action adaptations is that it’s not possible to recreate everything from the original. That’s where Nolan’s idea of following the Fallout pattern and creating an original narrative for the series has paid off. While there are references in the series to the games, the creators have enough freedom to use the universe as they wish.
There are some changes made in the series, but that is inevitable. What’s important is that the spirit of the franchise remains intact, and it’s a good thing Nolan was a fan of the games before he got into making the adaptation.
The series has been received well by fans and critics. It’s also getting a second season, which will feature the same cast. Nolan has gone beyond the game’s boundaries by including humor in the story, something the titles did not focus on much.
Have you started watching the series yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
