Three of the main stars ofFallouthad no idea where the video game-turned-television show adaptation was headed in its season finale. Some of them, it seems, even insisted on that being the case — which is wild when you consider just how much happens in the series’epic season one finale.
During aVarietypanelfor the series moderated by Kara Warner, series starsWalton Goggins,YellowjacketsstarElla Purnell, Aaron MotenandMoisés Ariasall spoke about the blockbuster season finale, and how it felt to enter the post-apocalyptic world with so little information on where it might be going.
“We got two episodes. Two episodes were written before we started, just episode one and two, to understand the tone,” explained Goggins. “And then [the scripts] would dribble out, if I remember correctly. We didn’t get eight until…”
“Two days before?” Purnell offered half-jokingly. “It wasn’t really two days, but it felt like two days.”
What Happened in the ‘Fallout’ Season Finale And How Did The Actors Prepare?
Aaron Moten, who plays the character Maximus, actually didn’t want to know anything in advance if he could help it. The actor explained that it helped him to stay present with his character. As he put it:
“They tried to tell me some things, and I said, ‘Please don’t!’ Working in television, you have to surrender a little bit, too. Like, I personally, Aaron, doesn’t know what he’s doing tomorrow, exactly, and neither does the character. You sort of have to surrender to that sense of work, that type of schedule, especially with the speed that you have to shoot something the scope of this, you know, you kind of have to be able to ride with it. I think it was because they were excited but … I just trust them.”
Goggins agreed with Moten, adding that, “it was just really, really superb writing.”
When it came to Purnell, who arguably has the hardest part to play in the series, learning about the tone of her character and the world was far more important than the trajectory. “Before I got sent the script or anything, they wanted to meet and just explain the tone,” Purnell said. “And I’m really glad they did, because I don’t think I would have got the part, or played her the right way had they not, on that first meeting, said, ‘This is basically Ned Flanders in the apocalypse.’ It’s so good. Immediately, I was in. And then reading the script, it just changes the way you hear her voice in your head.”
For those who may not know what this “massive cliffhanger” being referenced is, and want to be spoiled in spite of themselves — the show is fantastic and worth your time, whether you are a fan of the video game or not — read on. If not, turn away now!
For those of you who have seen the show, you may remember that the first season ended with a slew of massive revelations surrounding Lucy (Purnell)’s father Hank (Kyle MacLachlan) and his origins. Namely, that he was a Vault-Tec employee from before the nuclear blasts that started the apocalypse, cryogenically frozen back in 2077 (or somewhere thereabouts) to be defrosted at a later date and “manage” the world that appeared after the last one ended. In the final moments of the show, we also see Hank landing on the outskirts of a city — New Vegas, a popular location from the video game franchise that was recently revealed inseason two set photos— and also the skull of a Deathclaw, perhaps the most dangerous creature from the game.
