It’s been a minute.

I’ve been packing, clearing out, and moving into a smaller space (plus storage). This is, as ever, revealing. It’s also a tremendously time-hungry pain in the ass.

I’ve had less time for consuming media as a result of all this, but I’ve sometimes watched an episode of Fallout as a way of relaxing in the evenings. And I do mean relaxing. But why is this show about awful stuff not awful?

I was talking with Ley about this a day or two ago; for some reason, we both find the show to be (mostly) relaxing. While bad things happen in the middle of an episode, the show rarely ends in a way that leaves us feeling stressed. We certainly want to keep watching (and have, once or twice, watched two episodes in a row) but with the exception of the last episode we watched (#6 I think) we both felt pretty chill after the show—and even there, only one of us was really unsettled and on the edge of the seat.

How does that work? Shouldn’t we feel more stressed out?

Our first guess was that we felt chill because hideously bad things have already happened, and most of the show’s dramatic motion feels like it’s moving up from how it starts (whatever happens, it’s probably better than nuclear holocaust). Our second was that it was because we didn’t think we’d be surprised if any of the main characters died or suffered some terrible fate, so the risk of that doesn’t seem as awful. We didn’t have a third guess that I can remember, though I’ve come up with one myself: we feel relaxed after watching Fallout because the show’s dramatic movement tends towards rest at the close of each episode, rather than dragging us onto cross-episode cliffhangers.

I appreciate that. In some ways this tendency towards rest makes Fallout feel episodic, despite each episode clearly being part of a larger whole. But I think this tendency towards rest, and the episodic feeling, actually does a whole lot more for the show.

Fallout plays with a number of different storylines simultaneously. These storylines exist across different times, but they each follow a distinct character (or collection of characters). The show’s tendency towards rest—and the episodic feel which that engenders—allows the show to switch between its storylines at the drop of a hat without making us feel unsettled or robbed of resolution. This story switching pattern is established early on, and the showrunners do an excellent job of setting out their pattern in the first episode. The show cuts between stories, yes, but I’ve felt as though the show is treating me—the audience—with respect by completing whatever immediate strife our characters are facing within the episode. I almost feel like the show has promised to not jerk me around and leave every storyline feeling unresolved all the time.

This show refuses to rely on cliffhangers to pull the audience through the show, instead depending on its excellently realized setting and characters to keep us interested. It usually gives us the satisfaction of seeing its smaller plot lines through within an episode. Thus if anything, this tendency to leave storylines feeling more resolved at the end of an episode (or at least not unbalanced and on the precipice) makes the few times when Fallout diverges from this pattern feel more impactful and compelling.

I love it.

That’s all I have for today. Any full review of Fallout will have to wait, and I don’t know when (or whether) I’ll write it. I can say that I’ve enjoyed the show a lot so far. I’m looking forward to finishing it. I’m not at all surprised that it’s become so popular, or so well-reviewed.

Check it out. It’s fun.